Cat Quest II (PC) Review

Diving straight back into the world of Felingard this time with a co-op twist. The story begins with the realms of Felingard, and the Lupus Kingdom. Both are led by evil kings, and the main characters, the true kings, must quest together to regain control of their kingdoms. Both Cat and Dog (The characters of the game) are rivals, as you would expect from a Cats and Dogs story, but they have to work through their differences and work together to complete their quest. This is presented in a purr-fect way that highlights both the humour and fantastic script of Cat Quest II - well if you like puns, that is.

Following the first game was quite a tall order, with its fun side quests, variety, and, frankly, ground-shattering amounts of cat puns. Somehow, this second game takes that formula, and injects some freshness into it. The game takes place in the same land as the previous title, so players familiar with that map will not be at a loss here, but there are some nice new additions on the map, with some new dungeons to delve into. They've also added the new Dog character, which can be controlled by a second player or switched to in the single player. This co-op element gives the whole concept of Cat Quest a bit of a spin. Playing with a friend can really take the slightly more repetitive tasks and make them into a fun romp.

Gameplay is a nice balance of hack-and-Slash, and RPG elements, reminiscent of the second Zelda title, though sharing little in terms of game-feel. Roaming around the world is satisfyingly swift and responsive, helping it avoid repetitiveness. Battling has a focus on smashing things with weapons, but also strategically using magic to attack enemy weaknesses and deal mega damage, which is nigh on imperative for defeating bosses. Though simple, the combat is spiced up with a pretty hefty variety of weapons, each of which has its own attack area and animation. The weapons plates got familiar with in the first game persist here, but are augmented with weapons such as staves allowing for more magical combat. Spells are equipped to hot keys, so dodging past an enemy and placing an area effect spell as you breeze by is never not satisfying.

Questing is given by both story beats, and through NPCs in towns and areas of the map. These are usually full of fun little dialogues and anecdotes, supplemented with a plethora of cat puns. Doing these quests usually yields a bulk of experience points, as well as some resources to upgrade weapons and spells. It's also possible to accessorise, with a variety of armours, each with stat benefits, such as increased magic defence, meaning there is a lot for players to sink into, should they wish too. All the weapons can be upgraded by Kit Kat (The best named character) at her forge to improve their special and standard stats.

Difficulty-wise, as with the original game, there are some mean spikes hidden in the content, mostly in the form of bosses. Those who remember the first dragon encounter in the first one might get some creeping dread. This is the game's way of letting the player know it's time to do some side quests and grinding, but it's still jarring in terms of the flow of the story. The side content is still great, but it introduces a large amount of backtracking, and traversing the same areas as earlier in the adventure, which adds a modicum of tedium to the proceedings.

Aesthetics are important in gaming, and this tries its best to charm players with cute and colourful characters, with expressive animation populating a charming and detailed world. Said world is presented almost like an isometric map with popup elements, and the characters are presented in 2D almost like paper models. It is incredibly charming and effective, gives this a real sense of identity, and even stands out against some of the indie titles from this generation due to its level of polish. This is punctuated by an epic and thematic soundtrack that can convey a wide range of emotions, such as suspicion, or epic battles, or adventuring with ease. It helps cement the atmosphere, and really helps it all come to life.