Super Cat Tales 2 manages to effortlessly blend the comforting knowledge you're going the right way with the desire to see everything the game has to offer. Yes there are sections where you need to use a specific cat, but once you're through them it's back to running the game the way you want to run it. Maybe you want to smash everything in the face, or maybe you want to leap past them - the choice is yours. Because you can swap between them on the fly, you're going to feel like the way you finished a level is your own special way. While it is a decidedly linear game - there's no huge connected map here like in a metroidvania - it still feels like you've got far more freedom here than you do elsewhere.Īnd a lot of that is down to the cats. It's interesting to compare Super Cat Tales 2 to other, more traditionally shaped platformers. It salves the blow of having to head back, and it means you're always excited to see what your new cat can do, since you'll already have made a mental map of the places you can't get to and the goodies you might have missed. That's pretty standard practice in games like this, but the way Super Cat Tales 2 manages the grind is really clever- because some of the bells you've missed you couldn't possibly have got until you reached a certain part of the game.
These are hidden throughout the game, and while finishing a level doesn't require you to pick them up, you'll find yourself stuck when you come up against one of these locked gates, and you'll have to go back to earlier levels to find more. You need to experiment with the options you're given if you want to move forward.Ĭertain levels are locked behind bells. For one things it means you can't just play as one cat the whole way through. It's an interesting system for a number of reasons. You'll start to remember the places you couldn't get to in the past, and head back to grab the goodies that were just out of reach before. With each new cat, the game opens up even more. The next cat can swim against strong currents to get to previously inaccessible areas. The second cat you pick up is capable of charging into enemies and killing them, giving you an offensive option. The more cats you have, the more options you have to explore. Smash into some styles of blocks when you're running and they'll disintegrate. Hit the edge of a platform with a vertical drop when you're running and you'll leap from it. Here's where the clever part comes in - your sprint move is actually multi-purpose. Double tap and hold in either direction and you'll start sprinting that way. Press on the left of the screen and you move left, press on the right of the screen and you move right. You're probably used to struggling with on-screen buttons when you're playing a mobile platformer, or you know you're going to have to give over some of your control to the game in order for things to work. One of the best things about the game is definitely the controls. But for the most part, Super Cat Tales 2 is an interesting and engaging platformer that's dripping with charm and clever ideas.
There's backtracking, hidden secrets, and a lot more going on besides. Sure, within seconds the world you saved in the first game has been plunged into mortal peril again, but the cats are still chunky and cute, the level design is still unashamedly retro, and the adventures you're having are all about choosing the right cat for the job. So from the get-go it drops you into a familiar place. It gets why the first game had so many fans, and it gets why they might want to come back for a second bite at the cat-based jumping cherry. After all, as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. There's a lot to be said for sticking to your guns. This week it's the turn of Super Cat Tales 2 from Neutronized. Every week here at Pocket Gamer we're going to be picking one game and doing an in-depth review.
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