Feline adventures are slowly working their way into a trend. In the last couple of years several cat-themed games have made their way into cat enthusiast or cat curious alike. There are games like A Little to the Left, a puzzle game that has you sort, stack, and organize household items after a mischievous cat has put them into disarray. Or RPG games like Cat Quest where you explore as a cat in a Diablo-like gameplay. And, of course, how can I forget one of the biggest hits from 2022: Stray. An adventure game in which you are a cat finding its way through a futuristic, post apocalyptic future where humans have gone extinct.
Four legs, a tail and whiskers. This fluffy, and depending on temperament, cuddly creature is in the spotlight as the new protagonist for plenty of upcoming games. After researching for this review, it has become apparent that cat-themed games are only starting to pick up on popularity. I might have known some titles, but searching on Steam you’ll find all kinds of gamestyles with a cat as the focus. Though from my findings, most of those games were related to the subgenre known as “wholesome games”. Still, cats are here to stay. Just like Little Kitty, Big City with its jovial, careless and nine lives protagonist.
This is a game that brought nostalgia in a way I never expected and I’ll speak about it more later. From a first glance it looks targeted for children or young kids, but I would say it is disguised as that. I’m not implying it contains inappropriate themes, or messages, on the contrary this game is innocent to the core. It is a simple cat adventure. What I mean, the game does a great job to entertain adults as it has references to older movies, and games that will be familiar to those older generations than Gen Z, maybe even for some old soul Gen Z out there. An adventure filled with side questing, but not in a way that is obligatory and annoying. The whole game is centered around one goal, getting back home. It is the perfect game to mingle in the world, and let loose as a curious cat in new territory. Little Kitty, Big City isn’t a grandeur, triple AAA adventure, you probably know that. It was made by a small and brand new studio that took the creation of this game to a peculiar immersion. Their focus and vision was to let the player roam and interact as a cat would. Catch birds, mess with humans, nap in strange places, or eat fish, these are but a few of the things you can do as you ponder in life as a cat.
Little Kitty, Big City is about a nameless cat and its journey back home. One lovely day as this furry protagonist was enjoying a nap outside of its owner´s window apartment without realizing it, his body moves too close to the ledge and falls down. DON’T WORRY. No cats were hurt in this event. Though for it to survive such a fall, it must be Super-Cat or The Rock cat. Our journey starts on the bottom, all the way down to street level. Our starting area is a tiny space in a neighborhood, at least for tutorial purposes. As you slowly progress through the area, you’ll learn the basics of life as a cat.
Alert dogs are enemies, but it’s perfectly fine since they are tied down and can’t chase you around. The small radius that dogs protect is typically to keep you out of areas of exploration. Humans walk around aimlessly, either carrying a business suitcase, their lunch (which you can steal as your own), or walk aimlessly as they scroll through their phone, just like in real life! Your interactions with them can vary, you can be petted by them because cat-lovers exist, or annoy them and make them stomp their feet on the ground as they angrily walk away from you. While dogs are enemies, your biggest threat is also available in the game, and fyi nothing is available to defeat it. It is the ultimate weakness for any cat, puddles of water. There are plenty of them, and they will destroy you. There are many other features that make this game a unique experience. The developers behind the creation of the game made sure to extract the essence of cats by asking a classic question from Matt Walsh’s textbook: What is a cat?
Developers took careful consideration of the movement of cats. As you move, squad down, crawl, jump and walk you’ll never doubt that you are playing as this furry little creature. The animations of the characters are incredibly smooth. Our furry cat transitions from one position to another like butter. There are rarely any visual glitches from other characters or humans walking by. Probably some of my biggest complaints about the game is the out of view camera when you get too close to a wall, or when you start talking to a character sometimes either your point of view is clipped through the wall, or the dialogue bubble is obscured by objects on your way. The other one has to do more on the cat’s hit box. Normally the movement is creamy and effortless, but when you try to jump from hanging on a vine to a ledge even if it’s right next to you, it can get bothersome as the cat gets glitch into the crawl position, and jumping becomes a maneuver of camera and jumps.
Visually the game is to a certain extent, basic. It gets the job done. The game is not about amazing or detailed landscapes, or realistic human faces. I mean humans in this game don’t even have a face. But that’s alright, their body expression compensates for the lack of facial expressions. Either way, the minimalist look doesn’t take away the charm.
