The Cat Lady

The Cat Lady is depressing from the beginning to the end, and it is horrifically gory and violent at every turn. And yet it is consistently insightful and beautiful. It's a poem of a game, and the dialogue is some of the realest I've ever encountered. I'll keep my review short, because I don't want to be tempted to reveal anything of the plot, the disorientation in the opening chapters is one of the game's best features and would be ruined if you knew what it was about. I think SOME of the violence was gratuitous. The bleach scene was disgusting and the villains for it were out of a more comically grotesque horror story. I wouldn't have cut those scenes, but maybe they just needed a bit more thought. Also, there another villain who should be cut, simply because his appearance is so random and unconnected to the rest. (Unless he will be better explained in the up coming third game?) The across the hall neighbors are further explored in the sequel game after all, so maybe there's more of a plan than in apparent here. My other critique is that you are shown flowers at one point in the game and when you smell them, Susan says she won't. So, when I saw flowers afterward, I never tried that option again. So, I was stuck long enough to have to use a walkthrough, and the worst part is the reason you have to smell them is totally illogical. A normal person would just walk to their kitchen to get a knife rather than use a piece of a broken vase to cut something open. And NOTHING would keep Susan from doing that, except the game doesn't let you. But one illogical puzzle is a site better than most adventure games. Perhaps it is a problem that there aren't any hard puzzles that are logical, but I don't mind this being more of an interactive movie than a game, and it gets my whole hearted recommendation.

Great, great game. For just a few $ I've had one of the best gaming experiences of my life. + no preaching, none at all. Cat Lady is packed with psychos and even greater psychos, violence and guilt but there is not a single moment when game pushes you down the only right path. You make your own choices and face consequences, some of which might be really terryfing. (I will never forget when all of a sudden Susan quoted one of the "parasites" - when you fight monsters be careful not become one. But hey! someone has to do that) . +choices - I've mentioned it already, but it's worth repeating. I don't care if they are illusionary or not, they were there and they gave me impression that I was the one shaping the plot. And in the end I was left with this wonderfully exciting feeling that there's still more to be discovered. I will definitely replay this game! + and it's just a tip of the iceberg! Dialogues, voice acting, music, graphics, everything goes together (almost) perfectly and gave me level of immersion I didn't experience in a long time. Awesome game. - I suppose there are some cons (nobody's purrfect :P) but with endorphine rush I am experincing right now they seem irrelevant. Few lines here and there where a bit stiff and out of place. Sound quality wasn't top notch, but it could've been fault of my worn headset. On the other hand I wouldn't be suprised if that wasn't the goal. The game is very consistent, and gritty sound went great with rough images!

When I saw the first comparison to Planescape, I was surprised. When I saw 5 more, I nearly vomited blood. Compounded with all the 5-star reviews, I could only wonder if I played an entirely different game that also happened to be called The Cat Lady. Like 99% of people who buy this, I was attracted by the visual and thematic grittiness. Unlike 99% of people who then reviewed it, I was unimpressed after seeing that the grit was nothing more than a veneer, obscuring unconvincingly delivered acting and an utterly shallow treatment of the themes of depression and suicide, which act as little more than vehicles for plot progression rather than subjects explored in ANY depth or commented upon meaningfully. Even the plodding monotone in which the protagonist speaks screams shallowness. Depressed people aren't husks, incapable of voice modulation. The monotone should have been used where it made sense and not as a constant and incredibly tactless means of perpetuating some half-baked atmosphere. The writing was barely serviceable in some parts and immersion-breakingly full of exposition in others. Susan's evolution as a character is definitely told and not shown, making changes feel forced and unexpected. Showing without telling is one of the top things that distinguishes good writing from bad. The puzzles were, for the most part, so straight forward, they may as well have prompted you to "click around on the screen while we artificially and meaninglessly extend your play time". The art style was reminiscent of that found in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The individual pieces were, for the most part, well done, but often assembled somewhat thoughtlessly. Clearly the majority is content to just be fed "dark subject matter" even if it's at the most superficial level. If you're looking for some depth, there isn't any to plumb here.

After an opening that promises a mature & macabre exploration of depression, all the game devolves into is a sadistic marathon that exploits mental illness as a crutch for its grim visuals. Gameplay is in typical adventure game style. (ie. walk around trying different 'keys' on different 'doors' to progress) but the puzzles aren't exactly challenging or interesting to begin with. What the game truly depends on is the highly praised story which -in my opinion- is undeserved. The plot never truly goes anywhere and instead of a story of a woman overcoming her own illness; we are instead treated to her fighting off psycopaths each chapter (like it's some rubbish superhero show) until the game finally remembers what it's supposed to be about in the last chapter. Also for a game that focuses so much on the story being told, both the voice acting and audio design are atrocious. Voice actor's are obviously untrained leading to performances that are both dull and hilarious (Sometimes this appears to be intentional, other times not so much) and you can tell all of them were using different microphones. This leads to Susan (protagonist) sounding like she's right next to you whereas other character's (like the psychiatrist) sound like they are whispering in the distance. Apart from the first and last chapter, the only other thing the game truly nails is the art which does create a tense atmosphere. At times. All before it is ruined by some garbage rock song that kills any sense of tension that this game truly has. Overall this game is nothing but overrated tripe. The story spins its wheels for too long before all momentum from the opening has disappeared. Gameplay is uninteresting and all technical aspects are underdeveloped. All this game has truly accomplished is enhanced the stigma that the mentally ill are just nutjobs while giving a half-baked message that only reveals a slight glimpse into the true struggles with living with depression.

I love the art style of this game and the puzzles made sense thank god. It's dark and the writing is superb, touching on the theme of suicide. There's some pretty fucked up scenes which i didn't expect that freaked me out a bit, especially when you sneak around in the serial killer's house. This is part of a trilogy and i need to play the others Downfall & Lorelai which i own. I'm not massively into adventure games but like to try the odd horror one, with this i'm glad i did.