I ’m sailing on the open ocean in my pirate ship , my furry hands on the rack . It ’s fluid sailing until I spot something in the space . An unfamiliar pattern appears on the horizon . As it inches closer , I see a splash of bright chicken and a round , hulking ship frame . I puff as it comes clearly into focussing : It ’s a giant rubber duck’s egg . It ’s an all - deal - on - pack of cards moment , as I begin firing my cannon at it and circling it to avoid its fire . I ’m no match . It guns me down , my ship run low down with a big splash .
At that present moment , I ’m no longer a 35 - yr - old playing an RPG on my Steam Deck . I ’m a kid in a bathtub again .
That ’s the mindset that players really need to encompass inCat Quest 3 . The RPG threequel is a light - hearted dangerous undertaking that enchant the imaginative spirit of puerility playday in a swaggering dangerous undertaking . Though its matted story and center - rolling puns may not cross a generational divide , Cat Quest 3makes up for those flaw with a concise , but surprisingly deep RPG that let me loose in a pleasant cartoon playground for a while .
Pun purr-gatory
Cat Quest 3continues the news report of the quietly popularaction - RPG serial , a tale that developer The Gentlebros clear have more plans for . I take on the role of a feline pirate who place out on a quest across the Purribean to go after down a nefarious plagiariser king and the treasured North Star . Now three game into the saga , The Gentlebros still seems like it ’s having fun imagining a world live by warring cats and rats . It ’s like watching an episode of a authoritative cartoon .
You could skip most dialogue in the game and have more or less the exact same experience with it .
I ca n’t say that any of its story hooks are abysmally engaging , though . Even with plenty of dialog and a smattering of eccentric NPCs , it ’s a boilerplate pirate tale that does n’t do anything especially special with its fauna shape . I ’m a pirate . There are other pirates . There ’s a treasure . Only one story thread badger a more fun mystery that ’s more there for continuation - building .
Instead , the animal premiss gets used for one thing and one thing only : punning . Cat Quest 3is packed with cat and rat wordplay , so much so that it ’s baked into the UI . If there ’s any way to embrace “ purr ” or “ mew ” into a word , it take every single luck it gets , no questions asked . While that ’s funny at time ( like when I get ticket to see Meowtallika , a rival crew - work metal band ) , the joke make honest-to-goodness fast . Puns quickly become a cheap successor for heart ; you could skim most dialog in the secret plan and have more or less the exact same experience with it .
Of of course , no one should expect too much subtlety from the Cat Quest series . It ’s not meant to be that deep ; it ’s a secret plan about pirate cats . The general vibe is what ’s important here , and The Gentlebros has that on lock . Its colorful visuals give it an infective sentience of arbitrariness , while its original score get going all - in on to the full orchestrated tracks that sound like they were pull from a tike ’s cartoon version ofPirates of the Caribbean . Even if it ’s miss much substance proportional to how much forgettable narrative and world - construction there is here , it ’s a good - natured expedition that I was well-chosen to get lost in .
The open seas
Those familiar with the Cat Quest series wo n’t be too surprised by the sequel ’s formula , which for the most part stay unchanged . It ’s an action - RPG adventure where players run around an overworld , discover treasure , and welt through enemies . The grownup modification this time around is that The Gentlebros goes for an even more absolve opened - man experience that helps bring an gratifying concept to the next level .
The main attracter is that players at once get a pirate ship that they can sweep across a compact set of islands . That fiddling modification ends up possess a big impact . The pirate phantasy work for me as I seamlessly muster up a boat from a docking facility , jump out into it , and begin sailing around like Link inThe Legend of Zelda : The Wind Waker . A little side of unproblematic ship fight adds some upheaval to the high sea , as I blast sauceboat with my canons and equip blueprints to up my ship ’s power .
The exploration just comes naturally
What ’s more exciting about that is how it wipes just about any one-dimensionality fromCat Quest 3 . I get my ship within second of start , but I ’m not forced to go anywhere from there . I ’m free to bulge out poking around the ocean to my like in search of pocket-sized dungeons and secret chests hidden on islands . My main objective lens are loose , as I mostly just need to nail a specific few dungeons in any order to eventually get to the final challenge . With no leash around my neck , I receive myself nearly getting 100 % mathematical function culmination before taking on the final challenge . The geographic expedition just descend course , as there ’s a concise number of islands to watch out and an achievable band of gear to grab .
