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Catmaze is described as a “Fairy Metroidvania inspired by Slavic myths”, and I understood that metroidvania games change locations as you go, or is that something else? I’m not too familiar, either way.
Personally, it’s not the Metroidvania aspect which attracted me to this, but the platformer aspect (and definitely NOT the busty maidens that pop up at the sides of the screen when you go to buy items, and so on!). But whatever brings you to this, you take the role of Alesta, you need keys to unlock chests containing goodies, you can buy items to boost health and strength – as well as visiting specific cat-adorned fountains in order to bring your health back up to full, after this being reduced when you bump into the endless baddies you encounter bumping into you, or firing at you, very annoyingly.
Amongst what can feel like a maze, I came across a cat who lit the way underground… hence, the Catmaze, although given that the underground was once dark, I can see that it was something I collected which lit the way. Whatever that was, I don’t know, as this sort of game can confuse me at times, but it looks cool.
One problem is that I kept dying, and then you go back to your last saved game, but there aren’t many places in which you can save, so you’ll be retreading old ground, quite a lot, as my gameplay shows.
Along the way, you’re given tasks to complete by other characters you come across, usually wanting you to pick up items on your travels and bring them back. I never quite got that far in terms of bringing anything back…
Overall, I played Catmaze for a couple of hours, but while the RPG side is not really my sort of game, I did love the art style as well as the fact it’s partly a platformer. However, having to go back over old ground too much really did irritate.
That said, I know a lot of people will prefer this sort of thing more than I did, so I’ll leave it in their capable hands.
Thanks to our friend at Redblack Spade for the review code.
Catmaze is released now from the respective online stores on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and, is already available on Steam.
Important info:
- Developer: Redblack Spade
- Publisher: Redblack Spade
- Players: single-player
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.