Official Review
The adventure began with us choosing our feline Purrivateer and arriving in the Purribean, an archipelago filled with Pi-rats to defeat who are on the hunt for the North Star Treasure. With our spirit companion, who is also searching for the North Star Treasure, we piloted our ship and ventured across land and sea to find the mythical treasure, defeating Pirate Lords in a variety of dungeons and uncovering a myriad of secrets along the way.
The story is a delightful swashbuckling tale that features a number of loveable feline and non-feline characters. Each one, and the story more generally, is shored up by incredible, witty writing with more cat puns than lives of the accumulated kitty cast. But even towards the end of the game, those puns and the humorous writing never got old, remaining charming to the last. The writing gives everyone a distinct personality that allows them to stand out and remain memorable, whether we were with them for the whole game or briefly spoke to them for a side quest.
And the game is filled with optional conversations and side quests in the town at Purvanna Port and across the game's dozen or so islands. These let us learn more about each character and discover their tragic, triumphant, and troubled pasts. The islands that make up the Purribean create a small but rich open world to explore on your ship. Almost every few seconds we were finding a secret, a chest to open, a new NPC to talk to, or a new side quest to take on, which meant we were never bored. Whether it was sailing the open sea, killing a few Pi-rats, or stumbling around an empty-looking sandy shore, there was almost always something piquing our interest.
At one point, we stumbled across this ominous-looking purple tower sitting on a solitary island. Upon trying to enter it, we were greeted by Charon, the ferryman of the dead, and told we would have to find the key to gain access to the spooky monolith. But there are smaller secrets too, like having to follow some footsteps on a beach to find a secret item under a starfish. There are some fantastic surprises that we don't want to spoil that brought a huge smile to our face.
The point is that Cat Quest III is filled with these delightful, surprising moments where we were having a ridiculous amount of fun exploring. The fact that the game had us darting back and forth around the open sea too means that we were learning the layout of the Purribean, remembering areas, and uncovering secrets that were previously locked off, making that exploration even more rewarding.
In between these moments of story and exploration, combat is also just as exemplary as everything else Cat Quest III has going on. Fighting Pi-rats and other enemies is tight and fluid, with ample variety when it comes to enemies and the bosses you can find at the end of dungeons and side quests. The bosses, in particular, exude so much personality that we couldn't help but continue to fall in love with the game as we were introduced to each one.
Dozens and dozens of weapons, armor pieces, and ship customization options let you play the way you like. Whether we wanted a traditional sword, a set of claws that let you attack quickly in flurries, or to be a mage casting fire, ice, and electricity spells, Cat Quest III has practically every weapon you can think of. You can play a purely ranged build using a flintlock pistol or a wand to cast spells if you don't want to get up close and personal. Armour and the perks also allow you to put together more specialised builds, like an armour set that improves damage if you hoard gold, or a set that regenerates your health with each attack you deal.
The upgrade system and progression are simple but deep enough that you can invest gold and crystals into upgrading gear and spells without feeling the need to be stingy with your spending in case you switch weapons. You can find gold and crystals everywhere, and small quality-of-life features help smoothen the entire gameplay experience. Find a duplicate item, for instance, and the game will automatically upgrade that piece of gear or weapon in your inventory substantially, meaning no item is ever wasted.
Additionally, the drop-in and drop-out co-op is incredibly smooth, as another player can jump in and exit from the main menu or any of the save spots dotted around the map (of which there are plenty). They can build their own loadout and upgrade different gear with ease. Performance was also unaffected during our time playing.
Tying the entire experience together is fantastic art and animation. The gorgeous animations and subtle details during interactions with NPCs and the intense boss fights are supported by a top-tier pirate-y soundtrack. Filled with more than 35 shanty-like tunes, we couldn't help but hum and swing our head along to each piece of music.
The entire experience ran flawlessly, as well, with no bugs, issues, frame drops, or problems in docked or handheld mode throughout our playthrough. The only real negative is that Cat Quest III doesn't ever feel like it is offering up many new ideas for the genre or series, besides its pirate aesthetic. It's fantastic, yet familiar, so don't go in expecting something unlike anything you have ever played.
Conclusion
Cat Quest III is a familiar yet flawless action adventure with fluid and fantastic-feeling combat. Its charming story and witty writing bring life to the Purribean, one of the best-designed mini-open worlds in recent memory. That open world is packed with satisfying quests and engaging puzzles to solve that almost always throw some new idea or challenge at you. The progression here is smooth, and the entire experience is precisely paced with no performance issues at all. Some stunning animation work, accompanied by a gorgeous shanty-like pirate soundtrack tops off an excellent adventure. All of that together ensures that Cat Quest III is a pristine pirate adventure and action RPG. Quite simply, one of the best indie games of the year.
