Me-yaRRRRR.
Cat Quest has been an enjoyable low-stakes series for me. It has fun combat, engaging skills, fun dialogue, and enough cat puns to last at least 9 lifetimes. Cat Quest III takes the series to the Caribbean, or rather, the Purribbean, placing you once again as a chosen one, one draped in the garb of a pirate. While the pirate aesthetic sails through to provide a fun adventure, it disappointingly feels like a step back for the series but not likely to walk the plank.
I want to stress that while I have issues with it, I enjoyed this latest sequel as it continues to become more refined and that the combat system continues to expand, even by a whisker’s width. I mentioned in my Cat Quest II review that to truly succeed, it would have to bring something fresh and original to the formula to make it not just feel like the same adventure yet again. While the ability to set sail in your own pirate ship is a novel idea, it’s unfortunately a thinly executed bit of gameplay that doesn’t quite have enough meat on the bone to stand out.
Cat Quest III follows the same path of placing you in the role of a chosen one. You are joined by a Navi-like companion as the both of you attempt to track down a treasure that is tied to your destiny. However, this treasure is also sought after by a dangerous pirate captain, one who has set the seas on fire to track it down. While there is a loose connection to the previous games, this bit of connective tissue is there to set up a fourth entry in the series, so much so as they pretty much spell out the title for us during its conclusion. Given what it is, I am very excited for it.
While I quite enjoyed Cat Quest and Cat Quest II, I was really hoping for something fresh out of what Cat Quest III would offer to make it truly stand apart from the previous games. The addition of the pirate ship does have its moments, especially when fighting large sea monsters and the more imposing pirate vessels, but its gameplay mechanics are fairly one note, as is the ship itself. While you can equip perks to your ship, like increasing ship damage, health, or the addition of homing fireballs to every special cannonpaw, there is really no ship customization here apart from the few vanity cannonpaws you can equip. These; however, come in the forms of magma balls, or cursed orbs. I would have loved to have seen balls of yarn or tennis balls, or something to add that cat flavor to it. This also means there is no changing your sails or decorating the hull as well.
That said, navigating it around is rather run, and peppering your opponent and blasting them away doesn’t really lose its charm. However, having a wide-open sea to explore doesn’t always pay off. Previous Cat Quest games allowed us other means to traverse the water, so having water in these games was there from the very start. Cat Quest III triples down on this and it’s at the cost of a significant reduction in its land mass. In fact, there is only one island in the game that has any significant size to it, and even then, it’s fairly small. This causes a lot of the on-land segments to be set in repetitive caves and towers that all share in their same aesthetic and assets.
Apart from its main story, there is a small assortment of side quests and activities to take on. From capturing a series of sea creatures, solving a narrative puzzle in locked-up tower, or tracking down a series of discarded gear, the quality of the side content this time around didn’t really keep me engaged. What did; however, was the bounty hunts. While a few could have been more thoughtful, I did like knocking out each and every one of them. These bounties are a series of pirates hounding the Purribbean, making a name for themselves and racking up quite the reward for their defeat.
The main story has a nice assortment of baddies, each built with solid personalities and design. From a rocker pirate to a large squid who is constantly paranoid about spoiling his secrets, I do feel that Cat Quest III has the best group of villains for the series so far. Having a series of pirate factions is a great idea, I just wish they were more involved in the story. The main threat is a Pirate Captain who has a pretty interesting backstory here and one that has a resolution I was rather impressed by.
While you will meet a few secondary characters, they are really just the shopkeepers or the muscular Momma Milka at the tavern. Cat Quest II had the likes of Kit Cat and Hotto Doggo, and it allowed the game to feel like it was more than just you out there in the world. Here, there isn’t any sort of recurring characters apart from a few of the pirate bosses. This is what else adds to the world feeling smaller than before. It’s a shame since I adored this aspect of Cat Quest II.
Cat Quest III is very typical of what you should expect if you have played the previous games. Like Cat Quest II, co-op returns as you can add a purrivateer to your ranks, having a friend join you in local co-op. However, unlike Cat Quest II, there is no AI companion to follow you around this time. Given there is no online play, I wasn’t able to test out the co-op portion of the game, but can state that there doesn’t seem to be any gameplay sections built around having the need of a second player.
One of the qualities that I have enjoyed in the Cat Quest series is its abundance of weapons and armor. Thankfully, Cat Quest III continues to keep that as a highlight of the adventure. And, being that you are a pirate, you can equip pistols to add to your arsenal of ranged attacks, complete with regenerating ammo. As in previous games, picking up a duplicate item will only increase that item’s level, meaning you are not going to be burdened with having the sell off all those duplicates. In fact, you’ll want to have a diverse selection of armor, spells, and guns, as each will have their own stats that can be increased as you upgrade them.
My favorite weapons were an early set of Wolverine claws dropped by a smaller boss called Patchy. I really enjoyed using them and kept leveling them up, even despite the variety of other options available. Spells range from a lightning bubble that does AOE damage, a healing spell to keep you alive, and a variety of fire and cold spells to combat those with particular weaknesses. Combat continues to feel fast, fun, and fluid, making every encounter to be very engaging.
With each new entry in the Cat Quest series, the gameplay continues to be refined, the moment-to-moment combat feels more enjoyable, and the visuals take that extra leap to be even more charming. The puns are always on point, the naming conventions continue to be hilarious, if sometimes a bit too on-the-nose, but it’s continued to be something that allows Cat Quest to stand out. However, while I do enjoy what Cat Quest III offers, I feel that Cat Quest II is simply the better game by far. Its world felt huge and lived in, and the cast of characters made the journey that much more memorable. I don’t feel that with Cat Quest III, unfortunately. I think the game is a good continuation of the formula, but one that feels like a much smaller-scale adventure than one to top its previous outing. With where the story is going, I am still excited to see what Cat Quest IV can offer, but it needs some fresh ideas and gameplay to really be worthy of the sequel this series needs.
Developer - The Gentlebros. Publisher - Kepler Interactive. Released - August 8th, 2024. Available On - Xbox One/Series X/S, PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC. Rated - (E10+) - Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence. Platform Reviewed - Steam. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.