Cat Quest III Is A Low-Key Pirate RPG That Puts A New Spin On Traditional World Maps
A purr-fectly relaxing RPG.
The world map is an RPG fixture going back to some of the earliest games in the genre. Leaving town to travel the world by foot or airship, getting a glimpse of the entire world laid out tells you just how far you have to go and all the danger lying in your way. In a new game on PlayStation Plus, the map becomes the world itself, flipping an RPG tradition on its head for an uncharacteristically cute pirate adventure.
The Cat Quest games are classic top-down action RPGs set in a world of anthropomorphic animals on nautical adventures. The latest, Cat Quest III, comes to PlayStation Plus on December 16, adding an RPG that’s got plenty of depth but is still approachable for new players, all while featuring some of the most adorable art around.
Cat Quest III is a lighthearted pirate RPG.
A word of warning: if you’re put off by puns, Cat Quest III might push you to your limits. The game starts out near Purvanna Port, a settlement in the Purribean sea, where your Purrivateer feline sets off to defeat the Pi-rat King and his bands of rodents. You get the picture. The writing in Cat Quest III is self-aware and silly, trading the often lofty tones of traditional RPGs for something more like a lighthearted Saturday morning cartoon. There’s conflict with thieves and pirates, a quest to find a buried treasure, and a struggle against a tyrannical king, all of which is conveyed with a tone that makes the game suitable for younger players as well as experienced RPG fans.
The action in Cat Quest III is its real draw, though. The map serves as the world itself, with enemies wandering its surface on top of landmarks and place names. You have a lot of freedom in where to travel right from the very beginning. Wading from dry land to shallow water will automatically put your feline pirate in a pool float to paddle away from shore, and you can call your ship at any of the conveniently placed docks scattered around the map.
Combat is a highlight on land and by sea.
By land or sea, Cat Quest III is all about action. When you’re on foot, Cat Quest III doesn’t have too many surprises in combat. You start with a sword, a blunderbuss, and a ranged magic attack, all of which you can upgrade and swap out as you find better items throughout your quest. But being a pirate game, there’s a lot of naval combat as well. Once you’re in your ship, your attack changes to a cannon you can fire at distant foes, whether you’re in battle with another pirate vessel or just want to soften up targets on land before disembarking.
The game predominantly takes place on the world map, but from time to time, you’ll head into more self-contained environments. In town, you can wander freely while talking to NPCs that upgrade your gear or give you bounties to chase. Dotted across the world map are also hidden caves, and ducking into one will cause the action to zoom in closer, though the combat itself feels the same in these moments as it does on the overworld.
Cat Quest III’s map is full of secrets to discover.
If you’ve played a lot of RPGs, there’s not much in Cat Quest III’s gameplay that’s likely to surprise you. It’s a fun, well-made action RPG without too many surprises up its sleeve, which can be both a positive and a negative. While it’s not a genre-defining game, there’s not a single element of it that really feels off either.
That all makes Cat Quest III a perfect chill-out RPG. It trades an epic, emotional story for one that’s mostly aiming to keep you entertained, and its combat is fun while remaining familiar enough not to be too taxing. Balancing classic mechanics with clever execution, Cat Quest III is the kind of RPG you can relax with after a long day, and sometimes that’s enough.
