If you’re not a fan of cats, you may find yourself violently sick with Catie In MeowmeowLand, but as a point and click, I had to try it out. Besides, I don’t hate cats – especially when you arrive in the gaming environment via a hairy sphincter.
It’s not that kind of game, so it was surprising to see something so graphic when I was about to call my little girl to join me. After that bum note, it was fine for children – especially as there aren’t any words to read or dialogue. Instead, it’s funny sounds and pictographs to hint at what to do.
On that note, Catie In MeowmeowLand isn’t a point and click comparable to Zak McKraken and the Alien Mindbenders, nor Grim Fandango, as there aren’t any verb wheels. Heck, there isn’t anything on the screen, so you get to view the vigorous backgrounds and quirky characters.
If anything, it’s a bit like Papetura in approach as speech bubbles will appear over points of interest, indicating what you need to do. The cursor will switch to a cat paw, and you click somewhere on the screen to solve a problem. No inventory, no dragging and dropping.
On first impressions, and judging Catie In MeowmeowLand by its title, I was expecting an average adventure, perhaps targeting a younger audience from the get-go. I thought I’d play it for a bit, admire the work involved, but not give it much thought after that. Instead, ARTillery’s unique title genuinely stands out: it’s mental.
Removing the inventory and verb wheels makes for a simple game, but the solutions to the ‘problems’ aren’t always evident when logic is frowned upon. As a result, it ends up being quite a lot of fun – like lifting the flaps of a kid's book and discovering all the hidden items.
The story appears to be straightforward enough: Catie has inadvertently teleported into MeowmeowLand, a la Alice in Wonderland, and needs to find a way back home. Sure, there are lots of cats here, but it’s not as sickening as one could imagine, and there’s so much absurdity that I found myself absorbed by the third screen. It’s like Terry Gilliam has ‘had a go’ at making a kid's game. As a fan, that’s a compliment.
Naturally, it gets weirder as you go on, and if you don’t have the patience, there are hints available, but I’d suggest you ignore them and have fun exploring the artwork and interactable objects. The artwork is indeed adorable, but I can’t say the same about the voices as they did grate on me after a while – especially when my daughter started clicking and giggling at all the silliness.
Catie In MeowmeowLand is a silly game for all the right reasons, and it’s climbed the ladder of the evergrowing Steam wishlist. Try it for yourself.
