Super Catboy

 

    The action-packed platformer Super Catboy from PixelPogo takes you on a journey as a badass cat battling against your worst enemies, dogs, in the style of the 16-bit era in the 1990s. In order to defeat Dr. Ungefug, your main objective in the game is to run, jump, dash, and fight your way through snow-capped mountains and abandoned factories. On this quest to eliminate Catboy's creator, you are accompanied by a crazy sidekick named Weapongirl. The gameplay of Super Catboy is similar to that of a standard platformer. You must jump on enemies to advance through levels, negotiate difficult platforms that have spikes and other hazards, and engage enemies with your gun or Super Catboy claws for close-quarters combat. Players can move between platforms quickly or avoid enemy fire by using the game's dashing feature. My personal experience has shown me that the dash control only functions while standing on platforms, not while flying. The melee feature wouldn't be as helpful compared to the gun you are carrying when fighting enemies other than Dogs, like Bats. I used an Xbox wireless controller for my playthrough, and occasionally the controls felt sluggish when I needed to melee an enemy who was flying or dashing. For fans of the classic 90s platformers, Super Catboy's art style will bring back lots of wonderful memories, and the game is very similar to TMNT: Shredder's Revenge. As you progress through the levels, where you'll take on missions on a motorcycle, in a mining cart, in a haunted mansion, and more, the art for the game reaches its pinnacle.

    Talking about Super Catboy's audio and music. For a 16-bit platformer created by an indie studio, the music is exceptional. The music is inspiring and never gets stale or repetitive, from the main menu to boss battles and level progression. The only audio component of the game's soundtrack that irritated me was Catboy's constant meowing when you were hurt by spikes or other obstacles. This can drive players crazy if they're going through a difficult section of the game. Super Catboy is not the world's simplest game either. Boss fights that you'll encounter throughout the game can be challenging, and even getting through some of the levels, such as the Haunted Mansion, where you have to run past numerous obstacles, can be difficult for players who aren't too familiar with platformers. In this platformer, there aren't many checkpoints, so when your health bar empties, you usually end up back at the beginning of the level. When you begin a level, you are given 9 lives, and you can naturally find canned cat food throughout the game to heal yourself. A Game Over screen will appear if you exhaust all nine of your lives. After that, you'll move on to a cutscene where you and Weapongirl are at home. No matter where you were before, the game will reset you to that level's beginning from there.

    The number of collectible pieces you've found, the number of coins you've collected, and other completion metrics will be graded at the end of each level in Super Catboy. I like how this game requires you to concentrate on side goals in addition to eliminating enemies and crossing the finish line. The coins and memorabilia pieces needed to create a cat sculpture can be gathered. As you play through the same costume in the game, I wish there were ways to customize your character. We will, however, be forgiving of features that aren't in the game but are typically found in games with larger development teams due to the small size of the team. Super Catboy is a generally entertaining and fun 16-bit platformer from the 1990s that lets you play as the badass cat you've always wanted to be. Although the game can occasionally get boring and make you want to take breaks, for the low price of $9.099 on Steam, it's worth a try for anyone who enjoys 2D platformers.