Little Kitty, Big City

Frolicking in the city

Little Kitty, Big City puts you in the body of an adorable black cat. Image credit: Double Dagger Studio

The premise of this game is neatly summed up by the title. You are a teeny tiny little kitty lost in a very big city. Oh no! Four hours of feline frolics!

Don’t worry, though – through various cat shenanigans, you will eventually be able to navigate your way home to the window of your high-rise apartment and favourite napping spot.

This wasn’t a flawless experience (games rarely are), but it was an extremely joyous one. It felt almost nostalgic to me; bright and colourful, animals that talk, fun collectables, oozing the kind of childlike charm of the games many people grew up on.

As an aside, the nostalgia granted to me by Little Kitty, Big City is interesting in two ways. Firstly, I am almost never nostalgic for my childhood, so this feeling is somewhat surprising. I do think fondly of all the time I was able to spend outside as a kid. I love being outside despite not being a very ‘outdoorsy’ person because we contain multitudes. But not much else of my youth registers with fondness. And secondly, I didn’t really play many games like this. Ours was a household of Resident Evil rather than Crash Bandicoot. So, it’s unclear what, exactly, I am nostalgic about. A kind of anemoia, but not quite.

Look at my apple hat. Image credit: Double Dagger Studio

Anyway, back to the game. In Little Kitty, Big City, you are a little kitty who has got themselves lost in the big city. Unfortunately, you didn’t have any lunch before tumbling out of the window, and thus, you need to find and eat enough fish to have the energy to climb home.

Of course, there are plenty of other things to do in the Big City before you go home. There are Shinies to collect and trade for hats (all of which are fun and adorable and silly), ducklings to find and return home, chameleons to track down (well, really just one chameleon multiple times), bones to feed to dogs, and more.

And it’s really fun and enjoyable to do all these things with one caveat, which I’ll get to. The game knows that exploring the city and collecting things is what we’re all here for, so it has ensured that it’s extremely enjoyable to do so. There are places to climb, gaps to wiggle under, doors that don’t open from this direction, fun easter eggs, and all kinds of things that make this a highly joyful experience.

Excuse me I am a serious workcat, can’t you tell by my hard hat? Image credit: Double Dagger Studio

The area the game takes place in is a maze of interconnected streets, gardens, and interiors. Luckily, something has stopped the cars from moving through the streets on this day, so what could be a stressful and perilous journey to safety is instead a romp through the legs of pedestrians (which you can trip over, causing them to drop bread that you can use for nefarious purposes).

It is important that games with hazardous, risky environments and dangerous stakes exist. And it’s just as important that games like this exist, games that do not invoke any stress or anxiety, games that exist purely for fun and enjoyment.

I understand that friction in entertainment and media is important. There’s a fantastic video by video essayist Jeffiot that explores this topic in depth (it contrasts the high-friction experience of watching Twin Peaks with the absolute blended-smooth slop of Mr Beast). Little Kitty, Big City does not really contain anything that will challenge you, and for me, that was a crucial part of the joy of the game.

I play plenty of games that tackle difficult issues (and engage with plenty of other media that does the same) and plenty of games where the challenge lies in the gameplay, and I firmly believe that we need a broad spectrum of options.

The last month or so has been a difficult one for me for a variety of reasons. Finishing university for the summer is always fraught as an impermanent transition. I feel a huge amount of pressure to use my summer wisely, whatever that means, and every day comes with a huge dollop of anxiety and stress and a sense of doom. At the same time, I feel lethargic (my energy is so depleted by every semester) and in desperate need of a break. My attention span gets all kinds of messed up to the point that it’s actually hard to sit and play video games because it requires my entire focus to be on one thing rather than spreading it across many competing things.

Copy cat. Image credit: Double Dagger Studio

I could talk at great length, but all that to say… I really do need some games to just be for fun, and Little Kitty, Big City really is fun. Climbing and jumping and pouncing and wearing goofy little hats was exactly what I needed at the time, but I am certain I would have enjoyed it regardless of my mental state, whenever I might have picked it up.

The one complaint I have is a minor one about how Kitty controls. There is some precise platforming required, where failure could result in having to redo some work. It was a little frustrating, but honestly, not a huge deal in my opinion. It’s always hard to tell in instances like this how much is down to my ineptitude in controlling game characters anyway.

All in all, Little Kitty, Big City isn’t trying to proselytise any messages. It doesn’t challenge your closely held beliefs. It’s a very fun, joyful, silly game. And that’s why I loved it.

• Game: Little Kitty, Big City

• Developer: Double Dagger Studio

• Publisher: Double Dagger Studio

• Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox

• Time to complete: 3.5 hours

Ali’s Update Corner

Hey folks, it’s been a while. Sorry about that. As you might know, I am currently at university and last year was my third year. It was really intense, and a lot of stuff had to take a back seat. I also ran a conference and got married. I barely played any video games. I haven’t even finished Silksong, the sequel to my favourite game of all time. I’m hoping to get a few games in the bag over the summer but I don’t want to make any promises. Since starting this site, I’ve aimed for one article a month, which has been a disaster. I also suffer from a pretty common anxiety - the longer it was, the harder it felt to return.

But we persevere. Thanks for reading, I hope you stick with me no matter how sporadic my upload schedule has become.