The Impawtance of Friendship Has Never Been So Cute
In Shambles Studio has my heart in shambles with this adorable August release. Catto’s Post Office is a short yet devastatingly cute cosy game that captured my heart in the 42 minutes it took to complete. In this game, we play as Catto, the town’s dedicated Postcat. Catto is the heart and soul of the town, something that we pick up on very early into the game. Catto’s Post Office takes place on the most important day – Catto’s birthday! But it seems his friends across the town have forgotten. This won’t stop Catto from delivering mail and helping his friends along the way. Let’s dig our claws in and review Catto’s Post Office.
Catto’s Post Office is a story-rich, 3D platformer best played in one sitting. The game accommodates both controller and keyboard players, but is best played with controller. If playing with keyboard, you may find yourself easily annoyed with the specificity of certain actions. For example, progressing dialogue requires you to press the next button exactly – you can’t just click anywhere on the screen as we’ve come to expect. Controller play is designed for Xbox layout, but controls are super simple so I had no problem playing with a PlayStation Dualsense controller. Along with the core controls (movement and interaction), we also have a couple of precious additions. Press Y to meow or A to make Catto do a little hop – completely useless to the game but a necessity for the game’s charm.
Each character in Catto’s Post Office has their own distinct personality, and a witty name to match. We have Meowriel, our muralist, and Signore Mocha, the cafe owner, among our cast of characters. There is no voice acting, but each character interaction is announced with a meow. The art design of the game are highly comparable to Animal Crossings, with rounded, cutesy characters and a bright, colourful world to explore. The music is simple and relaxing, emphasising the cosiness of the game. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the Wii console music in the tone and instruments used.
The narrative is as straightforward as it could be – deliver post and help friends. There are some choices for narrative and order of deliveries, but it ultimately leads to the same outcome and responses. You can extend the day by kicking cans into trash or breaking precariously perched vases, but the suggested hour for gameplay is more than sufficient.
Alongside delivering mail, there are various achievements and side quests to explore. These quests allow players to interact with more characters and learn more about this purr-fect society. I managed a solid 13/18 achievements on my run-through without knowing all available achievements. The achievements are perfectly thematic for the cat-based game, including the spectacular ‘If I Fits, I Sits’ achievement. I’ll let you guess what that one is for. Speaking of themes, the game contains various references to memes and cat behaviours for the keen-eyed. One such reference, is Aunty Cat’s favourite show – Dancing Pineapples!
The game credits feature concept art for the game and inspirations for the characters (aka, actual cats!). This is the perfect finish for such a lovely game! I highly recommend Catto’s Post Office to cat lovers and cosy gamers alike. Each interaction is a delight and the narrative is a great example of the importance of community and friendship. Catto’s Post Office is for adults needing a break from life’s solemnity, and for children just entering the gaming world. Give it a try and the day’s stresses might just become hiss-tory.
A PlayStation 5 review code for Catto’s Post Office was provided by Cult Games and this review is featured on OpenCritic.
