When playing through Little Kitty, Big City, it’s difficult to avoid drawing comparisons with Untitled Goose Game. Both see you play as a cute, mischievous animal, and both have you tackle a series of emergent tasks that often come at the expense of the poor humans that inhabit the surrounding area.
With Little Kitty, Big City, however, developer Double Dagger Studio has taken the opportunity to draw inspiration from the game’s feisty feline protagonist and make the experience a bit more whimsical, a bit more stylised, and a bit more ambitious. The end result is a true joy to behold and play, but one that’s also held back from true greatness by its repetitive structure.
The general gist is that you play as an unnamed cat who, after falling from a ledge following what looked like the most delightful nap, must find its way back home. The problem, however, is that home is all the way up in an apartment building in the middle of a bustling city. So, armed with nothing but the fur on its back, the cat must set off on an adventure to find its way back to safety and comfort.
Now, despite the title, we’d say that the city in which you play is really anything but ‘big’. To be clear, this isn’t a bad thing. For those who might be familiar with the Yakuza (sorry, Like A Dragon) franchise, whose own recurring Kamurochō area is pleasantly compact, the environment here will feel quite similar, placing far more emphasis on density rather than sheer size.
What this means is that you can barely move two feet without stumbling across something that might be worth a second look. This could be a new character, a ledge leading to a secret area, a crawl space, an item, or even a place in which to curl up and take a nap. There’s so much to see and so many interesting creatures to meet, it’s ultimately a shame that the majority of the gameplay is relegated to basic fetch quests.
That’s ultimately what Little Kitty, Big City is all about: collecting stuff. Almost immediately, you’re tasked with locating 25 ‘shinies’ in order to retrieve a reward from a crow. From there, additional fetch quests are added to the mix, so you’ll be hunting for feathers, tennis balls, dog bones, smartphones, and more. Little rewards and new mechanics are mixed in to coax you forward, such as a lovely little photo mode, the ability to snatch bread from unsuspecting humans, and a climbing mechanic, but we do wish there was a tad more variety with the overall gameplay.
One collectible type that we did enjoy was the plethora of hats that you can wear on your travels. These include a workman’s hard hat, a ladybug hat, a corn hood, a banana hat, and so much more. You can find these in generally hard-to-reach spots on the map, or you’re given access once you complete certain tasks. It’s well worth the time and effort to locate them all just to see how they look on your character.
Thankfully, to make up for some of the gameplay’s repetition, controlling your ‘Little Kitty’ is an absolute joy, and this is largely down to Double Dagger's fantastic animation. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of welcoming a cat into your family, then you’ll be blown away at just how realistic the in-game protagonist is. Every little touch, including the little pitter-patter of its feet, the way it stretches and wriggles its way underneath gaps, and the adorable “brrrp” it emits when leaping onto platforms, is all spot on. If this doesn’t endear you to the endless charm of cats and kittens, then nothing will.
That said, movement isn’t always perfect. Jumping in particular can be a bit fiddly at times which, given the fact that cats are typically agile and graceful, can prove particularly irritating. You can quickly tap ‘B’ to execute a short hop, or you can hold it down and use an on-screen guide to aim your jump accurately.
This is great in theory, but even when you line up your jump to perfection, the occasionally dodgy physics can sometimes send you flying off-course. It doesn’t happen too often, but when you’ve successfully navigated a few gaps only to tumble back down to the ground at the last hurdle, it’ll make you wish that a bit more polish had been applied to this particular mechanic.
In terms of visuals and performance, Little Kitty, Big City isn’t the kind of game to push the Switch to its absolute limits, and for the most part, it looks and runs just fine. The frame rate can drop every now and then, particularly when you pan the camera around the busy streets, but it’s otherwise mostly stable. We were aware of a few bugs when we went hands-on with the game back at Summer Game Fest 2023, but it seems that these, too, have been stamped out nicely. All in all, it's a pleasant enough experience that won't have you regretting your decision to play on Switch rather than elsewhere.
Conclusion
Little Kitty, Big City is an adorable adventure that will almost certainly turn you into a cat lover, if you're not one already. It oozes charm and the realistic cat animations are simply incredible, although for as fun as it is to wander about the city, the game leans heavily on fetch quests and gathering up collectibles, which can lead to repetition. If you're someone who thrives on that kind of gameplay, however, then you'll have an absolute blast with this one.
