Gato Roboto (2019, PC)

Look at these 1-bit graphics. LOOK AT THEM! Somehow they still manage to be expressive and readable. Reminds me a bit of Luftrausers, especially when the game starts rewarding you with alternative color palettes. There are lots of little details that give the game character and keep it feeling lively even outside of combat. One of my favorites is the way Kiki perches on the barrel of the armor suit’s gun right after exiting, bobbing up and down and twitching her tail. Other background elements like gently bouncing mushrooms, dripping water, and swaying foliage ensure that the scene is almost never completely static.

The comparison to 8-bit Metroid in both visuals and gameplay is so obvious, it’s basically not even worth making.

There’s something odd about the sound design I can’t quite put my finger on. The SFX all have kind of a tinniness to them, as though they’re coming through radio and several different loudspeakers. The soundtrack is dizzying and otherworldly; highly amelodic, but not exactly what I’d call atmospheric either.

I’m really enjoying how this cat handles: A little slippery, but still controllable. The wall climbing mechanic is unique; Kiki adheres to the wall and climbs with subsequent presses of the jump key, requiring a direction to dismount. It feels pretty natural though, and it’s a nice contrast to the much heavier mech suit, clearly forecasting two different modes of gameplay we’ll be seeing.

One significant design difference from this game’s predecessors is a complete lack of item drops. There is no ammo and enemies do not drop health when defeated, so the player must reach a save point in order to recharge. I thought this would bother me at first, but the save points are frequent enough that it doesn’t pose a significant challenge. In hindsight, I’m actually a little disappointed that this wasn’t used to change up the difficulty in different sections of the game.

Overall, Gato Roboto is not very difficult. Save points are plentiful and combat is optional in many cases. Though I only think I cleared one of the bosses on my very first try, their attack patterns are generally uncomplicated and involve more finger dexterity than brainpower to defeat.