Cats Around Us: Giant Cat, there’s always gotta be that one cat that looks like a loaf of bread.
I’m not often one to play these hidden object games that feature cats or any other animals, really, hiding in a large mural image, basically because there’s just too many of them at this point and they seem to be all the same. Maybe not though. Maybe I’m judging them all before playing them individually.
But if I do play a lot of them and they’re all the same, how am I going to review each of those without saying the exact same things?
So here’s a (hopefully) refreshing take on a hidden cat game.
Where can you buy?
- Available on Steam
Pros:
- Zoom in/out slider
- Coloring in photo mode
- Send in your own cat name and quirks
- Speedrun setting
Cons:
- No undo in coloring mode
- Maybe a bit too easy?
Explanation to Negative Feedback
No undo in coloring mode
At least, I didn’t see one, and of course pressing the typical keybind for undo didn’t do anything either, so that’s kind of a bummer that if you make a mistake with coloring you’ll have to go back over it. It’s not a huge flaw, but something digital artists typically rely on.
Maybe a bit too easy?
Due to there being a slider or just the ability to zoom in an exponential amount, I feel like the game might become a bit too easy in finding the cats? I mean, you can zoom in an amazing amount–moreso than you can at least in the game Shy Cats Hidden Orchestra. And, y’know, in a hidden object game the more you can zoom in on a scene the easier things are to see.
Explanation to Positive Feedback
Zoom in/out slider
I am so thankful that they placed in a zoom in and out slider, instead of just relying on someone to use their mouse wheel in order to get closer or further away. Not everyone’s mouse wheel works properly, thank you very much, and some of us don’t want to dish out money for a new mouse that works perfectly fine, other than that flaw.
It’s a flaw that really sucks when it comes to certain games that rely on the mouse wheel, and luckily not every game does, such as this one.
Learn from this dev, everyone.
Please.
Coloring in photo mode
I thought it was a little strange to have a photo mode in a game like this, but upon shooting a picture of a close-up image, I realize the snapshot you take becomes a sort of blank slate coloring space for you to give everything a splash of color.
I don’t know if a lot of games like this one have this feature, but I really like it in the sense that people who aren’t actually digital artists and don’t do a lot of drawing on the computer can have a chance to do so–especially if kids play this game and want to reward themselves by coloring a part of the image in that they might like the most.
Send in your own cat name and quirks
It’s always awesome when the audience are able to interact with the developers of a game in some way, and not just in a Patreon or Kickstarter or email kind of way, but something that could actually be integrated into the game itself.
With this game, you’re able to send information of your own cat to the developers and maybe have your feline friend show up as a name and description in the game itself, or even future ones.
I feel like a lot of times features like this are specifically for donating a certain amount to a tier-based site, but that’s not the case here.
Speedrun setting
If the competition is real, I can see the speedrun setting being used between two different people trying to find the cats faster than the other. For now, I don’t really see a reason for someone to use the speedrun on their own, except maybe to see the time they get.
I mean, after you’ve spotted the cats the first time, it’s just a matter of clicking on where they are in a timely fashion.
