Cat Simulator

Category: Arcade Plays: 27 Rating:

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How to Play

Game Overview

So I tried Cat Simulator expecting a joke game, but it's actually weirdly charming. You pick a cat breed -- I went with a tabby because they look like my neighbor's cat -- and you're dropped into what looks like a suburban house blown up to cat scale. The graphics aren't going to win any awards, they're kind of PS2-era polygonal with soft edges, but the colors are warm and the sunbeams actually look nice when they hit the floor. You can climb furniture, which is janky but hilarious when you're stuck on a bookshelf. The physics are loose -- knocking stuff off counters sends mugs flying in ways that make no sense, but that's sort of the point. You chase laser dots that appear randomly, nap in designated warm spots to regain energy, and scratch up curtains. There's a quest system where local cats give you tasks like steal a fish from the kitchen counter or sneak into the neighbor's yard. It feels like a sandbox where the fun is in the chaos rather than polish. The controls are straightforward -- WASD to move, space to jump, shift to sprint, F to claw attack raccoons and dogs that show up. Who would get hooked? Honestly, anyone who's ever wondered what their cat is thinking, or people who just want a no-stakes game to mess around in for 20 minutes. It's not deep, but it's got personality.

About Cat Simulator

So you pick a cat -- there's a tabby, a black cat, a calico, a few others -- and you're dropped into a house. Living room, kitchen, hallway, backyard. The first few minutes are just figuring out how to move and jump, which is fine because the controls are basic. W to walk, Space to jump, Shift to sprint. There's a little tutorial pop-up that tells you to knock a glass off the counter for your first coin. That's the core loop: cause chaos, earn coins, buy new cats. But it gets weirder.

You're not just knocking things over. There are laser dots that appear randomly -- chase them and you get bonus coins. There are mice you have to catch by sneaking up and pressing F. The game gives you quests like "Knock over 5 vases in the bedroom" or "Sleep in the sunbeam for 10 seconds" and each one gives you a little XP bar that fills up. Level 1 to 5 is just the house. At level 6, you unlock the "Neighborhood" zone -- that's where the enemies show up. Dogs. Big ones, little ones, some are chained up, some roam free. You can hiss at them with the F key to scare them off, but if you get hit, you lose coins. There's a boss dog called "Rex" in the backyard of the second house -- you have to dodge his lunges and scratch him three times. It's actually tense.

Difficulty ramps pretty fast. By level 12, you're in the "Alleyway" zone, which has raccoons. They're faster than dogs and they throw trash cans at you. You need to time your jumps and sprint to avoid getting flattened. The satisfying moments are when you chain together three or four objectives -- like knock over a bottle, sprint to catch the laser dot, then scratch a raccoon before it hits you. Coins pile up and you unlock "Maine Coon" at level 15, which has a longer jump and a stronger scratch. Then "Siamese" at 20, which lets you see hidden coins through walls for a few seconds.

The upgrade system is weird -- you spend coins on "Fur Patterns" that do nothing cosmetic but give stat boosts, and "Collars" that let you carry more coins before losing them on death. There's also a "Catnip" power-up that makes you invincible for five seconds but also makes your cat wobble, which is actually a problem because you can't control direction well. The game never explains that.

Later levels introduce "The Vet" -- a timed escape sequence where you have to avoid the vet's hands and run through an open door. Fail and you lose coins. Succeed and you get a massive bonus. The last zone I've seen is "Roof Tops" at level 25, where you jump between ledges and avoid pigeons that fly at you. There's no ending -- it just loops the zones with harder enemy spawns. Some people like that, some don't. I got bored around level 30 but the first 15 hours are genuinely fun.

Tips & Tricks

The jump timing on furniture is trickier than it looks -- you can actually hold the space bar to hang onto ledges for a second, which saved me from falling off the bookshelf in the living room level like a dozen times. That Shift speed boost drains your stamina bar fast, so save it for those timed challenge rooms where you gotta grab all the red dots before they vanish. I spent way too long ignoring the scratching posts; they''re not just decorations, they restore your energy way quicker than napping, which is handy when you''re grinding coins. The F claw attack has a weird hitbox -- aim slightly to the left of enemies, especially the vacuum cleaners in the kitchen, or you''ll swipe at nothing. Coins from knocking stuff off counters are random, but if you line up multiple items on the edge and push them all at once, each one gives a bonus. The hidden fish bones in the sewer area behind the grate? You gotta meow three times near the drain cover -- that took me an hour to figure out, and it unlocks a secret Persian cat. One more: when chasing the laser pointer in the backyard, don''t use Shift right away; wait until the dot slows down, then sprint -- otherwise you overshoot every time.