Cat Quest 3 is the latest entry in the ever-adorable series of action RPGs starring a heroic kitten on a quest for glory and, this time in particular, treasure. Set in the “Purribean” with a whimsical piracy theme, Cat Quest 3 doesn’t just see you fighting on land and in dungeons and castles. You’ll also take to the sea in your very own ship, where enemy vessels will pose their own unique challenges. With a variety of fun sidequests, dungeons to explore, and the ultimate quest of finding the North Star Treasure, Cat Quest 3 provides a jovial and entertaining adventure that’s well worth your time if you enjoy light-hearted action-RPG shenanigans.
What platforms is Cat Quest 3 available for?
Cat Quest 3 launches on August 8 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows. It runs flawlessly on Steam Deck, which was where I spent the majority of my time. Cat Quest 3 is also best experienced with a gamepad and, in my opinion, is a perfect portable game as evidenced by my time with it on Steam Deck.
In the roughly five-or-so hours I’ve spent with Cat Quest 3, I’ve had a blast. While the repetitious soundtrack grates a bit, the core combat and gameplay loop are wildly satisfying. Once I got the hang of things and learned to dodge effectively and put together a solid build, I quickly got hooked on sailing the seas of the Purribean to seek out new equipment and get into more engaging fights. And while the story is mostly lighthearted fun, it’s proving to be somewhat intriguing as I come to learn exactly who my kitty is in the game’s lore and just what my spiritual pirate companion is up to.
You’re gonna be doing a lot of brawling in Cat Quest 3, so it’s a good thing the combat here is a lot of fun. You can switch between your melee and ranged weapon at the push of a button. While there is ammo for your ranged weapons, it recharges over time so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of it. The same is true of your magical resource, mana. Different items will augment how quickly mana and ammo recharges, and even grant new ways of fighting, such as the ability to deal damage by rolling into enemies.
And don’t let the game’s cuteness fool you; the combat here isn’t without its challenges. Early on, you’ll quickly encounter enemies throughout the world who punch harder than you, soak up way more damage, and often outnumber you as well. Luckily, you can gear up with new weapons and spells to take on the new threats, and thankfully there’s more to beating your opponents than just increasing an assortment of power numbers. New equipment, and particularly spells, really shake the game up in some satisfying ways.
Take spells, for instance. Right now I’ve got two that I’m digging: a fireball that does a limited amount of persistent damage, and the ability to spawn ice shards on the ground which both damage enemies and also slow them down. That last part is particularly great for dealing with groups of foes as I can slow them down to target specific ones. These different spells can combine in some satisfying ways, too: I can slow down an opponent with my ice spell, which also does damage. I can then follow that up with a fireball that deals persistent damage. As they’re both slowed by the ice and taking damage from the fireball, I can empty my flintlock pistol into them, then switch back to my melee which recharges my mana with each strike thanks to an item I have equipped.
This combination of spells and equipment can lead to very satisfying techniques you can deploy against groups of enemies or in one-on-one showdowns. And because finding a new item, spell, or weapon can add to your arsenal of attacks, the game inspires a wonderful forward momentum to go out, explore, pillage, and grow in power. And it’s all brought to life with excellent sound effects and wonderfully fun animations that often look as silly and enjoyable as watching animals play-fighting.
What I haven’t found as satisfying early on, however, is the ship combat. While I was able to quickly grow in power with my swords, guns, and spells, ship upgrades have proved more elusive. I suspect this is somewhat intentional as your ship is necessary to cross the ocean to other islands, and so a weaker ship keeps you focused on the earlier areas instead of letting you chart off to more difficult fights before you’re ready (you can swim in a life preserver, but you’ll get chewed up pretty quickly by hostile ships and have no way to fight back). I also found firing the ship’s cannons accurately to be a bit of a challenge. Thus far I’ve come out of most ship battles pretty banged up. That I’ve already gotten pretty powerful on land but still suck out in the waters makes the game feel a little discordant, so I’m hoping to find some new upgrades for my ship soon.
Cat Quest 3 also has some wonderful visual flair. With its vivid, cheery, and diverse color palette that mixes things up across the different regions of the Purribean, the whole experience really pops on Steam Deck OLED, and it’s all rendered with a generous draw distance that conveys an excellent sense of scale.
This music is pushing it, though
Sadly, despite the game’s many charms, the music has dampened my desire to spend more time with Cat Quest 3. Don’t get me wrong, the production value is excellent…it’s just, listening to pirate shanty-themed music for an extended period of time really wore on me. I was delighted when I’d come across a dungeon or something that’d change up the soundtrack. Unfortunately, since the difficulty of combat will see you spending a bit of time doing some gentle grinding (which rarely feels like a grind given how fun the combat is), you’ll end up exposed to the same pirate-y melodies over and over and over again.
To its credit, the composition tries its best to mix things up even in the main overworld region, but after a couple of hours I’d find this music stuck in my head as I went about my daily errands. As someone who can find such whimsical melodies grating, it wasn’t great having them on loop in my head. This is the only thing that’s made me hesitate to jump back in (and I might lower the music volume a touch when I do).
Cat Quest 3 is a joyful, silly, and satisfying way to spend time as a cute little cat pirate. Despite the allergic reaction I’m experiencing to its soundtrack, I’m looking forward to jumping back in to level up my gear, learn some new spells, and continue my search for the mysterious North Star Treasure.
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