Cat Quest 3 Review – Not Far From a Purr-Fect Tail

Cat Quest is the kind of franchise whose appeal goes beyond kitten lovers, encompassing everyone who likes a lighthearted, humorous action RPG with tons of cat puns. Cat Quest 3 sticks to the winning formula, being simple on the surface with just enough depth, suited to all ages, and overall, just fun, something that many games fail to deliver on. With a local cooperation mode allowing for a second adventurer, it is even more enjoyable, but it’s also excellent while going solo, and definitely a solid sequel.

Against the Pi-Rats

Dropping the fantasy theme of the previous entries in favor of a pirate atmosphere, Cat Quest 3 remains as colorful and charming as before, even more so. The 2.5D map-like representation of the world returns, again offering a good balance between stylish perspective that allows the graphics to shine, and enough gameplay comfort as to not let this angle get in the way of your performance. Intentionally, however, you may have to keep your eyes peeled and find just the right spot to discover some of those sneaky hidden chests, but that’s part of the process and not a flaw of any sort.

But Cat Quest 3 is just this camera perspective rebel that won’t settle for one choice, and keeps offering you new takes. Some isometric interiors will remind you of pure hack and slash games, while other towers and varied structures switch to a side-scrolling camera, effectively changing the combat requirements by restricting your movement to a much smaller space. Adapting is a requirement, but a refreshing one for once.

This diversity only adds to the gameplay, and it throws some additional surprises in your quest for the treasure known as the Northern Star, some of them which we can’t spoil here. But some we can, such as the interesting Lovepurr Castle, a place worthy of the “choose your own adventure” books, where you get to pick between two options until you reach the end of these short stories. It’s a simple yet clever touch.

Your swashbuckling purrivateer will find many challenges ahead, most of them involving some sort of combat, and for that they are equipped with melee, ranged, and magic attacks. Collecting different pieces of gear as quest rewards is one way of improving your character, and so is leveling up, which also rewards you with additional slots for trinkets boosting some of your stats and adding twists to your build, such as dealing damage while dodging. Naturally, there are places where you can spend gold and crystals to upgrade your gear and spells, but since you’re continually finding better equipment – or at least more suited to different occasions – the appeal to save the currency for later in the game is strong. However, upgrading will be needed as you’re going to face some more resourceful Pi-Rats and assorted enemies as you complete quest after quest, some of them not involving combat, but tasking you with memory puzzles and taking some animals to a designated place.

Combat is fun, fast, combining the pistol and magic cooldowns with the melee attack makes for some resourceful strategies, and there’s this clear old-school style to the mechanics where timing and dodging are very important to master. With two players, it gets even better as there’s the potential to combine forces and focus on certain enemy types.

Then we have the boat sections, which are in fact completely seamless to land combat and explorations. Controlling the boat is a breeze, really enjoyable, with a nice arcade feel to the way it turns and bumps, making for some naval warfare that couldn’t be easier and sillier. Just spin around and aim, use your special shots, boost your way out of danger, and overall have a fun time taking out other ships. Even better, you can use your ship to attack enemies on land, gaining an important tactical advantage that makes the game even more open to experimentation and simply fun.

There really isn’t much to criticize about the game, as it’s not meant to be a deep RPG experience, but a simple and straightforward one. Something that bothered me was the constant screen transition effect as we move from floor to floor (this can happen within a mere couple of seconds of actual gameplay), and the need to fast-forward the dialogues instead of entirely skipping them, something that is annoying especially before some boss fights.

Pure Cat-Egory

Cat Quest 3 is a game that won’t break any new ground, shake up the industry, or earn GOTY awards. But it’s such a charming, quirky, enjoyable good time that anyone who knows what to expect will simply love it to bits. The pirate theme is a nice pick, with the boat mechanics making it all come together, land and sea, as you explore the different islands, face varied puzzles and challenges outside and inside, for 15 hours or so. Overall, it’s a great, relaxed time with a polished action RPG, with cute felines to seal the deal.

Score: 9/10

Pros:

• Really cute art style and original camera perspective
• Plays great, mixing simple mechanics with an addictive loop
• Boat control and combat is very enjoyable
• Cooperative play is even more fun
• Good campaign length

Cons:

• No native online play
• Transitions between floors become tiresome
• Fast-forward text is good, but an option to skip it altogether would be a lot better.

Cat Quest 3 review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

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