Game Review: A Cat & His Boy

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC

Out now on PC and the Nintendo Switch, A Cat & His Boy is a game that examines the effects of a divorce on a young child. Though that might seem like rather heavy subject matter, and indeed it is, the game beautifully tackles the topic in a way that I found to be quite surprising. This is going to be a rather short review of an equally short game, so let's cut the intro short and dive right in!

A Cat & His Boy places you into the role of Midnight, a mischievous cat whose owner Leif is currently feeling rather down due to his parents' divorce. He actually feels like an insignificant being in a large galaxy, "small" if you will. Though he's doing his best to get through things on his own, it's your job to lift up his spirits. You're just a cat though, so you're going to have to get creative. Perhaps his favorite song will get him going, or maybe a reminder of happier times will bring a smile to his face, it's up to Midnight to find out. And that's pretty much it. There isn't much else plot-wise worth mentioning, and going any further will simply spoil what there is. Midnight does go on some adventures of his own, and meet characters that aren't exactly relevant to Leif's issues, but these all serve as a way to advance the game to the point where Midnight is able to better help Leif. Though I think I'm going to have to quickly move on to discuss gameplay now, I must say that I think the story is quite well-written for what it is. Brief as it may be, there wasn't a moment where I felt the story was lacking, and reaching its conclusion felt very rewarding.

Though there are a few sections that deviate from the formula a bit, A Cat & His Boy is mainly an adventure game with some light inventory management thrown in for good measure. You travel around the house finding items that will hopefully boost Leif's spirits, with some of those items acting as a way to clear paths to other parts of the house. Along the way you'll encounter other animals that have their own goals and motivations, and a few of these other animals will act as something akin to "enemies" that block your progression. I don't want to make it sound like things ever get too heavy gameplay-wise, because this really isn't that type of game. Though there is one section where Midnight can "die", nothing ever feels too serious. Most encounters are silly, the writing is quirky, and you even have a dedicated "meow" button. Since the game moves very fast you'll never feel like you're wasting your time, even though you may realize that a lot of your tasks are simply busywork. There are even some optional sections of the game that aren't necessary for reaching the end, including one that essentially turns the game into an action platformer for a bit. Though there really isn't much more to say about the gameplay than what I already have, there's a beauty in its simplicity that's impossible to put into words.

While I do think that the story and gameplay, thin as they may be, are strong parts of the game, I have to say that the game really shines when it comes to its audio and visuals. A Cat & His Boy's graphics are all in monochrome, and the music is of the chiptune variety. It actually feels a lot like playing a Game Boy game, though one with far sharper graphics. My only complaint with the visuals would have to be the fact that the actual gameplay area is rather small. I guess the developers were going for a Super Game Boy look, but things never looked as big as I would've liked them to be. As a matter of fact, half of my screenshots show the screen all the way zoomed in, and the other half show the standard pulled back view since I couldn't make up my mind which looked better. I probably would've flip-flopped even more if there was more game for me to go through. That one small issue aside, I can't think of any other fault with the game's presentation. I guess the music can be a bit on the repetitive side, but things shift enough that it's hard for that feeling to set in. It seems to be the theme of this review that I don't have a lot to say, but I guess that's the way things go when dealing with a game as short as this one.

I honestly don't have much more to say about this game. It drew me in immediately, and I beat the entire thing in about 45 minutes. Short as it was, it did leave me wanting for more. Though Leif does find what he's looking for, and Midnight does a great job helping out his owner come to terms with a life-changing event, I couldn't help but wonder what happened next. I guess that's a sign of a well-written story, but it did leave me feeling like the game ended just as things were starting to get interesting. Short experience or not, its $2.99 price tag reflects the amount of content it has. I think the experience is totally worth that price, and it's even on sale at the time of this writing.

Even though I probably spent more time writing and publishing this review than I did playing the game itself, I have to give A Cat & His Boy the strongest recommendation. It may be too slight of a game for some, but the experience it offers is truly like no other. Though I don't see myself returning to it any time soon, it was rewarding enough that I wanted more. I'm sure you'll feel the same way too.

Check Out A Cat & His Boy on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/a-cat-and-his-boy-switch/

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Story: A
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A
Value: A

Overall: A

Pros:
+ A cute game that doesn't ask too much of the player. It also tackles subject matter that you don't often see in video games.
+ Even though the game can cleared fairly quickly, seeing everything it has to offer may take a bit more time.
+ The graphics and music are great, with both feeling like they belong to a long lost Game Boy game.
+ At just $2.99, picking this up is a no-brainer.

Cons:
- Only takes about an hour to clear this game 100%.
- Not a whole lot of reason to come back to it after you've cleared it.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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