Merit Coba

Starting a post by writing  that I like a game counts probably as a spoiler and it certainly would be -I think-  if this post was meant as a game review, but this isn’t mean as such. The reason I write about the game the cat lady is because it is one of those small little games that linger in the dark recesses of steam(the online game shop) and  is likable, even though it might not be  a good game according to many standards.

So doesn’t that mean the game isn’t worth the money you pay for it?

Not at all.

First off, the game isn’t that expensive, I bought it for just a  few euros so based on the cost you don’t need to set your expectations high.  But  the most important reason is that it combines pictures, music and voice acting very nicely into a neat story.

So what is the story about?

The cat lady is a story of Susan Ashworth, a 40 year old single woman, who is called the cat lady because  she feeds the neighborhood cats,  who has had some pretty nasty experiences in her past and who commits suicide, she then gets send back by a rather strange(and creepy) lady  to take care of the ‘parasites’; people who prey on other people up to the point of killing them  So that is basically what you are expected to do: stop the parasites. The story will see you move between realities, between death and live and back and forth between then and now. And your most powerful tool? You can’t be killed. Well, you can be killed, only you come back to live in a short while.

The story is  a bit morbid, and certainly gruesome at times. Most of the scenes are set fixed scenes that you look at from one side. There is a little bit of animation to the scenes, but not much. At various points sounds are used and music. It is all used sparingly, but properly and to the point.

So instead of seeing this game as a game, you might also see it as a kind of interactive narrative. Sometimes you are allowed to make different choices, although I don’t think the choices will ultimately result in a dramatic different story. I didn’t explore alternatives, but considering the price and the smallness of the game, I doubt they would have spent a lot of time and effort on exploring alternative story lines.

What I most like about this game was the imagery and therefore I took some screenshots, killed about sixteen of my darlings and show you the remains below.