I consider myself a fan of Indie games. You can tell that by the majority of games reviewed on this site. Yet somehow Cat Quest passed me by. So Cat Quest II really took me by purrprise. (the only cat pun I promise)
I am really not sure what I expected here, but what I got gave me a lovely unexpected experience. One I am glad I got to play.
Cat Quest II revolves around two characters. One a cat and the other a dog. They must reluctantly work together, because y’know, dogs and cats and all that. They must join forces to save their kingdom from the evils that have inhabited it in their absence.
Listen, we’re not winning any awards for story telling here. However it does a fine job of keeping you engaged throughout. The characters are charming and really shine through, especially with the wonderful graphic style.
It has a 2D in an isometric world aesthetic that really works. There is a ton of colour and provides a story book feel to the game. It piqued the interests of my kids too, who loved how it look and joining in to play with Dad.
Cat Quest II is a game that can be enjoyed in both single player and co-op and is simplistic enough you can play through with kids without any major issues.
Cat Quest II is an action RPG that plays like a simplified version of Diablo, sprinkled with Bastion. It never gets as chaotic as games like that though. Which isn’t to say it is bad, if anything it is refreshing to have a game that is just a nice enjoyable experience.
There is a generosity to the drops you get for loot and currency, which encourages you to upgrade and swap out armour, weapons and more to your hearts content. You feel you can experiment plenty.
A nice tough to the loot system comes from duplicate you may find. Instead of throwing it, or needing to sort it, you’ll have the existing item automatically levelled up. This adds to the streamlining Cat Quest II does to the existing formula, again to the benefit of the game.
If there is a complaint, it is that the game is short and feels like it is over before it really gets going. For some that can be a deal breaker and even for someone like me, who enjoys shorter games, I felt there could have been more and wanted more.
However, in saying that. Whilst it is here there is a wonderful experience to be had with Cat Quest II, regardless of whether you played the first or not. It is out on pretty much every platform, so do yourself a favour and get it.