Games about cats are somewhat of a passion of mine. I also appreciate idle games that hit my dopamine receptors. So when the opportunity to review Incremental Cats arose, I was more than willing to take it on. But I was unprepared for what I would find.
The Heart Of It All
Imagine this: A heart-cat sits in the centre of your screen. You pet it, it purrs, and invites you click the bottom of the screen to find more cats. This triggers a mini-game where you collect cat heads that fly across the screen with your mouse. Each cat collected turns into hearts, which you collect to bolster the heart in “Cat Central”, and thus the incremental loop begins.
Backed by a few loops of upbeat, lo-fi tunes, it’s east to become lost in the core gameplay loop. Collect cats, gain more hearts, spend them to boost the idle upgrades, and repeat. It’s what you’d expect from an incremental game, but there are some features that set Incremental Cats apart from the average idler.
Ultra Upgrades
A lot of the time, upgrades in incremental games don’t really do much. They will boost your boons and increase the frequency of some bonuses, but they only really affect how fast the number goes up. Here, you unlock bonuses for the mini-game as well as the idle incremental counter.
Miniature Marvel
The main collect-a-thon aspect of Incremental Cats is a mini-game where you collect cats. It’s ultra-simple but becomes even more satisfying as you unlock more bonuses and upgrades. Collecting all the cats is the goal as they randomly appear on the screen. Rarer cats earn more hearts, and some even give stars to earn heart multipliers, until hearts and stars explode across your screen.
It’s incredibly satisfying and only has a twenty-second loop, so it’s easy to get sucked into the “just one more game” trap. There’s also a chance to trigger a party when returning from the mini-game for extra bonuses.
It’s Also Magic
You unlock “Spells” by resetting your game. Resetting idlers for bigger boons is nothing new, but the spells are activated during the mini-game, giving you even more cats, more hearts and even higher numbers to achieve. You can trigger the spells with the space bar, but it will auto-trigger if you leave it.
The Perfect Backdrop
Incremental Cats has a great gameplay loop, and leaving it idly collecting hearts keeps hitting those dopamine receptors as cat heads bounce around Hearty to the upbeat tunes. I left it running for hours without realising, simply vibing and getting on with my daily Internet chores.
Occasionally, I would remember it was open and play a quick game to collect a few hearts and hopefully a legendary or two. Then an hour had passed, and I was ready to restart and rebuild my hearts with even higher numbers.
Incremental And Beyond
Incremental Cats is simple, yes, but it’s incredibly addictive. The cute graphics keep it simple and easy to fall into, and the gameplay loop keeps you coming back. The overall aesthetic is sleek, and there are plenty of memes to uncover in the legendary cats.
I appreciate that idle games aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but you could play Incremental Cats without leaving it running. It’s designed for you to play the mini-game to reach the higher unlocks, which is enjoyable enough to stand on its own. The twenty-second time limit also makes Incremental Cats a great way to take a break between PC tasks, and the music helped me stay focused.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to get so hooked on Incremental Cats. I even shared my game with other crew members, and they were equally mesmerised watching me play. It’s also only a few quid so you should definitely check it out on Steam!
DEVELOPER: Sampaio Dias
PUBLISHER: Sampaio Dias
Played On: PC
Code Provided By: Keymailer
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