Cat Quest: A Series of Purrrrfectly Pawsome Fantasy RPG Video Games

What Is the Cat Quest Series?

Cat Quest is a fantasy, RPG video game series. In this first game, you play as an adorable cat on a mission to rescue your catnapped sister by exploring the world of Felingard and defeating the evil Drakoth. The sequel, Cat Quest II, adds in a split-screen multiplayer option where you play as either a cat or a dog who are rival kings of Felingard, and its neighboring Lupus Empire, forced to work together to face a new threat and reclaim their thrones.

New bonus content for Cat Quest II, “The Mew World”, is being released this Saturday (8th August) to celebrate National Cat Day and both games have recently been released together for the first time as the physical Pawsome Pack.

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Age Rating

Cat Quest is rated PEGI 3 while Cat Quest II is rated PEGI 7. Both games are rated ESRB E meaning they are suitable for everyone.

Parents should note that a significant amount of reading is necessary in order to play as all the dialogue appears written onscreen and is not spoken aloud.

Available Formats

Both Cat Quest and Cat Quest II are available on:

• Steam: Cat Quest I / II
• GOG: Cat Quest I / II
• iOS: Cat Quest I
• Apple Arcade: Cat Quest II
• Switch: Cat Quest I / Pawsome Double Pack
• PS4: Cat Quest I / Pawsome Double Pack
• Android: Cat Quest I
• XBox One: Cat Quest II

System Specifications

Steam recommends the following system specification for Cat Quest:

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7500U CPU @ 2.70GHz
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Intel(R) HD Graphics 620
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 250 MB available space

The recommendations for Cat Quest II are identical with the exception of Storage which requires 600MB of available space.

Cat Quest Trailers

Cat Quest Gameplay

Cat Quest and Cat Quest II have very similar styles of gameplay so I’ll cover them both here except where noted. The games, especially the original Cat Quest, feel to me like Skyrim with cats – so what’s not to love? The opening cut scene of Cat Quest explains to us that once upon a time, “dragons ravaged the lands” and “only cats known as the Dragonblood could defeat them”. However, these cats mysteriously disappeared one day and were never seen again, until now… The cat you play receives the mark of the Dragonblood in this opening scene after your sister is catnapped by Drakoth who also summons dragons back to Felingard.

The opening of Cat Quest II explains that there was once a powerful sword called the Kingsblade that the kingdoms of cats and dogs fought over until it shattered. In the past, two kings (one a cat, one a dog) fought against a terrible evil but fell to its corruption. However, a prophecy “foretold their return” and – surprise – this is who you’ll play as. Cat Quest II adds the option of a two-player split-screen mode where you’ll play either as the cat or the dog, or a single-player mode where you can play as either and switch between them. This is very similar to the various Lego video games.

After this cut scene, you will be dropped straight onto the map of Felingard. The map is covered in caves, grottos, and towns and is populated with scattered monsters. You are reasonably free to explore right from the beginning, but the game has a steep learning curve and you will very quickly start finding monsters/quests/caves that you can’t defeat – literally within minutes. Thankfully, all those caves and things have information about their level that pops up if you stand by the entrance. You’ll need to be at the same level as the cave or higher in order to stand a good chance at defeating whatever lies within. The monsters that hang out on the main map rather than inside caves get progressively stronger as you move further north, so stick low and level up before starting to move upwards. You can also visit Watchtowers and chat with the guards who will helpfully add named locations to your map for further exploration.

Right from the very beginning, you’ll find yourself with a small, friendly, glowing Guardian Spirit named Spirry who floats alongside you – much like Sparks in the Spyro series or Bird in Neversong. Spirry will help guide your adventures by chatting to you and other townsfolk, explaining what to do and where to go. This guidance falls away once you’ve gotten the hang of the game which won’t take long, but Spirry will always have something new to say if you come across something different as you progress.

