LifeisXbox’s Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered Review | To be honest, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when firing up Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered for the “furrst” time. (Ok I’ll stop). On the surface, it looks to be a genuinely cute platformer filled with collecting items and reaching the end of a level, but scratch beneath the surface, and there is so much more here. Catlateral Damage Remeowstered is a genuinely addictive and fun little game that had me playing into the early hours of the morning before realising what the time was. Developed by Chris Chung, Fire Hose Games, and published/developed by Manekoware, I had a great time overall with this game and its many unlockables and extra modes available.
ℹ️ | We played Catlateral Damage Remeowstered for Five Hours on Xbox Series S. This game is also available on Xbox One and S/X, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, Steam, Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.
What we liked!
- Glorious Destruction | We all know cats can be mischievous little devils. They bite things, claw things and scratch away until our possessions are ruined. As owners we don’t like this one bit, however, like the cat, we love it! The game captures the essence of being said cat and destroying all of your owner’s possessions. At the beginning of each level, you are greeted by your selected cat and given a list of objectives which range from destroying a dollar amount of items, finding your cat toys, or ridding the house of vermin. It’s a really neat concept and one that plays out well no matter the locations you are in. You can swipe with either paw using left or right triggers and you can swat with the right bumper for quick punches to those troublesome items like vases. Watching them tumble down from a shelf and shatter on the floor is highly satisfying.
- The Unlockables | There is a hefty amount of unlockables to discover in Catlateral Damage Remeowstered. The main story mode has you play through all of the main levels and once completed them you get the option to replay them in exchange for finding a secret key that unlocks another level. On top of this, you also get to unlock free play mode which gives you a random selection of missions to complete in exchange for stars that can be used to upgrade your cat. Then there is Litterbox mode which is essentially sandbox mode. Here you can play through at your heart’s content, any level you have already unlocked and cause as much damage as you like, and perform any objectives you like. It’s all great fun. Finally, you can also unlock a wider variety of cats to play with. Throughout the main levels are portraits of cats that you knock down as you play which then goes towards unlocking said cat. My favourite cat was the fart cat. Enough said I think.
- Upgrades | Upgrading your cat does seem slightly silly but let’s be honest. This kind of game is meant to be fun and the more fun that can be had is only a good thing. With upgrades, you can upgrade things like your jump height, your resting health, your stamina, and your swat power. Increasing jump height is a must as it allows you to reach some annoying heights, this also helps by going back to previous levels and re-attempting them as some things were out of reach before. Your swat power is essentially how powerful your cat paw power is and how it affects heavier objects. With a fully upgraded cat swat knocking over TVs and museum dinosaur bones is second nature and makes the whole thing even more satisfying to play. The resting rate is for when you take cat naps. There are several places over the maps where you can take a nap to replenish energy as every move you make drains a bit of energy. Taking a nap restores said energy and allows you to carry on playing.
- Never Gets Old | The game may follow a similar structure time and time again over the many levels it features but that’s a good thing here. The game doesn’t need to be anything more than what it is and the fact you or anyone else can just pick up and play this game is amazing. My 3-year-old at one point was playing this quite easily for over 30 minutes and she was giggling and laughing to herself the whole time. It was really fun to see and I am glad that the game is accessible to this age group also.
Somewhere between
- The Music | The music in-game isn’t anything special. It’s theme fitting and goes well with the pace of the game. However, they are relatively short loops and are quite repetitive and I found myself turning off the music as it got slightly annoying after a short while. You may like it but it certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
- Cat Upgrades for New Cats | When you unlock a new cat each has its statistic before purchasing. However, this becomes completely redundant if you have already upgraded your cat as the upgrades carry over. So if you have fully upgraded your starter cat like I did and then unlock another cat, later on, it doesn’t matter. The whole thing is confusing and can sometimes be very confusing. The abilities don’t increase based on base stats either, meaning that if you select a cat with a better base stat the upgrades don’t improve past a certain point which makes all cats equal when all upgrades have been achieved.
What we disliked
- No Co-op | I would have loved to have seen a couch co-op mode for this game where the owner has two cats and you must either work together to complete a set of objectives or just create double mayhem. The fun of tackling separate rooms or working together to destroy large objects would have been fun.
- No Online Modes | There are no online leaderboards for most damage dealt and no online vs modes or co-op modes to speak of. This feels like such a missed opportunity since the game screams online co-op. As above, the ability to play this with your fellow friends would be great and just take gameplay to the next level. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen YouTubers and Twitch streamers play these types of crazy games and just have a great time with friends. I would love to see this added as a feature in a future update.
How long to beat the story | 2 Hours
How long to achieve 1000G | 5 Hours
Similar with | Untitled Goose Game, Slime Rancher and cooking simulator. The physics-based gameplay and graphical style make them very similar.
LifeisXbox.eu is the largest Belgian Xbox centered website, your reading time is greatly appreciated! Please consider sharing this review with your friends on social media, that means a lot for us! If you are Dutch-speaking also consider joining our Dutch exclusive Facebook group Xbox Gamers Belgium. Feel free to use quotes for PR purposes.
Gaming is in my blood. Be it handheld games, Xbox, PC, Switch or Playstation, I am all over it.
I make my own games as part of my profession and love playing co op games with friends in my spare time. Avid dog lover and camper van enthusiast.
