Super Catboy is a platformer that takes heavy inspiration from the classics. The pixel art style looks fantastic and a lot of the game comes so close to being as pixel perfect as the art.
The game does a lot right. The art is the most obvious since it is the most visible and at the forefront of the game. It looks fantastic and there is a lot of attention to detail establishing set pieces as well as the cut scenes. The attention to detail extends past the aesthetics to the level design as well.
There’s a deliberate and obvious homage to the platforming games of yore. You get what used to be standard level designs such as having a dedicated level where you ride a mine cart for the entire duration. Mine Cart Carnage from Donkey Kong Country may come to mind for some. You also get a level where you ride a vehicle and race against other vehicles. Personally speaking, I remember having an exceptionally difficult time as a child with the sewer level from Turtles in Time.
Even with the art and level design just simply oozing with nostalgia, the game lacks the pixel perfect polish of the classic platformers. While the game may look and even sound like the classics, it never quite manages to feel the same.
There are many small and seemingly insignificant reasons that add up to make the game as a whole feel like it’s lacking in some way. I’m not saying the game isn’t good. It is actually quite fantastic for the most part but these little imperfections do hamper the experience and prevent Super Catboy from reaching the same heights as the older titles.
For starters, the invincibility frames after taking damage were too short. I won’t go into this too much because thankfully this was fixed after an update, but boy did it feel terrible falling onto a spiked floor and being unable to recover because you would take damage again way too quickly.
Another reason is that some enemies do not telegraph their attacks and you take damage as soon as the attack is launched, giving no time to avoid the damage. The earliest example I can think of is fighting the mole boss. The mole, in classic mole fashion, will dig underground and then dig back up at a random location. The problem is that there is no telegraphing of the attack so as soon as the mole digs up you will take damage. This makes it almost impossible to dodge by using your reflexes and I had to jump up and hug either side of the level to avoid getting hit. This makes the damage feel random and that not enough attention was given to the encounter.
Yet another aspect of the game that adds to the overall feeling that something is lacking is the shooting. The gun in Super Catboy feels very lackluster to use. It doesn’t shoot fast enough and there is not enough feedback so it doesn’t feel like you are doing anything at all. Shooting and melee attacks are all you have, so having your ranged attacks feel off makes the overall combat feel lacking.
Once again this isn’t to say these are major problems with the game. The level design and boss encounters are enjoyable enough. The melee portion of the combat feels punchy and has some weight to it. It’s just that these little imperfections do add up. For me, it feels like the developers didn’t put enough thought and intentionality into the heart of what makes a platformer. A lot of the attention seems to have been focused on the more superficial elements such the art, music, and the themes of the levels while the very heart of the game, how the movement and combat feel, was overlooked.
This is by no means a reason to skip the game entirely. Super Catboy has some genuinely great moments. I especially liked the level design for one section of the game where you had to explore four different areas of a mansion to collect four pieces of a key to open a secret door. Each area felt different from each other and this was all in just one section of the level.
In addition to some of the levels having an interesting design, there’s a lot of replayability as well. You are encouraged to go back and replay the levels to get one hundred percent completion. This involves collecting all the coins, defeating all the enemies, and collecting all the secret cat statue pieces in one run. This isn’t as tedious as one would think thanks to most of the levels being relatively short and the goals being very attainable.
The cut scenes are great as well and the game does a great job of segmenting levels between cut scenes and boss fights to create a nice flow of action and narrative.
Overall, Super Catboy does a lot right but forgets to give enough thought to the most important part of platformers, the feel of the movement and combat. This results in a game where everything looks like it should be great at first glance but you’re constantly hit with the feeling that something is missing the more you play the game.
Additional Info
Steam Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1376910/Super_Catboy/
Review Score: 82% positive with a total of 81 reviews as of this writing (08/25/2023)
Developer: Pixelpogo
Publisher: Assemble Entertainment
Release Date: Jul 24, 2023
MSRP: $9.99
I received a free key from Keymailer. Thank you to the catastic (fantastic) person who approved my request!
Time spent: 4.1 hours
Achievement Score: N/A
Ducky Obrien 