Talking more about the studio behind the game. This adventure video game is the debut release of American indie developer Double Dagger Studio. It was founded by veteran game developer Matt Wood. He spent 20 years working as a level and game designer. Part of those years as a game developer he worked under the umbrella of Valve Studios bringing to life memorable games. He worked on Portal 2, Half Life 2, Left 4 Dead, Counter Strike Global Offensive and even Team Fortress 2.
This man understands how to design unique and interactive levels. He covers the fundamentals of character vertical and horizontal movement across areas of different dimensions. His knowledge and prowess are evident within Little Kitty, Big City.
In an interview, in case you are interested of listening to it, from the YouTube series “Game Maker’s Notebook”, Matt Wood shared some of his philosophy on game design: “Not just in design of games, but just in general, like I’ve subscribed to the idea that, not that I’ve strived for perfection, but I like the idea of – if something exists, it better exist for a reason.”
This same concept, which Wood has worked with since his time on Valve and now on Little Kitty, Big City is an integral form of how the game works. Focused on giving the player just what is needed, and not resorting to add elements to the game for the sake of quantity. The game design keeps the game streamlined while utilizing open world elements. You can easily complete the game in a few hours and without the need to see and try everything.
Your objective is to get back home. That’s it. This is possible by traversing vertically with the help of vines. That task isn’t as simple as finding said natural elements. Where would the fun go if that was the case? Your black cat isn’t capable of climbing upwards until it eats fish. Once you eat your first fish more areas become available. By eating four fish, you’ll gain the ability to climb longer segments of vines permanently, and thus the opportunity of getting back home. This simple progression system maintains the game as an easy endeavor, and that can cut on the excess of side questing. Even though from personal opinion, the amount of side quests would only add a few hours of extra gameplay. Don’t worry this isn’t a heavy side quest adventure like Red Dead Redemption, though you can definitely dress like a cowboy in the game.
Now wait a minute, what if I do enjoy side quests? What type of quests are there?
On this kitten adventure you won’t be alone. There will be a couple of characters spread out through that will need your help, or make small interactions. There is a momma duck searching for her lost duckies. A friendly chameleon playing hide and seek. A crow asking for shiny objects in exchange for hats. There is also a raccoon that offers uber service through the sewage. Some interactions can be completely avoided, and they don’t affect the experience. You can seek them out or not. It all depends on how much you want to see and explore on the map. The game allows you to do as you want, explore as you wish, and seek out adventure as you desire. It won’t limit you on what to try. A short game with a lot of charm.
From my own playing experience with the game, all these side quests, the setting of the game, its simplicity reminded me of other times, other adventures that happened many years ago, back when I still had a PS2 as my main console. It brought back memories and feelings. It almost became like a short and nostalgic trip. Like walking around your old high school or middle school, and having memories of your time there playback as if they happened yesterday.
Let me take you back in time. I don’t know when you started playing video games. I started in the early 2000s with a PS1 that later was upgraded to a PS2. During this time I remember it was common for movies or kids tv shows to have their own video game. This game could be a small scale project like in a web browser, or a bigger project like a video game on console. There were all types of game releases based on a kids movie or tv show. It was incredibly common. Those games told the same story as the content they were based on. So they were to the point. I remember playing video games based on Shrek, the first Stuart Little movie, and even one of the many games about Scooby Doo. All of them were short and enjoyable adventures that had a single storyline, and a few side quests, or if any at all, and most importantly simplistic gameplay. Back to a time when you didn’t need to put more than 20 hours in a game to complete it. Not even close to needing 100+ hours like many games do now. I’m talking to you, modern Assassin’s Creed games.
Little Kitty, Big City is almost like a time capsule. A game that could have easily existed twenty years ago, and survived the test of time. It is a poignant reminder that games can still be fun and entertaining without having an atrocious amount of quests and grind. That is where nostalgia truly hit me. Start a new game, and in less than three hours achieve the ending. I enjoyed every second of the game because of how simple it is. Never, not once did I think nostalgia would come out from playing a game about a cat trying to return home. Unless that cat is from the movie, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. Sorry, my years are showing.
Scoring: 80%
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Controls: 4/5
Visuals: 3/5
Replayability: 3.5/5
Morality/Parental Warnings
Would I recommend this game to Catholics? While the game has no pivotal events that showcase catholic values or morals. I would still recommend it for those looking for short adventures, or for the little ones. It is a cute and innocent game.
There are no profanities, or themes of wokeness. No violent scenes. The dialogue available is mostly exposition to help the player learn movement, explain the side quest given, or give clues to complete and find puzzles across the map. In today’s landscape this game is a breath of fresh air.