You progress through the Cat Quest games by defeating enemies and completing the main quest along with dozens of side quests you’ll find on Quest Boards at the various towns and settlements. These Quest Boards list all available quests in that settlement along with their rewards (gold and XP) but they also show the recommended level you should be before you attempt them. This is hugely valuable information as the skill gradient is steep in Cat Quest and attempting something even a few levels above you is likely to end in a humiliating defeat. Accepting a quest from one of the boards will pause the main quest and you will immediately see the new quest’s name at the bottom of the screen along with arrows on the ground directing you where to go.

All the town names are either cat-based puns like Mewtown, Puss Plains, or Bermewda’s Triangle, or are other in-jokes, like the town of Twin Peaks. Most settlements also have an inn where you can create save points by taking a Cat Nap. This is hilarious because your character will simply fall to the ground with an audible thud, awakening a second or so later and ready to go. Cat Naps also restore your health and mana to full, so they are something you’ll want to do often.

Speaking of mana, other than hitting enemies with your sword, the main combat mechanism in the Cat Quest games is magic. You will be able to learn various spells and upgrade them as you earn gold in order to make them increasingly powerful. Certain monsters are more susceptible to specific types of spells, so you’ll want a good range of them quickly. One spell – Healing Paw – also allows you to partially heal yourself, vital as the difficulty of cave levels starts to climb. Like the town and settlements, all the spells have pun-based names including Flamepurr, Lightnyan, and Freezepaw.

Finally, while completing caves and grottos, you’ll often find chests that give out equipment rewards including types of headgear, armor, and weapons. You can also exchange gold for chests at Kit Kat’s in the hope of getting new and better items. This equipment comes in sets but you can choose to mix and match, perhaps combining a Knight Helmet with a Mage Vest and Ranger Axe. Just as in most fantasy RPG games, your equipment will also give you extra benefits by increasing or detracting from one of your four base stats: health, armor, strength, and magic – you’ll need to decide where to focus your efforts, or perhaps just pick and choose what to use based on what looks coolest, it’s up to you.

Verdict

Cat Quest and Cat Quest II are both adorable games with a lot of heart and beautiful graphics. Families will love using them to introduce kids to concepts of the fantasy RPG genre in a cute and not overly-threatening way, while adults will enjoy playing as a break from more long-winded, open-world games, or using them as an easy introduction to the genre for themselves if it’s something new.

Cat Quest blends an overarching main quest with optional sidequests in a way that makes it easy to stay in control, not allowing players to rack up dozens of competing goals at the same moment which can lead to confusion. The plot is detailed enough to be interesting but is also easy to follow which helps add to the family-friendly nature of the game. The music in both games makes me think of being stood in the Knight’s Kingdom at Legoland with an upbeat style that somehow combines retro with medieval and adds tension and drama without becoming scary.

My biggest issue with both games is that they quickly become repetitive. You run to a town, find a quest, go to a cave, defeat monsters, earn the loot, then do the same thing again. And again. And again. Combat is at the core of both games but with only a handful of spells to learn (again, great for keeping things simple but less so for keeping you engaged in the long run) I would quickly find myself becoming a bit bored and hoping something new would materialize to once again recapture my interest. While there is a steep learning curve in terms of the combat ability needed to defeat enemies, you simply level up existing spells meaning you’ll be mashing the same button combos pretty much throughout.

My cat-obsessed ten-year-old felt the same way and even that cat theming wasn’t enough to stop him from giving up playing pretty quickly – I feel that he falls into an age gap where Cat Quest is both too young for him to play but also he is too young to be able to sit back and enjoy the light-hearted nature of this series.

Cat Quest II does a fantastic job of continuing the series in the same style while adding more bang for your buck. The addition of a multiplayer mode really brings the second game to life and there is a clear improvement to the graphics that take the whole thing to the next level. The addition of Saturday’s “Mew World” content will bring the whole series a new lease of life too with new attacks, enemies, and the ability to sprint being added.

The Cat Quest series are fun, easy-to-play games that do a great job of introducing the sort of high-fantasy elements you would find in open-world, epic games like Skyrim, Final Fantasy, or Zelda, in a simplified way that will have wide-ranging appeal. Gamers familiar with those types of games may find these a little too simplistic and repetitive for their tastes, but the cute theming may well be enough to overcome that regardless.

GeekMom received a copy of this item for review purposes.

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