The Adventures of Buttered Toast Cat
In the world of indie games, sometimes all it takes is a demo and a solid concept to capture your heart. That’s exactly what happened when I first played CATO, a whimsical puzzle platformer that pairs a cat with a piece of buttered toast, each with unique abilities, to navigate a series of increasingly complex puzzles.
As soon as I started the demo, I was introduced to the charming mechanics of this unlikely duo. The cat, agile and nimble, could move side to side and scale pink railings with ease. One of its standout abilities is getting sucked through tubes and emerging on the other side, ready to continue its journey. Then there was the buttered toast. Channeling some classic platforming vibes, the toast could fling itself left to right and cling to walls, reminiscent of the wall-clinging mechanic from the Mega Man X series. When the cat and toast came together, they could infinitely jump and navigate their way to the exit-which is usually a tear in space-time continuum. It was incredibly satisfying to master their synergy and see them work together seamlessly.
One puzzle involved carefully timing the buttered toast across a series of moving platforms while the cat controlled the directions of these platforms. Another puzzle featured a series of pink and yellow switches. The pink switch, designated for the cat, allowed the feline to charge the platform and activate a nearby pathway. The yellow switch, which was shaped like toast, had to be timed perfectly to open up a separate path, ultimately leading to an exit. I’m a huge fan of games that deliver a steady cadence of “aha” moments, and with CATO, every puzzle I bested delivered an ever to slight dopamine hit that activated my pleasure zones and put a silly grin on my face. Well, an even sillier grin because the idea of controlling a cat with a piece of buttered toast strapped to its back never gets old. It’s just so damn adorable.
With its innovative mechanics, delightful art style, and challenging puzzles, CATO stood out as a testament to the power of a solid concept executed with care and creativity. Whether you’re a fan of puzzle platformers or simply looking for a unique gaming experience, CATO promises an adventure that’s both heartwarming and brain-teasing. My first dive into its demo left me eagerly anticipating the full game, ready to jump back into the delightful world of cat and toast teamwork. Stay tuned as we plan to interview the team behind this zany idea to uncover its origins and what we can expect from the final game. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to wishlist CATO and to play the demo for a taste of the fun to come.
Wishlist CATO: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1999520/CATO/
