Since 2017, the Cat Quest series, once released on the Nintendo Switch, has enjoyed great popularity, not least due to its motivating gameplay and successful humor. In terms of gameplay, however, the two spin-offs have not yet reached the top of the hack-n-slay cat tree. This is now set to change with the third installment: In Cat Quest III, the pirate cat captain will once again find himself in a colorful open game world. With a fresh setting, more story focus and a fun co-op mode, the 2.5D action role-playing game aims to inspire. Our Cat Quest III test clarifies whether it succeeds.
Cat Quest III at a glance
| Title | Cat Quest III (official homepage) |
| Genre | Action role-playing game |
| Developer | The Gentlebros |
| publisher | Kepler Interactive |
| Release date | August 08, 2024 |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch |
| Number of players | 1-2 |
| Price | PC: 19.99 euros; PlayStation 5: € 26.75 * |
Cat Quest III Review: In search of the North Star
- Fresh pirate setting
- Motivating plot, but…
- … too lengthy dialogs
Cat Quest III takes the series in a new direction once again. After the second installment was all about cats and dogs working together to recapture a kingdom, the third installment ventures into a pirate setting complete with treasure hunt.
The North Star itself has fallen from the sky and legend has it that anyone who finds it will have their wish come true. So it’s no wonder that the entire Pi rat race (yes, they really are rats) of the world’s oceans is after the star.
You wake up as a baby cat whose ship has been shipwrecked by the rat pirates. Together with Captain Cappey – a kind of ghost pirate companion thing – you set off in search of the legendary treasure. Starting from scratch, of course. Without a boat, without equipment and without a clue as to where you might even find the celestial body.
Even in the first few minutes of the game, it is noticeable that Cat Quest III focuses much more on the story than its predecessors did. Short cutscenes and many conversations with the inhabitants of the numerous islands drive the plot forward. Although it is not really innovative or full of twists and turns, it certainly motivates you to keep going.
Especially as the dialogues are once again peppered with successful humor and always make us smile. In the course of the adventure, the story also has some surprising twists and turns. We like that. Despite the childlike charm, there is a lot of text to read in Cat Quest III; unfortunately, the action role-playing game does not have any dialogues set to music. This becomes a little tiring in the long run, especially as some of the conversations seem unnecessarily drawn out.
Island tours and mini-dungeons
- 10-15 hours playing time
- Varied islands,…
- … but most of them are rather tiny
And so you wake up on a small island with fragile equipment. With the aim of finding the North Star. But before you get there, Cat Quest III will take you several hours and – as is typical of the genre – several levels. You can plan around 10-15 hours of playtime for a complete playthrough, so the role-playing game is certainly not lacking in scope.
Just a few steps away from the starting point, you will come across a ship, which you can… borrow. With the cutter, which is also rather damaged at the beginning, you set course for the nearest town of Port Schnurvanna to ask for directions in the local tavern and get new equipment from the blacksmith.
The ship is the most important element of the game, as you use it to navigate to the various islands within the game world. The world of the game is made up of numerous atolls, all of which have a fresh look and their own ideas.
Sometimes you explore the vast sandy beaches around the Great Schnurrier Reef, sometimes you go on a treasure hunt on Code Island or you pay a visit to the ferry cat Charon at the Infinity Tower.
It’s just a shame that many of the islands are so small that you will have fully explored them within a few minutes of playing. This means that the feeling of a vast, expansive game world quickly fades into the background: Because beneath the surface, the area of Cat Quest III is extremely manageable.
Here, the caves and mini-dungeons hidden everywhere increase the playing time considerably and provide variety, as you are constantly faced with new tasks and challenges. What’s more, the island world of Miauritius is bursting with treasures, side quests and secrets, so you’ll be happy to follow every new clue.
What’s more, you can only reach some areas once you have collected the corresponding clues, items or keys. This ensures that you will always discover something new as the game progresses.
