The Cat Lady

The writing is passable, and although a few sections of dialogue feel natural, the script is loaded with weird bits of phrasing that made me wonder if English was the writer's first language, and some absolute clangers like a line about "a dark angel walking through the river of blood". The voice acting is a mixed bag - the main character is meant to be depressed, but just about every line is delivered in a tone of utter boredom. In terms of gameplay, it's clunky, with an awful lot of backtracking, some very hackneyed puzzles, and several instances of the bad old days of adventure games where you rubbed everything on everything else. The 'mature' themes that it attempts to portray just come off as somewhat embarassing, a trying-too-hard effort to be dark and edgy by dropping f-bombs and gore. While I certainly commend the idea of a game dealing with depression and suicide, the supernatural elements detract from it, and the whole story arc of "go kill these bad dudes and it'll all be better!" is pretty silly. The soundtrack is pretty decent, although very obviously inspired by the work of Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails. It's a shame that there's so little else to recommend about the game.

I would like to begin by saying the game explores serious themes like loneliness and depression in a surreal horror context that isn't peek-a-boo/shock/cheap scary, but more driven by atmosphere, emotion, and story. I am a long time fan of the point-and-click genre, but this is by far the most impressive and immersive an effort I've seen (how did one guy do most of this?!). The writing, artwork, and music are superb. The characters are relatable. The horror was fitting and of high quality, it was not used cheaply and stands out on the level of Jacob's Ladder or the Silent Hill franchise. The game presented a touching, realistic presentation of depression and will engage you whether or not you've had experiences with it. I can highly recommend the game and I hope the developer produces more work of this caliber.

On one hand, Cat Lady is a unique and interesting labor of love. On the other, it's dull, ugly, boring and amateurish. The whole thing feels like something a very talented moody teenager made in the late-90s. There's potential here for sure, but it's got a long way to be realized. The story is easily the strongest element. It's unique and told quite creatively, but it never really quite gets there. Sometimes it goes to painstaking lengths to develop characters and situations, others, it just drops stuff in with no explanation at all (ie, the Carpenter). It's hard to say more without spoiling, but suffice it to say, the story-telling is uneven. The acting is solid and the writing not bad. Puzzles are mostly straightforward and easy - there were only a few times I was stumped for more than a minute or 2. The bigger gameplay issue is that you'll spend far more of your time sitting and listening to dialogue than you will actually playing and problem-solving. I don't mind a game that's more interactive fiction than game, but there are many, MANY long stretches of time that have you staring at a near static image on the screen while VERY long conversations play out. Conversations in which you'll only have a minimum of interaction every once in a very great while. At the very least, change up the camera angles. Move things around. Make the visuals dynamic. Make something, ANYTHING happen on screen. The other huge problem is that what does happen visually is terrible. This is simply one of the ugliest games I've ever played. I'm very sympathetic to budget limitations, and the fact that the game is going for a depressed, muted tone, but Cat Lady is about as visually miserable as a game can get, and has some of the most laughably bad animation I've ever seen. Ultimately, this is a weak game that's not strong enough on story to justify its gameplay issues. There's a lot of ambition and potential here, but it just doesn't work.

(sorry I'm french and my english in not very good) This game is amazing. Mature themes rarely seen with such realism in video games, fascinating story, deep characters, strong emotions, oniric ambiance. One of the chapters is a tribute to Maniac Mansion. If you want to know more about Joe and Ivy's story (two characters seen in this game) you can play to the prequel: "downfall" made by the same develloper few years ago.

If you've had pretty light gaming experiences lately and want to dive into darkness and feel some new feelings, this game is for you. A touch of misery, depression and anxiety will do you good, if only to remind you that apart from the ever-present shallow, sparkly games there are some that will test your heart more than your brain. The Cat Lady does this with it's compelling story, gritty art style and moody music... It's a game that you can savor, it invites you to have a hot cup of coffee or tea while you spend time with it and reflect on your own reactions to what it shows you. Hat off to Harvester Games, this game touched me and left me more empathetic than i was before i played it!