Slashy Hero (Free) was a fun free-to-play action game with a nice mix of surface enjoyment and deeper pattern-based combat. The developer of that game, The Gentlebros, had their newest game, Cat Quest, on the show floor at the Tokyo Game Show, and I had a chance to give it a spin. While it’s still several months away from release, the game is already shaping up quite well, and if nothing else should momentarily slake Jared’s unquenchable thirst for cat puns.
While the developer’s previous game was closer to an arcade-style game in practice, Cat Quest has its eyes on bigger things. Instead of slicing and dicing your way through stages, you’re guiding your cat hero around a massive world. Towns and dungeons scatter the countryside. As you would expect, towns offer shops and places to take a cat nap, while dungeons offer chances for more treasure and tougher enemies. The overworld map itself is packed full of monsters to fight, with a nasty dragon lording over the demo area that I played.
Your character will automatically attack nearby enemies at regular intervals, and you can also use skills to cast magic or do advanced techniques. Each skill has different properties, so you’ll have to consider your positioning carefully. Enemies also have particular abilities, and learning how and where they’ll attack is an important part of success. New skills can be learned by seeking out wizards and performing quests for them. You can also pick up quests in the towns for extra loot. Any equipment and gear you equip will be displayed on your character, so you can dress up your cat in a bunch of different outfits. Stellar.
Cat Quest is due to release in the first half of next year. The developer is trying to decide whether to make it free-to-play or paid, though they’re leaning towards paid at this point in time. We’ll have more on Cat Quest as it gets closer to release. Will it be enough to get Jared to bring back the Kitty Korner? No, no it won’t.
