Cats & Cups Review (PC)

Where Coffee Talk bathed in meaningful conversation and tight-knit bonds, Cats & Cups opted for another approach, which was sadly more along the lines of, say, reckless abandon and economic collapse. Don’t get me wrong, it had the heart of a lion, but the execution of a house cat with half the whiskers. I think it was the small things that kept it from evolving and clawing its way through to the pinnacle of the food chain: the ludicrously priced ingredients; the low turnaround fees; and the constant need to defend a small business from being ransacked by a thug with a tendency to thwart your efforts at making a bubbling pot of profitable coffee and cakes.

Of course, if you take a moment to sheathe your claws and comb over the edges of Cats & Cups, then you would, in all fairness, find a great deal to love about Rogue Duck’s latest caffeine-centric feline adventure. First and foremost, it’s cute — and that goes a long way, because why wouldn’t it? On paper, cats and coffee is a natural pairing that just sounds irresistible; the mere thought of a whisker barista is enough to stir the pot. And I, too, was fooled into believing the same thing. I wanted to love it, and I wanted to spend time with it. But then, just as soon as I would find my feet, several of those nine lives would be exhausted, and I would eventually come to find myself clutching at straws and, during the worst case scenarios, drowning in luxury croissants without so much as a penny to my name.

Let it be said that, if the frequent thefts and price hikes weren’t contributing causes for the decline of the cafe, then it probably would have survived to see a second serving. Coffee, though, was the nail in the coffin, funnily enough.

The Barista With Whiskers

If you remove all of the above from the equation, and if you actively abolish the negative effects that linger on the cusp of Cats & Cups’ porcelain mug, then you will, believe it or not, have a fantastic shopkeeping simulation game on your paws. The truth here is that, although the indie game does harbor some rather ill-fitting toothaches, it still has a tremendous amount of heart and soul in its core. The loose threads are oh-so-noticeable, true — yet there is a good game tucked away beneath this pudgy feline friend. It just takes a little bit of time to find the nuggets of gold and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Cats & Cups doesn’t shy away from the usual things that make a lovable business simulation game tick. At its core, it’s still the same product, and it’s still the same stepping stone procedure that either involves brewing teas and coffees to flip a profit or actively seeking out new ways to capitalize on your loyal customers’ favorite beverage and/or snack. To that end you could say that you have most likely played Cats & Cups before. It might have looked different, but it was more than likely the same game, but with different characters. Here, though, it’s kittens.

The mini-games and general progression tropes are still largely the same as the other caffeine-based brew ‘em ups on the market. Sure enough, there are ingredients to pool, and there are unique orders to fulfill. Moreover, there are various baked goods to prepare, and, almost as if to throw a curveball your way, threats to squash. But, at the center of all of this is a fairly recognizable image: a cat with an appetite for success and good coffee. In other words, if you’re easily swayed by cats and homely comforts, then you will probably find more than enough to whet your whiskers here.

Feline Fresh

And then there’s the bad news. True enough, Cats & Cups does contain a couple of matted hairballs of its own. Granted, while the hook itself is a lot of fun to work with—the prep work and the maintenance and what have you—the prospect of keeping a well-oiled business is a pain in the neck. For instance, once you unlock tea, you have to purchase it in bulk, and then sell it at half of the original markup price. In other words, tea does not net you a profit; it contributes to your eventual downfall. Moreover, the game requires you to spend money on expendable items each shift—croissants and other random goods, for the most part—but makes it almost impossible to sell the stock to make a profit. Again, another contributing curveball to the gradual downward spiral that you tumble down.

To add to the above, Cats & Cups features a couple of burdensome tidbits. For example, you have to pay to keep your coffee shop from being damaged, and you have to abide by certain rules in order to keep it from falling into financial ruin. The problem is, with the prices and exchange rates being a little lopsided, it is awfully difficult to transform the small husk of a local cafe business into a thriving beacon for loyal patrons. So, not quite as cozy as it looks on the surface, then.

Suffice it to say that, without the financial constraints and irritating curveballs, Cats & Cups is, in spite of all its minor drawbacks, still a great game all around. It has teething problems, for sure, but to call it a poor attempt as prodding the coals of its adversaries’ fine brews just wouldn’t be true. It has the capacity to satisfy; it just needs more time to boil.

Verdict

Cats & Cups certainly has the potential to be a great caffeine-boosting shopkeeping simulation game, yet it sadly falls short in its design and economic structure, no doubt due to its questionable price tags and erratic consumer behavior. And yet, beneath all of this sits a genuinely enjoyable brew ‘em up that feels satisfying to stir. It has its brief spouts of relapse, true, but it often finds a fresh incentive to keep you from leaving the cup and mulling over an alternate kettle.

To state the obvious, Cats & Cups isn’t Coffee Talk, and so, if you are looking to drink from the same cup as a compelling visual novel, then you might be better off sampling another infusion. If, however, you’re easily distracted by the hustle and bustle of a cat-centric lifestyle that also happens to have pocketfuls or interactive elements to keep you clawing away, then you should find Cats & Cups to your liking. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is one that will most likely resonate with its target demographic.