On August 8 — International Cat Day — the game Cat Quest III was released. The publisher was again Kepler Interactive, and the developers were the permanent creators of cat adventures The Gentlebros. How did the third furry iteration of “Cat Quest” turn out? Find out in our review.
This time our cat will set off to conquer the seas – the third part is made in a pirate setting. The furry protagonist and his companion are looking for a guiding star – an artifact that, according to rumors, can fulfill any wish of the one who finds it. On the way to the goal, we will be confronted by the Rat King and his minions, as well as many other opponents.
The overall quality of the story is average. It’s a short game of about 4-5 hours, with obvious twists and morals, which is enough. You don’t need to know the plot of the first two games to get into Cat Quest III, although it won’t hurt.
The text in the game is stylized to match the cat theme. This applies to both simple words and sounds, as well as the names of characters and various terms: Captain Meowthallica, Mordashkina Gora, Meowkoyakuza, and so on. The text is also replete with references and various jokes. Fortunately, all of this is perfectly translated into the great and mighty Russian language.
In addition to the main story, there are also additional tasks: you need to catch fish, conduct research on monsters, work as a postman, help a purrsalka, and so on.
The graphics are made in 2.5D isometric view, but in some places they switch to classic 2D. In some places they acquire a special style, characteristic of a certain location.
The combat system is very simple, but varied. You have access to: melee weapons, ranged weapons and magic. Each type of weapon has its own subtypes: swords, claws, shields, axes for melee; guns, machine guns, magic staffs for ranged.
Spells can be both defensive and offensive. The former can restore health and increase defense. The latter are divided into different elements. There are 4 slots in total, in which you can install selected abilities – they will open as the character is upgraded.
All of this can and should be combined, creating a real pixel hurricane of various abilities on the screen, destroying all your enemies.
The game also offers a variety of equipment options with different effects, which you can use to build your furry friend. For example, you can put on a set of armor that deals damage to all enemies around it when healing. It goes well with a shield that heals you when blocking damage. And there are plenty of such combinations here.
You can upgrade both the main character – by collecting crystals from killed enemies – and his equipment: from the blacksmith for in-game money, and even spells from a special character-mage. All this increases your characteristics.
In addition to land battles, there are also naval battles. You will have your own ship at your disposal, which can also be upgraded by finding new blueprints for it. Slots for them also open as you upgrade – the ship’s level increases with the character’s level.
We have a relatively small open world available for exploration, consisting of several islands and a sea. The islands are filled with secrets and mysteries – you will constantly find various spells, armor and weapons. Both new and repeated – when you find such, the original item will receive a plus to the level. The seas are full of opponents, including strong bosses, for which their own reward is provided in the tavern.
The world is full of different dungeons. Some of them are passed in the most usual way – through exploration and battles – while others contain unusual game mechanics. For example, there is a dungeon in which you are pursued by two boss eyes. Damage from the player to them is almost ineffective, and to kill them, you will have to run around the entire location and push them with spiky balls.
Side activities and exploration can extend your stay in Cat Quest III by about 2 times. Especially if you want to knock out all the achievements here, which is not so difficult to do.
The game weighs less than a gigabyte and is perfectly polished – during the entire playthrough I didn’t encounter a single bug or drop.
Diagnosis
Cat Quest III is a small but atmospheric game that can be completed in a couple of evenings. It has a very simple plot with the right messages, an exciting combat system, an interesting pirate setting and exciting exploration. The side quests are also good.
The project will appeal to all cat lovers and especially to children who are fanatics about them. And there is also a cooperative mode on one screen – the game seems to be created to show it to children. Competent localization, as well as a large number of references and humor will make your experience fun and memorable.
If the price of 1000 rubles puts you off, there is a free demo version on Steam so you can form your own opinion about Cat Quest III. And from us, a hot recommendation!
Pro
- Exciting combat and exploration
- Excellent stylization of the text, lots of jokes and references
- Good localization
- Optimal content volume and duration
- Excellent optimization
Contra
- Too childish and short plot
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All materials used belong to The Gentlebros and Kepler Interactive. Cover source: SteamDB
