Little Kitty, Big City Review

I have anxiously been awaiting the release of Little Kitty, Big City since I first saw the announcement years ago, on the 13th of November 2021. It has been a really long wait, but now it is finally here. I checked out the demo, and I can’t wait to play and see what has changed since that time. I am expecting a lot of cute kitty antics, a tonne of adorable hats, and a wholesome gaming experience; let's see if Little Kitty, Big City can deliver.

In the beginning, we see a black kitty sleeping on the ledge outside an apartment window. The cat is stretching and trying to get comfortable; the problem is that the little kitty stretches too far and is sliding off the ledge, many floors up. It's a long way down! The cat tries to grab anything it can to avoid hitting the ground at full speed, including a crow with the worst timing ever and phone lines to slow its descent. The kitty falls right into a garbage can — this is where our part in the story begins.

If you are playing with a controller, like the kitty in the intro recommends, you will move the cat using the left thumbstick, and the right controls the camera. The bottom face button is your jump; if you hold it down, you can perform a precision jump by moving the pawprint to mark exactly where you want the cat leap. The top right shoulder button is your run button—— excuse me, the "zoomie" button, which makes your kitty sprint. That one is fun to use, but the best button by far is the top facebutton (Y)... this makes your kitty meow. I guarantee you that I will spam the crap out of this, especially since it gets the attention of my cats. 

Kitty hates water, and if you touch it, they respond by jumping back and hissing. So you need to find alternate ways to get around water hazards, like walking along fences and ledges. Don't go too fast, as you can easily fall and have to find your way back up again. While on one of these ledges, you meet a crow; this happens to be the same one that you tried to grab while falling from the ledge. You have a conversation with the bird; the cat meows and coos along with the speech bubble, and the bird squawks just like they are having a real back-and-forth discussion.

On the right of the screen, you see pictures of bolts and paperclips known as shinies, feathers, and little fish. You have to do some collecting to trade the crow for fish that give you energy for climbing, which in turn teaches you a new ability once eaten. It will take a lot of searching to find the 25 doodads, so you need to search everywhere you can think of, on ledges, in bushes, and even on top of vehicles. While searching, you will meet other animals who will give you tasks or teach you more skills that will be helpful for your trek home.

These other animals you meet around town usually have tasks for you to complete before they teach you the skills that you will need to survive as an outdoor cat; it makes sense that an indoor cat wouldn’t know how to hunt birds effectively. Learn how to lure birds using bread that a human has dropped. If you don’t see any around, no worries; just trip a human who is walking carrying a sandwich or bagel. Once they drop the food, quickly pick it up and place it where you want to draw the birds. When the food is set down, hide by crouching and wait. When a bird, or a few, land to eat, slowly sneak up and pounce on the birds. Don't worry, you're not actually hurting them: they just fly off and leave a feather behind for you to pick up.

While on your adventure, you get to do other activities like paint, knock pots off of ledges, and even pull items to move them out of the way to expose secret openings in a fence or wall. These different things can unlock Cat-chievements like “become an artist” or “decluttering” when you smash flower pots. There is something incredibly satisfying when you hear the sound of glass and clay pots smashing, especially when you don't have to clean them up! You can view the list of achievements and the items on your to-do list by checking out the menu, which is handy to remember what tasks you are trying to do, and it also allows you to save your game.

Little Kitty, Big City is incredibly cute and vibrant, especially our main kitty with its black fur and bright green eyes. It is clear that the developers have had cats of their own because the mannerisms and animations are so spot on! It felt like I was watching my own cats cause innocent chaos by knocking items off a ledge, getting in the way of someone walking, or just nuzzling against a person's leg. Combined with a catchy soundtrack with relaxing jazzy music, we have a cosy, chill experience.

There is one thing I had issues with during my playthrough: the camera is a pain to deal with. At times, you are required to jump onto ledges or air conditioning units that are attached to a building. When you jump, the camera turns, making it difficult to see what you are doing. I found that the jumping mechanic wasn't as precise as I would have expected, making it easy to miss your target and fall. I am used to playing titles like Stray that are quite forgiving when you jump. That, combined with the camera, got a bit frustrating at times.

Little Kitty, Big City is a short game for the main story, but that's okay because it doesn't overstay its welcome. I spent the majority of my time doing side quests, helping various animals with their tasks, and collecting hats as I explored. I will never get tired of putting silly ladybug and apple hats on my kitty! If you are looking for a cosy game with super cute animal characters, this is a game you must try, especially since it doesn't require a huge time commitment. I will never get bored of trying to trip humans and stealing the stuff they drop, even when they get mad and try to catch me… 

If you have Xbox Game Pass, you have no excuse not to try it out since it is a day one release and available to play. This is a great way to spend an afternoon!