It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I really like my metroidvania games, and I'm a fairly big fan of cats, so when I saw this game putting the two together in what seemed like an adorable and lethal combination, I knew I had to try it. Sadly you don't like everything you try.. and this is one of those times where the game just didn't reach the standards I can even begin to recommend when there are so many better games in the genre.
Story: Gary was getting ready to finish a routine patrol through space when a distress signal from a nearby abandoned research facility caught his attention. Checking in with his commander, they agreed to let him land and investigate.
Unfortunately for him, his cat Kiki decided it was time for impromptu typing session that would send the ship crashing to the surface. Both of them survived the landing, but Gary was now pinned, leaving the heavy work to find out what the problem is and potentially find help for the team now fell to Kiki... and this is where you come in.
Your mission will be to guide this feline through the world and do whatever it takes to reach the lab at the center of the facility, offering the help you can and getting the help your human needs. This basic need will be the main drive of the entire game with only one real plot twist the game will literally throw at you at the very end, keeping it simple and in the style of the classic games of old, a theme that will carry this game a lot of the way. But to that end, the story works. True I would have liked a more solid and not a just "that's the end" ending, but for what it is it isn't bad.
Nor is the writing along the way. Most of the time it will be kept out of the way, limited to a few very specific moments to move things along in the form of someone talking to Kiki (and sometimes Gary) about what is going on. There isn't a lot as these moments are few and outside our dynamic duo, there are maybe three additional characters. But when characters talk they are actually fairly well written, showing their personality fairly well.
7/10
Graphics: If you are used to today's modern AAA looking games, you are in for quite the change with this one. Right from the title screen you will notice there is absolutely no color to this game at all. Rather, the developers opted for a simple "1-bit graphic" scheme of simple black and white sprite work. This is the definition of retro and in fact may remind people of not even the look of a game from the 8-bit consoles, but maybe even older 8-bit micro computers that Britain was so fond of. Maybe it's because my experience with it is just watching vids of people playing on it, but I get strong "ZX Spectrum" vibes here.
As for what is made with this, you will find the game screen is mostly taken up by a window that will show the scrolling rooms you will travel through, showing the biomes that make up this world with white platforms and walls and almost no background in the play space, leaving that black for contrast. Each of these places carries it's own character, and yes, I said biomes before. You will go through about 6 before the game is over, each one standing out from the others: quite the feat with such limitations.
And yet I can't say I'm completely honest when I say the game is just black and white, as you will find "cartridges" that will allow you some control over this by unlocking different color combinations. It will always be only 2, (a forground and a background color) but if you find a scheme you like better, there is no reason you can't switch it up.
As for who you share this world with, they too are well done in the style. Everything (including Kiki) is just about always in motion, showing life, even in idle animation. It looks cartoony in the right ways to just be charming. And for the length of the game you will have a LOT to look at. From the first frog to the defense robots at the end of the game, it will never really stop throwing new and interesting forces at you... and that does not include the bosses, which, while I have issues with them that we will address in the gameplay section, remain unique and interesting in their own right.
Overall, this is how celebrate the graphics of the past right. VERY well done.
8/10
Sound: Like in the graphics, this is a game that leans into being a retro-style sounds, if not quite so heavily. You will have no voice acting in this game at all. Rather you will get those weird gibberish sounds old games used to do when scrolling text a character is saying. It works well enough but it doesn't really stand out as anything special.
Sounds will often be the same way as most of them sound like what an older machine might give you for machine gun sound effects, blips, or bloops. Even Kiki's meows (which both happen in "cutscene" and on command if you are not in the robo suit or submarine) are more of a representation of a meow then an actual one. Really the only sound that seems to get away from this are the frogs when they ribbit. They don't sound particularly high quality, but they sound a bit more realistic for some reason.
As for the music, most of the time it will be one of three phases... ominous, hectic, or absent. There really isn't a lot that stands out to me on this, and even the hectic music was usually reserved for either bosses or boss encounters. Still at least I can say that each of the different areas do have a their own track for that ominous tone, so they do carry their feel even in that. It just isnt gonna be anything you will remember when you turn off the game.
