Cat Mail Co. Review (PC)

Cat Mail Co. doesn’t stray all that far from the core of a traditionally cozy game, nor does it add its own two stamps to a label that, if we’re being honest, has had more recipients and outgoing visitors than a local collection locker. Even with the whiskers and a feline touch, it falls into a familiar category—a sorting office, of all places, in which routines are predictable and the tasks are incrementally automated. But, that’s the sort of thing that amplifies the ‘coziness’ in these worlds. It might be as straight as an arrow and lacking in depth, but the fact that it makes mundane chores seem more appealing is enough to warrant a quick pitstop.

In a similar vein to the likes of Letter Lost—a postal service-escape room-like game—Cat Mail Co. tasks you with picking up the slack in a seemingly forgotten sorting office, where parcels are plentiful and the jobs are endless. Here, however, there are no escape points to unearth, and there are no eerie distractions to keep you from your workload. It’s just you, a mound of packages, and a simple routine that provides you the flexibility to complete deliveries, stamp parcels, and unlock magical secrets that bind to the twilight shift. Think Ship, Inc. meets Sticky Business, and you ought to be on the right track with this one.

Cat Mail Co. is split into an ordinary day and night cycle, with the morning consisting of a simple routine of collecting parcels, adding stamps and labels, and shipping them out to their respective destinations, and the night involving similar activities, but with magical infusions and buttery gold wisps. There is a plot for you to unearth between these tasks, but as for how you go about finding it is another question, and one that relies entirely on your own packing abilities.

With no time limits or strict consequences to halt your progress, Cat Mail Co. truly is as laid-back as cozy IPs come. In the morning, you complete your chores and add a whole bunch of decorations to your letters, and then ultimately weigh them, transport them with care, and sort them into a pigeon hole. Frankly, if you’re not doing that, then you’re wandering around at night, following mythical breadcrumbs and unpacking small fragments from the past. It isn’t taxing work by any means, but given that you have troves upon troves of packages to categorize and distribute, it can seem all rather daunting.

Similar to the likes of Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library, the goal of Cat Mail Co. is gracefully spread out before you, with clear objectives, a simple routine, and just enough secrets and side activities to keep you busy for the duration of the story. Like an open book, it reveals its world on the first page, with a waypoint system that allows you to follow a basic procedure, and a set of creative ideas that grant you the freedom to customize your own letters and parcels with a plethora of stamps and other vibrant features. And, to be honest, that same procedure takes up most, if not all of Cat Mail Co. It’s light, satisfying work that is, in spite of its lack of depth and dependence in its own repetitive nature, a lot of fun to sift through.

The night adds an entirely different dimension to the experience, with a magical twist that effectively turns otherwise dull chores into whimsical tasks full of gold and glitter. Granted, the routine rarely shifts in tempo or treads beyond the realm of a bog-standard sorting sim — but the element of surprise is there. With night comes a new perspective, and with an enchanting twist comes a new way to enjoy a familiar graft. It’s moments like these, really, that lift Cat Mail Co. and give it its own distinct flavor.

Given that there is no pressure to complete the tasks in a swift and efficient manner, Cat Mail Co. is an easy game for you to sit down with and enjoy on the go. In several instances, you are asked to handle each parcel in a certain way. That being said, at no point does the game force you to complete jobs in a specific way. It simply gives you an instruction, and then grants you the freedom to fulfill it in a manner that suits your best interest.

With some warm visual elements and a calming score to accompany you on your journey to bring the post office back to its former glory, Cat Mail Co. is, above all else, a relaxing game that genuinely feels great to gradually sort through. It can get a little repetitive at times I’ll admit, but that’s all part of the fun, funnily enough. It isn’t a game that strives to be different, but rather, a game that is awfully comfortable in its own skin, familiarities and all.

Verdict

Cat Mail Co. hand delivers a comfortable, inviting, and oftentimes majestic love letter to the art of therapeutic storytelling, with each word, parcel and stamp attributing a vibrant world that’s marginally cozy and, above all, a lot of fun to comb through. Even with a routine that’s oftentimes predictable and as open as a four-letter book, it finds comfort in its own skin as an easy-to-read, stress-free experience that can and, let’s face it, will appeal to those on the lookout for a brief spell of joy in the smallest of envelopes.

All in all Cat Mail Co. feels like an easy letter to slide into the pigeon hole. Again, it might not be an exceptionally good package, though it is one that entices you enough to keep you peeling away at its layers and adding fresh stamps. For some, that might come across as a little dull. But, to those who simply enjoy the “little things” in life, it will likely make for a pleasant surprise. Because let’s face it, cats and puzzles are an ideal duo in the world of “cozy” games. Cat Mail Co., in all fairness, simply scratches that itch and gives the people what they want.