City of Cats Review (PC)

Oh, if only it were so simple. If only there were a way to abandon the nine-to-five routine and spend our golden years slouching on a porch with a bowl of milk and the tail of a freshly caught mouse wedged in our teeth. It seems that, to obtain such an idyllic lifestyle, you either need to be born a cat, or settle for the closest alternative—a video game. Or, in this case, City of Cats, which is basically the virtual equivalent to a realistic representation of a feline and its usual duties. For this moment, I’ll opt for the latter. It’s not as if I’m any closer to being reborn as a Persian kitten.

If you think about Stray, then you might recall that it wasn’t so much about being a cat, but unfolding the mystery behind a post-apocalyptic robotic society. Here, it’s a little different; it’s about being a cat and nothing else. And what I mean by that is, rather than it allowing you the opportunity to embark on a noble quest, it instead asks that you give in to your primal urges and seek out the most common feline instincts and desires. Here, you don’t need to outrun glutinous robots, nor do you need to solve any mysteries to help thread an overarching narrative into a coherent story. No, what you do here, like any cat would do, is purr, scratch, and lick your way into a lavish lifestyle — no strings attached.

It’s a simple concept: be a cat, and do cat-like things, whether it’s chasing mice, snoozing on a deck chair, scowling at neighborhood strays, or watching the sun fall behind the hills from a cozy space on the porch. And that’s it. Care to hear more? Then let’s delve a little deeper.

Nine Lives of Luxury

City of Cats is a third-person open-world MMO game at heart, and so, while the bulk of the game does seem to fit snugly into a bite-sized experience that doesn’t stretch much beyond the basic routine of a feline companion, there is a lot more for you to do than simply cozy up and exhaust your nine lives. Granted, there isn’t so much of a storyline for you to scratch away at, as it more or less depends on your personal preferences of what you would rather do. Here, there aren’t any formal guidelines for you to follow, nor are there any specific requirements that you need to fulfill in order to progress the journey. In other words, if you would rather sleep than explore, then there are no hidden consequences for your actions. To put it simply, the world moves on, regardless of your status, location, or personality.

Of course, City of Cats is, first and foremost, an MMO, and therefore, while the game itself has the wriggle room to grant you passage to a solo adventure, the breadth of the experience sits neatly in a nonlinear world where players can do as they please. As such, you can either choose to befriend other neighborhood cats, forge enemies out of them, or go about things at your own leisure.

From what I gathered during those introductory phases, it didn’t really matter which path I chose to explore, as the game world pretty much continued to evolve as normal. For instance, on some days, I’d rest on the couch and watch some generic AI-driven television commercials, whereas on other days, I’d toy with the ever-shifting weather patterns and build back alley cubbies out of cardboard boxes. As it turned out, though, it didn’t really matter; the world just kept moving.

Straying from the Path

The world itself has a good chunk of activities for you to participate in, though nothing that’s particularly special or memorable. Given its premise and the box that it aims to fill, the vast majority of the things that you do here aren’t what you would call, well, exciting. But it is, however, one of those cases where it varies from person to person; in fact, those who are more likely to adopt the role of a cat are more inclined to squeeze the joy out of even the most mundane tasks. If, however, you are more likely to scratch your head at the mere thought of spending an hour taking turns to barrel down a slide with your friends online, then honestly, you probably won’t get your money’s worth in City of Cats.

I can’t turn a blind eye to some of the technical flaws that City of Cats has. Rather annoyingly, the game, at least in its current state, does have its one or two issues, mostly with the movements and jumping. Moreover, the world could certainly do with a few more set pieces and goals to onboard. I’m not saying that it’s completely barebones, but as I said earlier, there are really only so many things that you can do before it eventually becomes a bit of a slog. There’s a novelty factor to it, for sure. But like a lot of things, such a thing can wear thin after a short period of time. It’s a darn good thing that it’s an MMO, then, right?

Verdict

City of Cats is the type of feline fodder that you could quite easily sink your teeth into if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, or if you’re hell-bent on tucking your claws into something that isn’t quite as physically taxing. Admittedly, there is really only so much that you can do as a cat, but that’s sort of what amplifies the appeal here: the fact that you don’t need to prove your worth by overcoming any convoluted trials or by surpassing unreachable milestones.

Given the significant lack of cat-centric MMO’s that there currently are in rotation on the market, City of Cats is actually quite a nice breath of fresh air. Sure, it’s a novel idea, and it doesn’t necessarily bring more to the table than it states on its tin. That said, it’s still a cute and incredibly cozy MMO with a lot of a neat sandbox features and optional components for you to chisel away at. Admittedly, there are only so many places that it can go from here, given that it has openly placed its heart on its sleeve in the first round. Still, I’d like too see how this metropolis will broaden its horizons in the coming months. Will it become the be-all, end-all of kitten MMOs, or will its existing users soon become a little, shall we say, paw-ed of it? Only time will tell on that one.