This game is a lot of fun, the rats are cute and the artwork is lovely. It's a joy to play. I did think at first that the boss fights were ridiculously hard, just about impossible, but once you know that you just need to work out what the enemy's set of moves is, how they indicate which one is coming next and what the strategy is to deal with each attack then things aren't so bad. You'll die lots of times before defeating a new boss, of course, and even once you know what you're doing the big fights are unforgiving of mistakes. But with a few hours of play under your belt the boss fights aren't too scary. I'm old and don't have the reflexes of a fly and I managed to get 100% completion on this game on normal difficulty. I've just started re-playing on "bloody whiskers" difficulty now and that's much harder. I'm not sure I'll finish the game on that setting but it will be fun to try. Although the combat is hard the 2D platforming is mercifully free from annoying traps, pointless obstacles and jumps requiring pixel-perfect positioning and split-second timing. My only criticism is that the instant you die during a boss fight the enemy's damage bar disappears, so you almost never know just how close you were to victory when you snuffed it. Highly recommended!
Back in the late 1990s I used to game on an Amiga computer and one of my housemates had a Playstation game console. After a few nights playing Wipeout 2097 (and Tekken 3) with him on his Playstation I went out and bought one of my own, primarily for Wipeout 2097. I was utterly useless at it to begin with but gradually I improved. I won't say I ever fully mastered it but once I'd got good a Wipeout session was almost like meditation. The game required total concentration but almost no concioous thought. It's a couple of decades since I last played Wipeout 2097 but ever since I got my first PC I've been looking for a game like it. I've tried a few antigrav racers over the years and BallisticNG is the only one which, for me, has the same feeling, the same sense of "flow" once you get into it, the same just-one-more-go addictiveness, and the same burning dry eyes because you're going so fast you can't take your eyes off the track for an instant - not even to blink. There are variations on the races, lots of challenges to complete, loads of tracks and lots of customisation options so you're unlikely to get bored. Tracks and ships are unlocked as you win medals. The DLCs are cheap so if you're enjoying the base game I recommend getting them all. The soundtrack is great (and you can add your own) but the graphics aren't going to win any awards. However, that means the demands on the GPU are not huge and most machines should be able to play smoothly, which is important for a high speed racing game. You won't be able to take your eyes off the track to admire the scenery anyway (although I think it does actually look quite nice with all the graphics settings maxxed out). I use an XBox One game controller and it works great. I think this might be a tricky game to play well with keyboard and mouse. I've been playing BallisticNG on Steam for several years. It's great to see it here on GOG at last. I just wish my friends still gamed so I could race against them.
I like cats and I like rubbish jokes, so a cheap cat-based game loaded with ap-paw-ling cat puns sounded like an entertaining way to spend a few hours. I had low expectations but Cat Quest turned out to be way better than I imagined it would be. Once I got going I couldn't put it down. I played it solidly all weekend and finished everything in the game. It's well worth its current £9.99 price, and at the sale price of £3.29 that I paid it's an absolute bargain. Combat isn't too tricky, and even the dragons can be defeated almost every time once you've worked out a strategy. Loot and upgrades are a bit of a random number lottery, which is fine by me, but you can buy chests at the blacksmith's which provide a random upgrade to something in your inventory. I didn't find I had a problem collecting enough gold to keep my equipment up to scratch. Since you keep all the gear you find (there is a limited number of items in the game and you can collect them all) you never have to worry that you might have discarded the wrong item. You can equip gear to play as a magic or a melée fighter. Skills are learned by completing certain quests. Game saves (in case you die) are done by going to a town and having a quick catnap. It all seems to be pretty well thought out and I didn't encounter anything I found frustrating. The graphics are cute but aren't going to win any awards and I expect the game would run fine on just about any PC. I played with a Microsoft XBox game controller connected via USB. It worked perfectly. It's a pretty laid back game. You don't need lightning fast reflexes or pixel-perfect platforming skills. It might not suit everybody but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for some relaxing, cat-based fun.
