Game Review: Cat and Ghostly Road

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Have you ever wanted to play a game as a cat? There's a surprising amount of them out there, but have you ever wanted to play an adventure game as a cat? You know what... there's actually a few of those too, and we've even reviewed one in the past. (You can find that review HERE.) But, have you ever wanted to play an adventure game as a cat in a world full of Chinese mythology? Well, if the answer is yes, then you may want to turn your attention to Cat and Ghostly Road, which is making its way to consoles soon following an earlier PC release. We're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version now and see if this is worth adding to your collection, or if it's best left out in the cold. Hopefully it's not the latter, but let's dive in and find out!

I think this is the only time his name is used.

Sounds a bit like Castlevania II.

The game opens with you, a white cat, making your way through a snowy night all alone. You arrive at a small house and are only able to let out a few weak meows before you succumb to the cold. Thankfully a painter lives in this house and he takes you in, feeds you, and names you Yang. You live your life there peacefully until an evil spirit shows up and brings The Painter to near death by taking his soul away with him. You can see all these spiritual actions on account of you being a cat. That's not a joke by the way, cats in this universe (and perhaps in some cultural mythologies too?) possess an extra sense that allows them to see spirits, and sometimes even converse with them. After learning more about what's happening, you realize that the only way you can bring The Painter back to his former self is to retrieve his soul from the Evil Spirit. Naturally going into the spirit world is as simple as jumping into one of The Painter's paintings, and your adventure begins. What follows is a journey throughout the Spirit World where you must complete a variety of tasks in order to eventually come face-to-face with the Evil Spirit. There's actually a decent amount of twists and turns throughout the game, and plenty of characters to meet along the way, but seeing as Cat and Ghostly Road is a rather short game, I'll refrain from revealing too much more regarding the story.

I forgot, there is one action scene!

Oh wait, this is Zelda!

Cat and Ghostly Road is an adventure game, and that means you'll be doing a lot of pointing and clicking. I usually talk about controls separately, but I'll mention them now since they're such a key component to the game. (Note: All the button prompts that follow refer to the Nintendo Switch version but should represent similar controls for the other console releases.) Surprisingly, the game uses both analog sticks, with the left one being for movement of Yang and the right being for movement of the pointer used to interact with objects on-screen. You can see key items and objects that you can interact with by pressing the L Button, though this can sometimes feel a bit cheap as you can mostly get by just by clicking on them in sequence once you know what is important. It also doesn't show all the clickable objects, just important ones. While this option may simplify the game a bit too much, it is a tool to get yourself out of otherwise stuck situations. The A Button is what you'll use for just about all interactions, and the B Button is used to cancel and close windows. The most important key to remember though has to be the Y Button, which allows you to see the spirit side of the Spirit World. This reveals ghosts, demons, and even items and objects you couldn't see before. You'll be using this a lot throughout your quest, and it's wise to always switch back and forth between normal and spirit views to note any differences between them. You also have an inventory where you can select items to use on the main screen, and you're about to combine some items from within the inventory itself to make new ones. These controls are all very clunky, having clearly been made for a PC interface, but they do work for the most part, and there is never any quick actions needed where the controls will bog you down. Another function or two will be added to your control scheme as you advance in the game, but talking about it will also go into spoiler territories, so I'll leave that mostly as a surprise.

If you've ever played an adventure game like King's Quest or Secret of Monkey Island, then you have an idea of what to expect here. Don't let that comparison fool you though, Cat and Ghostly Road isn't anywhere near as polished as those games, but the core concepts are very similar. Each area you arrive in will have a series of puzzles to solve. These can come in the form of helping out other characters, defeating something blocking your way, or getting some other item needed to progress. Unlike most other adventure games, each series of locations act almost like levels or stages. You are constantly moving forward throughout the Spirit World, and there is no way to go back to areas you've already completed. This isn't really important though as there doesn't seem to be anyway to leave an area without completing everything necessary within it. Some items stay in your inventory and sort of act as red herrings, but you'll pretty much always get and use items only from the area(s) you're in currently. This makes the game rather simple at times, but possibly in a good way as many adventure games have earned a reputation of being full of "moon logic", as in puzzles that only make sense to their creators. To be fair there is some of that here nonetheless, but most puzzles can be figured out through simple trial and error if nothing else.

