I don’t know why I haven’t played Cat Quest or its numbered sequel. I love cats and I love quests. But I went into Cat Quest 3 entirely unfamiliar with The Gentlebros’ pedigree for captivatingly fast-paced RPG goodness, so imagine my surprise when I realized this was not only a cheeky feline adventure, but a pretty darn good video game.
With Cat Quest 3, the series shifts gears from epic fantasy to high-seas piracy. While I can’t speak to how well the developers handled the kingdom setting in its predecessors, there’s seldom a dull moment when you’re exploring the Purribean Sea (get used to puns like that). The water is gorgeous, the islands are well-designed, and the core gameplay loop — setting sail for another island, tearing through your enemies, stumbling upon secrets, and clearing dungeons — is all solid stuff.
Part of the reason this all works so well is that Cat Quest 3 is a lean experience. You’ll hop aboard your ship and sail to the next island in a matter of seconds. Each island is visible on your overworld map from the very beginning. You don’t load into them; they’re small surface areas with a handful of things to do.
For the record, it only takes around a minute to sail from one end of the map to the other.
Vicious creatures and rival pirates will approach you, so you smack them senseless until they’re dead. Cash and gear are found in abundance, both on the islands themselves and inside the brief dungeon romps through caves, ruins, and hideouts. A handful of puzzles dot the landscape, and you’ll occasionally bump into an NPC in need of your help.
I completed the main story, every side quest that I could find, and acquired (nearly) every treasure in about ten hours, and not once did Cat Quest 3 feel like it was walking the plank with slow pacing. There’s something to be said for games that boast far bigger areas to explore that are bursting with things to do. But Cat Quest 3 is stronger for its more conservative approach.
Side quests aren’t plentiful, but they’re unique, to-the-point, and invariably great for loot. Most weapons have their own perks and most gear syncs well with certain accessories to provide the framework for a custom-tailored build. Every spell is useful, and every upgrade to your ship (yes, there’s naval combat!) feels worthwhile.
I do have some quibbles. For one, the main story isn’t very interesting. Captain Cappey, your sidekick, is a cute little ghost with a charming meow. But his lines are chock-full of stereotypical arrs, yarrs, and ellipses. I never really warmed to him, which is a shame since the player character is totally silent, which means Cappey is in charge of replying to everyone.
The Pi-rat King, a seething, wheezing, antagonist, is pretty cool by comparison but he could have used a few more scenes to flesh out his character. The less persistently present side villains, Meowtallika and Takomeowki, a rockstar cat and a baka-chanting squid respectively, are both as great as they sound. But Cat Quest 3’s script is as lean as the rest of it, and this all would have coalesced into something genuinely compelling with a bit more flesh on the bones.
Combat is frequently thrilling, but some equipment setups are almost completely game-breaking. Once I got trinkets and garments that let me damage nearby enemies when healing, not only did crowds of regular foes fall by the wayside in a flash; the toughest overworld monsters could be cornered and battered into annihilation with this setup, and even boss fights in end rooms stopped feeling at all threatening.
You can always… not equip this stuff, but it does lead to some bizarre gameplay imbalances. There’s also a weird issue with bosses flashing white too often when struck, to the point where it can be all but impossible to predict their next move, so if you’re purposefully limiting your power in order to maintain a challenge, you won’t be able to rely on “tells”.
None of this is a dealbreaker. Cat Quest 3 has an optional boss that’s a laser-shooting rubber duck, for goodness’ sake. The Gentlebros have successfully imbued these vibes with a remarkably robust system of RPG mechanics tied to an experience that eschews trite runtime-padding content in favor of a straight-to-the-point approach.
Cat Quest 3 lured me in on name alone but won me over with its great gameplay loop. A better tale might have worked wonders for it, but start to finish, it’s still a good time.
Platform(s) PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch Released August 8, 2024 Developer(s) The Gentlebros Pros
- Excellent pacing
- Gorgeous overworld
- Exciting combat
- Cats
Cons
- Dull main story
- A couple of questionable gameplay decisions
- Why doesn't the main character meow?
