Cats and the Other Lives

Cats and the Other Lives is a narrative point & click game that puts you in the shoes of Aspen the cat, who finds herself in the middle of tensions and secrets in a grieving family. Add to this the ghosts of the past that resurface (literally), and you'll become both witness to and actor in the events of this haunted mansion.

❤ Magnificent pixel art; with its rich scenery, splendid lighting effects and energetic animations, the game is a real eye-catcher. I'd also like to compliment the expressiveness given to the characters by their gestures, very effective and which, despite the absence of faces, gives them a real dynamic force. ❤ The attachment that is created for this dysfunctional family, even towards the most irritating characters, as their development takes place under the neutral gaze of our old cat. And, of course, we never forget our little Aspen, adorable, clever and an integral member of the family. ❤ The story juggles dramatic, intimate and even horrific scenes. I was surprised by the psychological violence of certain moments! Fortunately, Aspen's antics are also present to lighten the mood <3 ❤ The atmospheric work is great, not only visually with the elements I mentioned earlier, but also with the mysterious, slightly creepy soundtrack (which uses cat meows! rather clever and amusing :p).

+/- The interaction with the scenery to create puzzles to move the story forward is really inventive imo. I also greatly appreciated the fact that there were also off-script actions, if I may say so, where our cat just enjoys herself.

On the other hand, I think the actions could have been a little more varied (in general, it's mostly jumping/sniffing/clawing).

✖ The game could have done a better job of telling us where to go at times, because without any real directions, it just keeps us turning around in this big mansion. ✖ Some of the mini-games are "die and retry", which were pretty nice I think, but the scenes are far too long, so having to retry everything could be a little frustrating and cut the narrative rhythm. Especially as mouse control was sometimes clumsy.

Cats and the Other Lives was a real surprise, charming me in just a few hours with its very feline gameplay and good sense of drama. If you enjoyed living the life of a cat in Stray, this is the game furr you....(ok I'm out =>).

➡ My Steam page