Imagery like this is actually pretty horrifying.

I want one!

I have a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to the story in Cat and Ghostly Road. First off I really wanted to like it for its use of Chinese mythology in a way that felt original and fresh. You also get to play as a cat, and that's just a lot of fun whenever that comes up. It even functions a bit as a horror game as the spirits are quite creepy for the most part. There's a lot to love here and the game's setting is the epitome of the word "otherworldly". There were also a few moments here and there were I would go: "Oh wait, is this a reference to that one myth/story?" I’d then look it up and see that the game had indeed incorporated them. The problem with Cat and Ghostly Road is that the game isn't all that good. I could go on and on about how the gameplay is rather off on most things, and it is, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about. The entire script of the game is plagued by typos and grammatical errors, as in they appear in just about every piece of text. I spent just as much time fixing grammar in my head so I could understand it as I did figuring out the game's puzzles. Speaking of puzzles, this affects them too as things like item descriptions and hints are sometimes very hard to understand. Then there's the fact that the game seems to give the bare minimum when it comes to story. I really wished for some of the game's side villains to have a second appearance, for important dialogue sections to be longer, or even for the game to have a proper full ending, but I got none of that here. It seems that for every aspect of the game that charmed me, there was another one or two that made me not want to finish it.

Gameplay and script aren't the only places where the game struggles, its entire presentation leaves a lot to be desired. Looking at still images you may think that the game looks amazing, and it really does for the most part, but that illusion falls apart when you see it in movement. Everything feels jerky, with animation that barely moves and controls that feel very stiff at best. I'm glad this is an adventure game, as doing any sort of action with the graphics moving the way they do would've been a nightmare. I actually assumed that the game was going for a paper doll theater type motif with the animation when I first started playing, but I think that's giving it way too much credit. Dispelling this notion are the facts that it's anything but consistent, and some areas of the game are far better animated than others. Even quitting and loading the game is somewhat odd. I was scared to leave the game because I wasn't sure it was saving, and I actually had the options menu crash on me when I was trying to adjust the game's volume. That's the other thing by the way, as far as I can tell Cat and Ghostly Road is about 75% silent. If there was music playing most of the time I didn't hear it. It did kick in during some of the creepier moments, so I'll give credit where it's due for almost turning this into a horror game at times. That said, I can't help but feel that with a bit more polish this could've been a neat little game. As it stands now, I'm not totally sure how I feel about it.

Beware of aggressive noodles.

Does this count as "moon logic"?

Cat And Ghostly Road is a pretty short game. I got stuck on it in a few places and still managed to beat it in about two hours. Normally I call out short games like this, but adventure games are not necessarily known for their length. At $9.99 I'd have to say that the amount of content works, as it evens out to more or less watching an interactive movie. The obvious counter to that of course is the poor presentation I mentioned earlier. Even the name "Cat and Ghostly Road" isn't exactly grammatically correct in and of itself, and that's just a sampling of what you're in for. Considering all I've said so far, I find it very hard to recommend this game. If you're in the market for an adventure game with a unique setting, or just want to play as a cat, then you might consider picking this one up. You'll have to put up with a lot of nonsense along the way like clunky controls, bad translation and grammar, and a pretty weak ending, but there will be moments where the game's potential will shine through. Everyone else is better of looking elsewhere for that adventure game fix.

Check Out Cat and Ghostly Road on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/cat-and-ghostly-road-switch/

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Story: B+
Gameplay: C
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: C-
Value: C

Overall: C

Pros:
+ A cool story that incorporates a lot of Chinese mythological elements.
+ The puzzles and humor do make for some great moments scattered throughout.
+ While movement and animation isn't this game's strong point, there are some really cool visuals and graphics.
+ While the game is rather short, that isn't out of place within the context of adventure games like this.
+ Playing as a cat is never a bad thing!

Cons:
- There are times the game is barely readable due to all the grammatical errors throughout the game's script.
- Some puzzles really go deep into the "moon logic" territory.
- Has a surprising amount of control issues for what is essentially a point and click game.
- The game is mostly silent, and the music that is present is more atmospheric than anything.
- While the game did have some interesting moments, especially towards the end, its ending really leaves a lot to be desired.

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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See you in the next one!

#CatAndGhostlyRoad