Little Kitty Big City Review

Introduction:

You can say whatever negative thing you want about the current state of games, and I’d probably agree with you. But one thing we should all appreciate, is how it truly seems like no idea is off the table. If you went back in time and tried selling a PS2 or even a PS3-era game where all you do is play as a cat in a Japanese city, it might sell a few thousand copies and be called a cult classic. But try doing that now?

You sell over 100,000 copies in less than two days.

Little Kitty Big City is made by Double Dagger Studio, a studio started by Matt T. Wood. Matt can easily be called a legend in the industry, having worked on most of Valves major hits such as the Half-Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead franchises.

But it seems like maybe Matt wanted to back off of the big AAA games, and make something with a more relaxed aura surrounding it. And he and his team succeeded in doing so.

Gameplay:

Little Kitty Big City was part of what I consider a legendary day for indie games, May 9th, 2024. But unlike survival horror game Crow Country, or puzzle driven metroidvania Animal Well, Little Kitty Big City is all about one thing- being a kitty cat!

As for what you’re actually doing; you can swat items with your paws, climb ivy, pull/carry things with your mouth, jump over far gaps, and crawl under tight spaces. Oh, and you can make funny faces!

You play as a cat who is enjoying a nice nap out on the windowsill of their owners apartment. But the cat ends up slipping and falling down to the city streets far below. With the help of a suspicious crow who trades the cat a fish, the cat gets the ability to climb ivy for a few seconds. But in order to increase their stamina, the cat must find more fish to eat, and inevitably be able to climb all the way back to their owners apartment. It rings of a much simpler and faster stamina system found in games like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom. There’s also some extremely light puzzles like needing to turn a hose off, or finding a way to get this dog to stop blocking your path further ahead.

Luckily, there is lots more to do than just collect the fish. There are side quests all around this little slice of a city. You’ll meet other animal characters who bestow these quests. They usually have a silly personality, like a lazy cat who is napping outside of a convenience store (and the self-proclaimed mayor of the city). There is a very talkative father duck who asks you to find his duckling children. And there’s a scientist Tanuki who is working on his latest and greatest invention. This game is an easy win for most pet owners. Especially those who enjoy imparting personalities or funny little backstories for their pets.

Aside from the side quests, there are also hidden hats for your cat to wear and seven nap locations to find. There is a clear hunger from gamers such as myself for video games that don’t center around combat and violence. And thankfully, LKBC delivers on a very (excuse the overused word) cozy vibe.

I loved just being a pesky and mischievous cat. I would make people trip and snatch their smartphones away and drop them in rain puddle. I would push glass jars on the top shelves of a convenience store and watch them shatter on the floor. I was the type of cat that probably needed a little scolding.

Presentation:

My favorite part of the game was just seeing digital recreations of Japanese convenience stores and apartments. I loved seeing these small cute locations like a very compact arcade, or a tiny fishing spot with a local fisherman doing his job. I’ve always been a big fan of just seeing how artists recreate our own spaces in games. There’s a big emphasis on showing gamers grand locations like castles and dungeons. But it’s games that show off realistic locations that grab me in a specific way. There was this one apartment rooftop where a woman was watering all her plants. I live for stuff like that in these cozy indie games.

The music is exactly what it needed to be; it consists mostly of very smooth and mellow jazz tracks. Since the game is short, I didn’t have too much time to absorb it. But checking now, I see it’s available online, so I might check it out! Sometimes while playing, I felt like I was in a cafe sipping away at an americano or matcha latte. I got a warm feeling inside. And there’s no doubt the music is a huge part of the reason why.

Story:

You’re a lost cat who needs to go back home. On the way home you meet a bunch of memorable characters and get a small glimpse of a Japanese city. That’s it! That’s all it needed to be! It does the job well.

Overall:

When I booted LKBC up for the first time, it started pouring rain outside my home. The storm clouds completely covered the sun, so it looked like night outside. I lit up a candle and let the jazz music and simple gameplay take me away. This game follows the modern trend of letting gamers reach the main goal of the game fairly quickly (thus seeing the credits in under two hours). But, with all the side content and secret collectibles, this game can easily provide between five to seven hours of content. And if you need a break from all the big budget, super realistic looking games that have tons of violence- you should try Little Kitty Big City.

I loved Little Kitty Big City.

(In an effort to move away from traditional numerical scores, I will use the following metric: Hated, Felt Neutral, Liked, Loved, Can’t Stop Thinking About).