Arrgh avast ye mateys! There be treasure in this game. The latest in The Gentlebros series of cat based adventure games, Cat Quest III has players set sail across the Purribean in an honestly fun and immensely cute pirate themed tale.
The premise is that you are a seeker, a cat with a magic star shaped fur spot and under the guidance of the disembodied ghost cat head Captain Cappey, you set off on an adventure to find the North Star. A magical object said to grant wishes that was hidden by the seekers long ago.
Naturally, you aren’t the only one looking for this object as other pirates have their eyes set on the treasure as well, like the infamous Pi-Rat King and his lackeys. The demo opens up with all of this before dropping you off on an island which you’re free to explore as you wish. The overworld is big, vast and open. Immediately I could see islands off in the distance that beckoned for exploration. However, at the start you’re confined to the small island so I settle for exploring that. Pirate mice roam the island and aren’t too friendly either, forcing me into a fight.
Combat is pretty simple, our seeker has his cutlass which he can swing at the enemy mice to deal damage. The cutlass is pretty quick and can do a good amount of damage in short order. A dodge lets the seeker roll out of the way of incoming attacks. A pirate with a cannon soon appears and the game goes into a brief tutorial of swapping weapons. With the press of a button, I switch from a cutlass to a flintlock, allowing for ranged attacks. Ranged weapons use ammo however and need to recharge before being used again so they’re much slower than melee combat. A fair price to pay for keeping a safe distance from foes. After making my way across the island, I discover a star slate, a key item related to finding the North Star. The first boss then shows up: a giant mouse who jumps and tries to slam into you. He's pretty slow and not difficult to deal with. It's here that the game introduces the final combat mechanic: magic. By pressing a shoulder button, the seeker fires a fireball that goes through the giant mouse and deals him a small amount of damage over time. Defeating the boss yields access to a pirate ship to sail the Purribean with. I use the cannon on the ship to blast a blockade and can now explore beyond the island. The ship also comes with a floatie, letting players float across water if need be, though they can’t defend themselves if they do so.
Naturally it's only a demo so most of the world is inaccessible but a couple of small areas can be explored for treasure. Speaking of, an inventory system lets me swap out my gear, putting on a bandana I found and equipping a better cutlass. There’s also a section for spells but I only have one for the moment. The world is colorful and fun to look at. The entire overworld is designed like an interactive pirate map, complete with lines, names and landmarks. At the captains behest, we port at Pawt Purvanna for information. Its here where we get our chance to see the Pi-Rat King as he sends his goons out to look for the North Star. There’s a few other things to do here: Like visiting a forge or fortune teller and checking out the local bar for additional info and some bounties that will undoubtedly be a thing in the full release. The final stretch of the demo has me enter a cave a definitely not shady looking cat called Patchy says has treasure. After getting trapped and fighting our way out through the cave, I immediately am told to dive back in in pursuit of Patchy, eventually cornering him in a deeper part of the cave. This leads to another boss battle with a quicker enemy than the big mouse from earlier. It's after I defeat Patchy that the demo ends.
For my first time with the Cat Quest series, I was pleasantly surprised. I had a lot of fun with it and it left me wanting more. The adorable characters, the colorful visuals and fun soundtrack just made for a fun pirate experience. No complicated stories or anything, just straight up “find the treasure”. I constantly find myself wondering what else is there to find and wouldn’t mind discovering the answers when the game releases fully on Aug 8. I played this demo on Switch but you can also find it (and pre-order the game) on Steam.