Cat Quest 3launches in the thick of an indie open - world game renaissance that come pursue 2019’sA Short Hike . Games likeLittle Kitty , Big CityandLil Gator Gamehave subdue the graphics of the morsel - sized open world , give players all the satisfaction of a “ map game ” without the bloat and repetition . The Cat Quest serial predates that tendency , but the threequel ’s dismission snugly fit right on in and emphasise the joy of a little world that can be fully conquered in under 10 hours . Every side - quest , environmental puzzle , and optional boss feels distinct and worth doing as a result .
There are some moment where that tight scope can sense bound . Most of the action happens in bite - sized 2D dungeons that never really step up in size of it or ideas . Most just have me climbing up some ladders and unlocking door with only a few gameplay gimmicks breaking that up . I ’m excite when I discover a late - game dungeon carve up between two disjoined manors on an island locked in rat faction warfare . I ’m less enthused when I get hold that all I have to do to complete it is seize a Francis Scott Key in one and run it over to the other a few sentence . There are some originative thought here and there , but evenCat Quest 3 ’s late dungeon are too short to riff on any creative ideas .
Scratch and claw
WhereCat Quest 3really makes its mark is in its flowing but misleadingly deep RPG hooks . The more I take down enemies and open dresser , the more I charge up . That pass off at a rapid pace , as I ’m catapult to level 70 within eight hours of looseness . The breakneck growing ensures that I ’m never too underleveled to take on a challenge for very long as I rarely , if ever , need to halt to travail . It ’s a innate progression that trims every bit of ho-hum fatness off a traditional RPG .
It does n’t sacrifice depth to do that either . Throughout the risky venture , I can grab a chunk of equippable train that can radically change my stats and playstyle . My own build concentrate on around an eyepatch that burnish my wellness while giving my ranged “ meowchine artillery ” a truehearted reload time . My chest of drawers musical composition bolstered my defense , while a set of tri - claws let me tear into enemies with quick diagonal . Additional gear wheel added an extra hit for each extra slash and dropped a lightning strike at the remnant of my combo strings . That strategical fiber - building build an otherwise basic hack writer - and - virgule combat system feel much richer , as gear mechanism experimentation can make its strap - and - shoot juggling enactment feel very different .
Cat Quest 3doesn’t overdo it with loads of selection . alternatively , each piece of gear palpate viable . I could interchange my blunderbuss with a ardour wand that could glow enemies , equip a cuticle that grant me coins for each successful block , or switch on a relic that reverse my dodge drum roll into a damaging strike . Switching it up is n’t just encouraged ; it ’s easy to do thanks to a quick razing organization that permit me power up any firearm of geartrain in telephone exchange for coins . Anytime I wanted to sample a raw piece of gear out , I ground that I always had enough gold on hand to bring it up to speed with the relief of my toolkit . Games likeElden Ringcould even watch a matter or two about that low - stakes experimentation .
A Christ Within and breezy adventure that puts me in tactile sensation with my inner child .
Though all of that progression happens tight , Cat Quest 3gives dedicated players enough reason to keep at it . A carbon monoxide - op fashion feels build up for fellowship , but its ace in the mess is a alone approach to New Game+ . It ’s not just that player can begin from wampum with all their train and level preserved ; player start with a key quest item already in their armoury , which all sequence - break the game . That allows emboldened players to cannonball along directly for the last boss if they so choose , further building on the winning sense of open - ended freedom here .
Cat Quest 3largely play the hit , deliver a dependable sequel that ’s low on endure pith , but the little changes stack up to make an adorable trivial summertime holiday . It ’s a light and breezy adventure that redact me in touch with my intimate child . Whenever I sat down to play it , I was enchant back to my days of playing buccaneer on my puerility playground . I swung around on ropes , scaled hobo camp gyms , and pretend to be the captain of an tremendous ship made of tires that sat at the center of it all . That ’s a joyful feeling that ’s hard to get back , butCat Quest 3successfully invited me to toy make-believe again .
Cat Quest 3was tested on PC andSteam Deck OLED .
