Doctor Cat | Xbox Review
It’s no secret that I love cats; I’m also a huge advocate for mental health awareness and acceptance. So when I saw the trailer for AFIL Games’ Doctor Cat, I was instantly drawn to the premise of the game. It doesn’t quite live up to the expectations I had, but it’s still a short, sweet, relaxing treat to play. If you’re looking for an easygoing gaming experience to chill out with, you can do far worse than this title.
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
The plot of Doctor Cat is exactly what it says on the tin. You are a cat psychologist who must help your animal patients overcome their traumas and hardships. To do this, you solve jigsaw puzzles. As you further complete each puzzle, the individual will chime in with statements about how they feel and how their particular obstacle is affecting their daily life. Once the jigsaw is complete, the final image shows the patient’s mental image of what’s bothering them.
I appreciated that the game doesn’t talk down to any of the in-game clients. It addresses mental health issues such as depression, binge eating, and gambling addiction, and it never felt like it was being disrespectful of these very real, serious battles. The cat psychologist offers some words of wisdom, but this is where the narrative falls short. These segments start off strong, but always end with the doctor telling each of their patients they’ll work together further in the future (and using the same exact words each time). It would have been nice to see these individuals return to further address their situations, but alas, we’re left not knowing their fates.
Brain Stimulation
The gameplay aspect of Doctor Cat is simple: solve jigsaw puzzles. That’s all you do. The puzzles aren’t typical jigsaws, though. They’re more like sliding image brainteasers. The pieces are all square, and the edge pieces are differentiated with a line going in the direction of where they need to be on the board. This design choice adds a little more of a challenge, but it’s not a significant increase in difficulty.
You can select either an easy or normal difficulty mode for each individual jigsaw, but even playing on normal didn’t feel very challenging. Once you solve all twelve puzzles the game has to offer, you unlock the ability to select a hard difficulty mode. I didn’t feel inclined to replay any of the puzzles on the harder option, though. If you’re hoping to sweep all the achievements you’ll want to replay the game on this difficulty setting, but it doesn’t feel like a pressing need to do so. Doctor Cat is far more about taking your mind off of things and leisurely solving these puzzles instead of speedrunning through it.
The Final Session
Doctor Cat is a short, sweet puzzle game that doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it also doesn’t urge you to return unless you’re a completionist. It only took me two hours to complete all twelve puzzles on the normal difficulty mode. I appreciated that the mental health aspects were handled respectfully and weren’t looked down upon, but I also yearned for a deeper look into each of the patient’s lives. The jigsaw puzzles themselves aren’t too difficult to complete, but the fact that the pieces are square instead of the typical odd shapes add the need for a tad bit more thought while solving them. If you’re looking for a cute, leisurely game, Doctor Cat will scratch that itch. If you’re hoping for something more challenging or narratively-driven, you may end up yearning for more instead.
To hear me talk more about Doctor Cat, be sure to listen to the April 17 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast.
This review is based on an Xbox copy of Doctor Cat provided by Press Engine for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation and PC via Steam.
Doctor Cat
$4.99
Pros
- A Cat Psychologist
- Doesn’t Overstay Its Welcome
- Leisurely Gameplay
- Doesn’t Downplay Mental Health Issues
Cons
- Not Very Challenging Initially if That’s What You’re Looking For
- Repetitive Phrases Are Used on Every Patient
- Very Short With Little Incentive to Return