6/10
Gameplay: And here we unfortunately reach the weakest point of the game, and in the most tragic way possible. Gato Roboto is a side scrolling mini-metroidvania. You will find yourself controlling Kiki as she has to wander through 5 biomes in her mission to fix the issues the base is having in order to unlock the last one (the lab) in order to investigate the distress call and perhaps find a way for everyone off the planet. Being a cat, you really can't take a lot of damage... in fact one hit from anything will kill you. Thankfully you do not have to do this unarmed, for it won't be long before you find your first and main weapon: a robot suit which you will find upgrades for as you play, letting you both be more powerful and reach more places.
The reason I call it "mini" is, however the size of these biomes. They are all pretty small and condensed, leaving basically just enough to do before you move on to the next one and your next-sub mission. They generally equate to one or two main hallways with a few branching corridors on either side you will have to explore. However each biome also has it's own theme and gimmick... and this is the first issue I have with the game.
When you are in the robot suit, this game is usually a blast as you shoot, jump, bounce, and generally go nuts ripping through enemies with ease, even if on occasion you have to exit to scramble through some tight space to unlock the next move or find some upgrade. However two of the biomes (or 1/3rd of the game) will force you to generally abandon it due to their very nature. When in the aqueducts, you will spend most of the time underwater, which the suit just can't handle without taking damage. As a result you will find yourself most often either a little swimming and defenseless kitty or in a less powerful submarine that has only a base gun and a fraction of the already limited hits the armor will let you take (if you find all upgrades, the robot armor will have about 16 hit points, but it starts with only 6). Basically it feels like they are trying to mix the formula with a shootem-up... if with a bit more slippery controls. It's not terrible, but it simply doesn't feel half as good as the robot.
Far worse is the ventilation system, where you will spend the majority of your time without any equipment... just a cat in the vents making the game just 2D stealth for almost all of it. Frankly it's annoying and pulls down the entire experience almost as much as most of the bosses themselves.
For the most part these encounters will have you fighting a mouse who keeps coming back in their own mech suits, each suited to the biome they are playing the final encounter for, but almost all of them are at best a rough time and a few of them being so bad they threaten to be "that moment" for the game. For the record, "that moment" is a point in a game where if someone didn't finish it, you can almost guarantee they stopped at "that moment." The aqueducts boss in particular is a prime example of this as it is a literal bullet hell encounter without enough control to reasonably dodge the firepower going your way and exceptionally little damage you can take (your sub will likely have 5 or 6 hits) while trying to deal enough to empty the boss's Megaman style health meter across the top of the screen end it. I basically managed to get through by a cheese-tactic and based on the comments of the video that showed me how, I wasn't alone in thinking this would be "that moment" for a lot of people.
But the fight alone isn't why these bosses are infuriating. Each and every one of them will have a "cutscene" before the battle involving a handful of text windows you will have to click through before you can make your attempt... and there is no skipping them. Every attempt will require you to mash the chat button to get through it first... and the worst offender is the last boss itself, where mashing the button to do it as fast as possible will literally have you sitting there tappign away for almost a full minute (and if you are doing this you are already impatient because YOU HAD TO CLICK THROUGH IT ALL YOURSELF). I know a lot of people see unskippable cutscenes as a cardinal sin, in game design, but this game really was a lesson to make me understand why.
Now don't get me wrong, the game in total isn't bad. The moment to moment is descent, but nothing any other game of the genre won't give you with at least as much skill. And these bosses and the ventilation area in particular really do completely kill it. What should be highlights to remember become lows that destroy the whole experience.
4/10
Bugs: For all the faults I have with this game, bugs or even poor performance were NOT among them. This game ran perfectly.
Digital Rights Management: If this game was bought using Steam or the Windows store, that store will be your DRM. If you bought it on GOG, it is DRM free.
Source: PCGameWiki
Overall: I really wanted to like this game. It's cute in a cartoony charming way, has a fun little cast and the potential to be a nice little slice of what is one of my favorite gametypes. However it generally plays as a fairly average example when it's at it's best (exploring the world) while it becomes a trial of patience when at it's worst. It's not the worst thing I have ever played, but it is not something I can recommend.
Score:
System Requirements:
- Intel Pentium E2180 running at 2 Ghz
- Nvidia Geforce 8600 GT with 512 MB VRAM
- 2 GB RAM
- Windows 7 or later (64-bit only)
- 1 GB hard drive space
System Specs:
- Ryzen 5 5600G running at 3.9 Ghz
- 16 GB RAM
- Windows 11
- PDP DX Wired Controller (Crimson)
Source: gog.com
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