Little Kitty Big City (2024)

Trying so hard to write a review without cat puns in 400 words or less

I’ve been following the development of this game for years. Since its announcement at a Wholesome Direct over 2 years ago, its charm had me, a cat lover, interested. It seemed the developers were going for one of those sandbox-y games I love so much. And boy, the result was… not very good.

The premise of the game is simple: Kitty is a house cat, living happily with its human owner. One day, while taking a nap, kitty accidentally falls off through the window and, while managing to land in all fours, finds itself lost in the Big City.

The game is very charming, and nails that cat-like feeling. Cat movement, behavior and sounds were clearly researched for this game… but sadly, the game’s controls are lackluster. Kitty controls so stiffly, with all jumps requiring you hold the A button to plan your trajectory, which is fine, but platforming with these limitations is a pain. Something as simple as character speed misses the mark, making you choose between a slow strut or an uncontrollable sprint.

The core design of the game is flawed too. In most of these sandbox games, you typically have an open area to explore and things to do, but Little Kitty Big City’s city is very restrictive. You can climb on top of most buildings, usually with a reward on top, but these are so poorly mislabeled that, unless you’re drawing a map on your own, you will always feel lost.

And that’s my main gripe with the game: I always felt lost. No color coding or anything that helps you identify which section you’re on which led to a lot of frustration trying to find an objective. I could spend 15 minutes looking for a building, struggling to climb it with poor controls, only to realize that wasn’t even climbing the right building!

Little Kitty Big City is a game with an identity crisis. Tries to be a sandbox game, but the world design feels restricted. Tries to be a platformer, but Kitty’s movement is clunky and unpolished. It even tries to be a collect-a-thon with (very cute) hats scattered around the city, but half of them you just buy with the in-game currency. It would be worth the playthrough if the dialogue was witty, but the humor is simply not there. There is a good game idea here, but poor design and implementation left me feline disappointed. oh dang it!