Gato Roboto Review

Feline Fury-A Gato Roboto Review

Before we get into this thing, I must mention that I CANNOT stand metroidvania games. To me, they almost always devolve into me missing out on an important environmental detail and scouring the entire map for the color coded wall that my newly acquired weapon can shoot through. This, coupled with the industry standard backtracking techniques employed in almost every one of these games, were the reasons why I was sceptical at first to try out Gato Roboto, but I wanted to play something to expand my viewpoints on the archetype. 

Clawing, Looting, and Exploring

Gato Roboto places you in control of a cat of a trapped space shuttle operator, whose vessel has just found itself on the unfortunate side of a rock and left him trapped inside. As his loyal cat, it's your job to eventually free him and figure out the mysteries of this cave you have stumbled into. Eventually you come across a leftover suit and head inside, and then the adventure truly begins. 

Throughout the adventure, puzzles and combat revolve around your ability to freely enter and exit the combat suit, allowing you, as a cat, to climb up walls and fit into small spaces. These mechanics are continually exhausted as you obtain upgrades to your ship alongside various other knick knacks. 

I think the main factor that kept me interested to the end was the small size and scope of the game. Never was I overwhelmed with excruciatingly long maps and inventory subsystems. Things were kept simple here, to both the game's benefit and detriment. 

seriously, extremely small scope

In fact, you'd be hard pressed to even exceed 5 hours of gameplay looking for all the game's upgrades and secrets-in the form of extra paletes (the original game is only in black and white) and cassette tapes that can be exchanged for upgrades. Even with my playthrough, which occured when the game was heavily discounted for less than $5 USD, felt somewhat unfulfilling and ended before it really began. Just when things are starting to really flesh out, it's over; and, that is what stuck with me for the hours that followed completing it.

I did, however, really like the cute artstyle contrasted by the deeply bitcrushed sfx and music. It lead to a stunning sense of atmosphere, and kept my ears in check for the entirety of those 3 little hours. It captures the essence of what is so nostalgic about those old original gameboy games. 

Verdict

Gato Roboto was a well designed game, but can come off more as a demo than a real experience you can sink your teeth into (and that's coming from ME, a guy who'd literally rather spend time dying a thousand times to the same stage in some obscure japanese bullet hell). Before you can really dive into the main course, the waiter comes in with your check and demands more than what the meal was worth. For now, the game lacks enough meaningful content to warrant my full recommendation, especially at its current price point.

6/10-Cat Scratching For Something More