Comments 31
Been looking at this one, maybe I'll pick it up! 🐈⬛️
"Press 'X' to meow"
Reads like a 10/10 to me.
Doubt I'll mind the focus on collectibles/fetch quests that much and luckily the technical issues overall seem minor (although of course I hope it can be improved through patches) so I'll eventually get it for sure, thanks for the review!
This game would stress meowt.
My youngest would probably adore this game. It's on my list.
Probably will start this one up after Eiyuden Chronicles. Anyone know about how long this game is?
I'll probably download it from Xbox GP for my daughter. She'll get a kick out of it, for sure.
In case anyone else was wondering, I can confirm, there are settings for inverting X and Y camera axis under accessibility. This is a day-one buy for me mostly to play along with my daughter who wishes I wasn't allergic to irl cats.
Played this one for a bit earlier. It’s definitely a light 7, maybe even a 6. After about an hour of it, I had sort of had my fill of it. I hate to say it, but the fetch questy style of the game is sort of boring, even if it’s aesthetically a treat. The sandbox is nice enough, but plain. I dunno. Like Peach, at least my kids might get some mileage out of it.
This sounds good to me. Now we need a dog game, although that may not be quite as cozy an experience.
@Tasuki Found two reviews that said it took them 5-6 hours to beat and one who’s author claimed finishing it in 2 is possible, if all side content is ignored.
I'll be picking up this one for my daughter. She absolutely loves games like Lil Gator Game, A Short Hike, and Alba: An Island Adventure. I'm sure she'll love this one too (as will I. All those games I mentioned are awesome).
Didn't think that much of this from the showcase footage. Looked like a lot of moments where control is probably restricted so that some tame set-piece can play out.
Press X to Meow?
Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow.... (Pressed X repeatedly) 😂
@Anti-Matter Press X to Meow?
Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow.... (Pressed X repeatedly) 😂
Now if we could hear this during game play that would just seal the deal.
This sounds (and looks) very cute and fun, definitely picking it up to play with my gf
So many cat games lately LOL.
Yea definitely will be getting this at some point
Ahh, a safe, good ol’ IGN 7/10.
I had a feeling there would be some frame rate drops. So I’ll definitely get this on Steam instead.
Removed - inappropriate
@jorel262 Dogs Life did a fair job.
A modern one maybe could be possible.
@gcunit I think so too. Some times they do that and probably for kids it's fine but in the longer thoughts of it all it can be kind of disappointing to see as sometimes some cutscenes/set pieces would be more fun in gameplay instead then taking it away from you.
Even in many adult/teen audience games you would like to see some parts be gameplay then pulling back to show us something particular for a set pieces. But depends what they were going for and what the goal/scale was and how they couldn't do it or didn't want to do it as it might not have suited or they just wanted to simplify it.
To me the trailer looked like the game lacked depth so to me I don't see the appeal. That's also because I've read better cat story books or probably seen better being small/something else in the city before and I'm not a cat person at all so to me if they use them well in gameplay/story telling then awwwww cats. I approve.
But most times they are just awwwww cats and I just facepalm.
I suspect my kids will love this game
I was really excited for this game since it was announced. It’s exciting for about an hour until you realize just how lacking it is. Don’t get me wrong, the cat is super cute and you get to do cat shenanigans. But that’s about it. The “city” isn’t a city. It’s a neighbourhood. Which would be fine if there was actually fun quests. Yet, it’s all fetch quests (not including the hide and seek quest which was easy). I did all the side quests and the main quest in TWO hours. Getting the rest of the achievements will take me no more than an hour. For a 30 dollar (CAN) switch game, I just wished there more.
Interesting this is not the only review that's praising animation, but to me it looks really rough.
definitely getting this. Looks adorable
My 7yr old daughter loves this game. I picked it up on GamePass for her.
Nice cyatt game
@Anti-Matter I'm willing to bet a hearty bowl of Meow Mix while playing this game would be paw-tentially purr-fect! 🐱🐾🏙
Just finished the game, bought on sale. Great game, at sale price. The review is spot on. I am so glad to have played this game!
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