Stars In the Trash Review

Be transported back to the ‘90s when you play Stars In The Trash. The game features gorgeous hand-drawn artwork and animations that make you feel like you are playing a Disney movie. This game was developed by a team of three people, who are obviously huge pet lovers and are passionate about their furry friends. Get ready for a sweet and heartfelt story that doesn’t last a long time, but is a memorable trip into the world of a feline.

You take on the role of a cat who loves to explore, both inside and outdoors. We see the protagonist kitty sleeping in a suntangle (the spot where the sun shines in a room making a rectangle) on the couch, with a dog who looks to be their best friend. Everything you do as the cat is incredibly realistic and feels like you’re watching one of your own furballs in action. One of the best parts is that you have a dedicated meow button; just like in Stray or Little Kitty Big City, you can spam the button and drive your real-life cats crazy.

Our cat’s big adventure begins inside the house. You explore the living room, kitchen, bedroom, and basement to see how much trouble you can get into. Flower pots, items hanging on the walls, and cookie jars are just waiting to be hit and knocked down. Besides just being fun, it makes you understand why cats like to knock things down when they don’t have to clean up the mess; you will perform these actions to solve different puzzles thus opening up new areas to explore. Exploring the house is pretty relaxing until you head down to the basement where an evil creature lives: the vacuum… This isn’t just a regular old floor cleaning machine that just sits waiting to be used, instead it is attacking our poor cat, shooting dust clouds that you will need to avoid and it will try to inhale the feline. To defend yourself you will use a combination of swipes, jumps, and rolls to avoid taking damage. If you fall in battle, you will begin at the beginning of the fight so you can try to successfully take down the foe.

The soundtrack in Stars In The Trash is very catchy and fits the sweet Disney-esque look of the game, but it can quickly sound a lot more sinister and suspenseful at any moment. When the music turns, you know something bad is coming. The main enemy in the game is a nasty dogcatcher who chases after any animal that is not a rat. He seems to have a love for vermin, even giving them chemicals to eat to make them stronger and do his bidding. The music is a good hint to tell you that the rats or the dogcatcher is near, ready to snatch you up.

Just like when you fall in battle, if you are captured you will be taken back to the beginning of that section, which is usually not very far back. It is quite forgiving, which is nice because no one loves having to do a tonne of backtracking! I found it helpful in sections where you were required to solve puzzles outside and high above the ground; it is very easy to miss a jump to a ledge and inevitably fall a far distance. The jump controls can be a bit tricky in situations like this — if you are jumping straight up to grab a ledge above you, I found using the thumbstick would launch me to the side if I wasn’t careful. Instead, using up on the directional pad will let you jump straight up, but doesn’t work if you are jumping to the side — here you need to use the thumbstick. It got a bit frustrating at times, but once you learn which buttons work best for each move it gets easier to get through each area.

While on your adventure, you will meet a bunch of other characters like the old woman who gets super excited when you rub against her leg, or the stray cat that our hero seems to have feelings for. Helping these other animals will be a lot of the tasks you will complete on your playthrough, which is worth your effort as they may be there to help you out when you really need someone. It is incredibly sweet to see the animals work together to take down a common foe.

Stars In The Trash is a game that any pet lover should try out. Besides the amazing look of the game, the love that the team put into creating this title is apparent and should be experienced for yourself. The only drawbacks are that it is quite short and won’t take long to complete, and the controls can be a bit finicky at some points. But once you figure out how to gauge your jump distance accurately, you are good to go. If you enjoy the hand-drawn animations of older cartoons and Disney movies, you will love the look of this title!