Written by Rhiannen ‘Doomcutie’ Austin
Before we begin, I must preface this by saying that despite my gamer girl aesthetic, I am no cat lover. Well, maybe not that black and white; simply, I have spent my days as cat-neutral. I’ve often wondered why I have never had a feline companion, questioning if something was missing in my life. So you can imagine my surprise when I turned on my Xbox, as I usually do, to discover a ray of hope for me. This came in the form of Little Kitty, Big City – the debut release from Double Dagger Studios.
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but in the case of Little Kitty, Big City, I was immediately drawn to it. So what did this feline-less gamer do? She pressed install.
I leaned back in my chair and tempered my excitement because this was not my first rodeo with cat games, and I had been burned before by a certain homeless cat game… But the eternal opportunist in me couldn’t resist and pressed play. The game begins with a problem: you’re a cat, and you’re lost. As someone who loves helping and fixing things, I found this scenario irresistibly engaging.
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And if that didn’t hook me already, the entrancing soundscape most certainly cemented my interest. Cosy ADHD vibes with the multifaceted and immersive sounds of this feline’s world. From the distant birds chirping, traffic and people talking, action noises from swiping and jumping, to the soft (and not-so-soft) meows, it felt stimulating in the best way possible.
The mission of the game is fairly simple: get back home, which means there is so much room for being completely mesmerised by the Tokyo-inspired streets. Within the streets are interactive shop fronts, puddles to avoid, and street animals with far more experience, usually offering a quest for you. I must say I was delighted that this feline is able to care for the environment with the can recycling feature. Most of the in-game quests and the Xbox achievements match up, which is a total plus in my book.
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I would also like to congratulate the team for inspiring my completionist tendencies with the addition of adorable, tiny cat hats. I may or may not have squealed when I put the first one on the cat’s quaint head. There are 42 in total, and you can obtain them by purchasing them with the in-game currency “shinies” or completing quests.
Pro-tip: for every can you recycle, you are rewarded with one shiny, making it very easy to farm. Just be prepared to be an absolute icon while scaling buildings and fences, solving puzzles, and meeting interesting street creatures.
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Now, I know cats can be stuck up by nature, thinking humans need to serve them and that they should get what they want when they want. This game shows off this savagery in the best way. The amount of audacity this game encourages is through the roof, swatting things off brick fences and tripping pedestrians for their phones and food… it’s the cute chaos I had not anticipated to be so fun!
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I won’t give too much more away, but this game is downright fun, with exploration and curiosity at heart. It may have warmed my heart to cat appreciation moving forward, though not a full 180-degree change to wanting to obtain a companion of this kind. For now, I will enjoy exploring and creating cute chaos in this game and hopefully others in the future.
Little Kitty, Big City is out now on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
