Developer: Spoonful of Wonder
PS5 Review
*Disclaimer: I was sent the code for this game on PS5 in return for a review; all opinions are mine and mine alone.
Oh look, another cat game. Can you blame me? I had been hearing a lot of positive things about Copycat, and when I saw that I could request a code, I jumped at the chance. I vaguely knew what the game was about, but wasn't expecting to be left in floods of tears. Copycat starts off in a shelter, we get the choice to choose which cat we want, and I chose one that looked very much like my own cat, Gizzy. Both of which were older cats with plenty of life left in them. After picking up my cat and signing the paper whilst playing as an old lady called Olive, I promise to give my cat a good life, we head home in the car. We play from the cat's perspective, which means abusing that meow button as much as I can!
Once we arrive home it's clear that the new world we have been taken too is a big scary one, we don't know this old lady who calls herself Olive and we certainly have no trust left in humans after what I believe must have been a heartbreaking life even before being put in a shelter. Olive is trying her best to get us to come out of our shell and even named us Dawn. But we are having none of it; hiding away in the garage under some shelves is the safest place for us right now. By this part of the game, I was still trying to get my head around why an obviously sick woman who didn't have much time left was adopting a cat, I'm not saying she shouldn't be allowed, but I was worried about Dawn losing another home.
The days passed, and Dawn made her way out of her hiding place. The biscuits just weren't enough, and we needed more! It was time to explore. The house is clearly big enough to run around and has rooms open and available for us to roam around in. This also means there were a lot of things we could knock over and you bet I took advantage of this. Whilst looking around I found food this also kicked off cat facts that would play via the largvge TV in the livingroom, a narrator had a lot of facts that were fed to players through the use of visuals and voice throughout the game, I really enjoyed this feature, it felt like Dawn was part of her own documentary.
Dawn may have annoyed Olive with her antics and naughty behaviour, however, Olive just wanted to win her over, and as the days went on, that's exactly what happened. feeling like she was safe and belonged was a relief for me. I would pause throughout the game and just think about how my cat would be able to cope without me, and being part of a new household or even stuck in a shelter, it broke my heart, which is exactly what the developers were aiming for. Players find themselves realising lessons in life when it comes to being a responsible pet owner, it's more than just owning a cat, that cat is your life, and we our theirs, which is exactly how Dawn was feeling about Olive.
Unfortunately, this was short-lived, and we soon found ourselves stuck outside through no fault of our own. In fact, Olive's daughter was to blame, and she let's slip the very reason this game is called Copycat. I was bawling my eyes out throughout the game because it was so heartbreaking. Dawn needed to get back in, but she couldn't find how to go about it, every time she made progress, she was pushed further and further back. She needs to protect Olive, she's sick, and Dawn knows she can keep watch. Being stuck on the streets isn't what was promised to you; nevertheless, you're determined to get back and will stop at nothing to do so. This beautifully curated cosy game will take players on a journey, one they didn't expect, with its QTE that doesn't punish players, you're not left frustrated, but rather relieved to have them done with. All I wanted was to get Dawn home and out of the sticky situations I found myself in.
The element of exploration is quite fun; it's not very open, and your path is set out for you. However, you find yourself engrossed in where Dawn will end up next. For an old gal, she is doing amazing, she's a very strong-minded cat with a lot of life and willpower in her. This is what people don't realise about older cats, just because they're older now doesn't mean life is over for them, they have so much love and life left to give. Bringing a cat to life with the use of a story like this can't be easy, yet they made it possible, and it transported me right back to the game Stray and the use of events that evoked emotion, just like Copycat.
I began to get annoyed with Olive, an event that takes place makes me see her differently, she may be a sick woman, but what she does is unforgivable. I understand the game is about two hearts healing each other, but this was not it, and I will remain mad at her. Once again, this is the play on emotions; it's meant to make us feel something, show we have a heart and care enough to help Dawn. I can't fault this game in any shape or form, the writing, graphics, music, voice acting etc, has made this one of my favourite narrative games to date. I went into this knowing it was a cat game and came out of this hugging my cat whilst in tears. I applaud the developer team at Spoonful of Wonder for creating such a wonderful game.
Have a cosy day
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