Fighting and leveling up
- Motivating battles
- varied combat system
- quite tough, but always fair
Both on the islands and in the mini-dungeons, Cat Quest III naturally involves fighting for all it’s worth. Your pirate cat has various weapons and tools at its disposal for this purpose.
In addition to a melee weapon, ranging from shields and sabres to claw weapons, you can also equip a fisticuffs weapon (pistol, machine gun or magic wands) and several spells and put your character in various armor items and pieces of jewelry, all of which offer different advantages.
Although the selection of different enemy types is extremely manageable, the battles score points with a good pinch of tactics. This is because each enemy has its own attack patterns, strengths and weaknesses.
This can be particularly tricky later on in the game or when fighting the varied bosses, as various attacks and spells need to be combined with evasive maneuvers.
It was not uncommon for us to die in the course of the test because our fire resistance was not high enough or the nasty ghost pirate captain of the metal band Miautallika killed us with his electro-shred attack.
Fortunately, the save points are set fairly, so there’s no frustration. It’s just a shame that the game requires a certain level grind towards the end. This is because the enemies in the final areas are sometimes 10-20 levels above yours. The only thing that helps here is to complete side quests and level up in order to be able to hold your own against the overpowering opponents.
Of course, there is also fighting on the high seas. Over time, you will equip your ship with various abilities to take on the numerous dangers at sea. The ship battles are rather simple, but make a nice change from the battles on land. Especially as you can use your boat to attack enemies on the islands from a safe distance.
You can leave your boat at any time to explore the islands. If it gives up the ghost after enemy fire, it will be automatically repaired again after a short time if you stay nearby.
Familiar comic look
- Colorful comic graphics
- Rather low level of detail
- decent, but not very impressive soundtrack
From a technical point of view, Cat Quest III is perfectly fine, but you shouldn’t expect any real innovations compared to part two. The comic book look has been taken almost one-to-one from its direct predecessor and transferred to the fresh South Seas setting.
Nevertheless, the graphics are pleasantly varied and score points with coherent animations and appealing character models. However, the technical side is not really detailed, which has a positive effect on the performance.
The soundtrack is okay. However, the soundtrack is not able to set any real accents and the fresh ideas such as heavy metal pirates unfortunately remain too pale. The same applies to the sound effects, which provide a decent background to the action but also remain somewhat pale.
Cat Quest III Review: Conclusion
Cat Quest III presents itself as a successful further development of its already impressive predecessor from 2019. The developer studio transports the familiar cat adventure to a fresh setting, which also incorporates some new ideas from a gameplay perspective thanks to the seafaring elements and new fern combat weapons.
At its core, however, the game remains the same as its predecessors. The islands and dungeons in particular remain of a manageable size, the variety of enemies is rather tiny and not too much has changed from a technical point of view either.
On the other hand, the island world of Miauritius scores with plenty of variety, a number of secrets and a good dose of humor, which should keep you entertained for the full 10-15 hours of play. If you wish, you can of course also play in co-op mode for a maximum of two players.
Although there is no revolution, Cat Quest III offers so many successful new features that make this action role-playing game the best part of the series to date. Anyone looking for a fun and family-friendly Diablo alternative for in-between games and who can live with the limited depth will enjoy the game.
|
Pros
|
Contra
|
|---|---|
| + motivating plot + some twists |
– very many text boxes – Characters remain pale |
| + motivating combat system + many unlocks and improvements + varied boss fights |
– few enemy types – manageable attack variants |
| + fair save points + successful RPG elements + pleasantly challenging level of difficulty |
– no adjustable difficulty levels – degenerates into grind towards the end |
| + 10 – 15 hours playing time + varied side quests + many puzzles and secrets |
– Small islands and dungeons – little variety in the game structure – hardly any replay value |
| + colorful visuals + successful animations |
– Environment graphics poor in detail – Rather lame soundtrack – no dialogs with sound |
Fazit
Cat Quest III skillfully continues the series with fresh ideas and a new setting. The battle system and game structure remain largely the same, the depth of other action RPGs is not achieved.
