Cats and the Other Lives Review

Whether you prefer cats or dogs, there is no denying that the furry feline creatures are fascinating! I’m always enthralled whenever I see a cat getting up to some mischief, so I was very excited to try out Cultic Games’ Cats and the Other Lives. Touted as “Part interactive fiction, part Felis domesticus adventure”, will this be an intriguing tale told from the perspective of a cat? Or is it a forgettable adventure that’s not worth its weight in catnip?

Our story follows the adorable Aspen, the cat belonging to the recently deceased Bernard Mason. The game opens during his wake, as family and friends gather at his mansion, with the game centred around the immediate aftermath of his death. As Aspen, you’ll act as a fly on the wall of sorts, exploring Bernard’s mansion as you overhear the various family members navigate their everyday struggles and piece together why these rather troubled relatives became so distant from one another. Things take a turn for the macabre rather quickly, as the past reveals itself through ghostly visions of the family member’s younger selves. Being such a narrative-heavy game, it’s tough to go into too much detail for fear of spoilers, but despite being just an ordinary cat, Aspen will discover the truth of this unusual family, and the possibly sinister history surrounding the mansion and its denizens…

It’s a bit of a slow burner in the opening acts, but Cats and the Other Lives quickly becomes an enthralling mystery that absorbed me into the pixelated world of the Mason’s curious tale. With a runtime of approximately six hours, with the majority of this being text-based dialogue, there’s a lot of story packed into the game, and certainly one of the most unique ones you’ll come across.

The 2D pixel art is both striking and haunting. This being set in a big ‘ol spooky mansion, there’s plenty of Gothic architecture and eerie lighting to set the tone, and I was relatively surprised by how great the lighting was considering the game's visual style. Coupled with the chilling (although often beautiful) orchestral and piano themes scattered throughout, the whole aesthetic could be suited for a horror title, creating a foreboding atmosphere despite there being nothing inherently scary being said or done.

Despite the lack of facial features included in the character designs, the animations used express the emotions of the individuals perfectly. Aspen in particular is very well-animated, slinking about the mansion and clambering across any surface with the not-so-graceful mannerisms of a cat that’s a bit on the chunky side. It’s a real shock to see just how much the characters can get across with small, intricate animations alone, and Cultic Games deserve high praise indeed!

With Cats and the Other Lives being a 2D title, you’ll only be moving Aspen left or right, with the occasional up or down as he scrambles across furniture. Movement feels fine — if a little clunky — but it’s the wonky controls when trying to select something that’s the real pain. You’ll use the right stick to select specific points of action, but then use the L1 and R1 buttons to cycle between how you wish to interact with them. Not awful, but it’s not a seamless transition from mouse to controller, either.

You won’t just be roaming the halls and creepy rooms of the mansion listening to everyone's conversations, as there are some light puzzle elements to the gameplay. These were never overly taxing, and are used to further the story along, with things such as moving objects to be able to climb higher ones or get a person to leave a certain room. There are even the odd stealth sections, where our feline hero must avoid detection to gain access to forbidden areas of the Mansion.

In contrast to these sections are chase sequences, where you’ll be escaping danger or trying to capture a mouse. Perhaps the weakest portions of Cats and the Other Lives, the controls often felt unresponsive and caused a few frustrating restarts when Aspen wasn’t reacting to my inputs.

There are also various interactive elements for Aspen to do what he does best: cat stuff. He can play with toys, buff up against humans, and various other things a real cat would do. These are still quite fiddly to interact with, and it’s a shame that there aren’t more options to get up to some mischief, but what is here isn’t relevant to the story whatsoever, instead providing a bit of additional interactivity

Although brief, I enjoyed my time spent with the dysfunctional Mason family and, of course, Aspen. This surprisingly sombre story is well worth experiencing, and although the controls can lead to some frustration, it’s a small price to pay for this wonderfully atmospheric tale of a family and their secrets.