Have you ever been so mad or frustrated you want to break something? Get Catlateral Damage. Get that anger out in an entertaining, satisfying, and adorable way. Catlateral Damage is a very basic but extremely entertaining first-person game developed by Fire Hose Games and Chris Chung, with a version created in 2013 and full release in May 2015. The premise is simple: you’re a cat, and you break things. That’s what I went into this game thinking, but I was not prepared for hours of entertainment.
So, this game is cute. It’s REALLY cute. I love cats, but regardless, this game is adorable. I mean, for crying out loud, the options are even cute! If you go to change the quality, your options are “Meowkay”, “Pawesome”, and Purrfect. Could this game get cuter? Yes. Yes, it can.
There are two modes: Objective and Litterbox. Get it? Litterbox mode instead of Sandbox mode? I love it! I started with objective mode. The game opens with a tutorial and a snarky remark from the cat, giving a reason for the destruction. It teaches you the simple controls to move, look around, and jump. The creator’s cats even makes an appearance! You run around and knock things down. To end the tutorial, you jump in a box (so cute), and go to sleep while the game displays your scores. I continued on to objective mode.
Objective mode is just what it says it is. It has a specific amount of particular items you must knock over or break. You can even get upgrades and power-ups. If you repeatedly hit anything that’s sparkling, you’ll get an upgrade which could be a speed increase, an increase in swat power, or an increase in jump height. I managed to grab a power-up, and it was catnip. The screen flashes different colors, and you can do everything much faster. You run very quickly, your swat is exponentially more powerful, and your jumps are higher. Everything is timed, so you have to work to get the objective as fast as possible.
If you don’t want to have a mission and just want to destroy stuff, there’s Litterbox mode. Litterbox mode isn’t timed, so you can run around and break things to your heart’s content. I chose the museum, and boy, was that a good idea! There’s a dinosaur skeleton you can break the legs off of. I do wish I could’ve figured out how to destroy the whole thing, but it was still fun. Each level has some unique items. Additionally, events happen throughout the game. It could be one of the items changing in objective mode, or a mouse running loose or even Moon gravity in litterbox mode!
The soundtrack to Catlateral Damage is something I wish would play as I walked down the street. It’s upbeat, fun, cheery, and put me in a good mood immediately which really fits with the game. The mechanics are relatively easy, but if you have issues with the camera sensitivity or your field of view, you can adjust those in the options. The tutorial is succinct and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. You can choose different cats to play with as you play through more levels which adds a great replayability aspect to this. Not only that, but you can unlock pictures of cats!
Everything about this game is adorable. It’s a great way to decompress after a long or unpleasant day. All you do is hop on and break stuff as a cat. It’s simple, but addicting, and I could spend hours of my life playing this. Regardless of whether or not you like cats, you can relax with a great game and let out all of your frustrations.
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