Thanks to the folks at Roost Games and Freedom Games, I’ve been taking a look through the ever-so-cosy Cat Café Manager. This little bundle of cats and coffee is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch, and we’ve been looking over it on both platforms, with similar results. Below you can find our usual video review and the extended written review with our usual common-sense parent’s guide. Don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments at the bottom, especially if you think this might be one for you.
The Basics
In typical cosy style, Cat Café Manager is available on PC as well as the portable Nintendo Switch. In the long-served tradition of cosy titles throughout history, the intro sees you taking a break from the hustle and bustle of city life to begin again in a rural location. Taking to the quiet town of Caterwaul, you’ll take over your Granny’s old and well-loved Cat Café. While recently battered by a bad storm (which has somehow also removed all walls and floors) you’ll rebuild the café and bring herbal tea back to town.
In your time as the eponymous Cat Café Manager you’ll need to fill the needs of the local populace, earning various resources as well as Delight. There are many different people types in Caterwaul including Vagabonds, Witches, Fisherfolk, Artists, Businessmen and Punks. Each of these will come with their own needs, as well as paying for their food and drink with unique resources, providing you with cloth, gems, materials, fish and gold.
You’ll use these resources in the shops around town, in order to buy more recipes, top-up your produce, upgrade your décor and keep your cats in good order. You’ll also need to lure in and earn the trust of the neighbourhood’s stray cat population. Each cat comes with their own attributes, and you’ll need a good balance in order to please all of the people types who come into the café.
Balancing the right recipes, cats and décor against your cooking, serving and social skills is a relatively simple but still engaging process. Doing all this will earn you resources as well as securing Delight, which is then used to upgrade the local cat shrine, further expanding your café and capabilities.
Parent’s Eye View
Rating: Family Friendly
Cat Café Manager is rated by PEGI at age 12 and above, and by the ESRB as T for Teen. Both of these ratings list language as the primary reason, and reference mild swearing, which is not something we’ve some across within the title. After playing extensively, and completing the campaign, there’s no language within Cat Café Manager which we’ve been concerned with our Micro-Bandits seeing.
Quite the opposite, in fact, this is a title which we have been keen for Micro-Bandits #1 to play as they are a huge fan of cosy titles. Cat Café Manager also brings incredibly inclusive language and gameplay.
With this in mind, it is one which we have rated as Family Friendly. We’ve not come across any swearing which we’re concerned about, and our Micro-Bandits really got on with the simple controls and easy-to-understand systems.
Accessibility
Rating: No Barrier
Cat Café Manager really does fit snugly into the Cosy Game category. In addition to the portable nature of the title on Nintendo Switch (perfect for blanket days) this has extended to ensuring the title is exceptionally accessible.
This title’s controls use just the one stick (if you’re playing on controller, and the usual WASD if not) and a two-button system which makes things easy to get along with. The mechanics are unique enough to make sense, but simple enough to remember making this easy to pop in and out of at a time which suits you.
The Run Down
Visuals – Good: While it would be a stretch to call them outstanding the visuals in Cat Café Manager are well created and do what they need to. The stylised cartoon regulars and cats are nicely animated and the rounded visuals really suit the cosy gameplay. It might not be breaking new moulds but the cartoon visuals really do add a nice vibe to what is already quite a comforting title.
Audio – Good: The music and sound effects for Cat Café Manager have been well created and manage to provide some nice background without being repetitive. While visuals for the regulars are good, it would have been nice to get some voice acting behind them as well, to add a little more to their character. In contract, the musical score for the title really suits the tone and provides some excellent background even when not much else is happening.
Narrative – Lacking: There is a typical, cosy, “return to the country” narrative which runs through Cat Café Manager; however, it is a little loose and lacking when compared to competing cosy titles such as Stardew Valley. You’ll find the usual “large corporation” looking to take over the town, however the title only seems to touch on plot points (seemingly as an afterthought), rather than go into any significant detail.
Replay – Lacking: Cat Café Manager has a relatively short campaign, and a lack of multiplayer doesn’t help replayability. Sadly, while you can continue to play after completing the title, NPC dialogue still refers to events which you’ve already accomplished. This can be a little frustrating and certainly breaks the fourth wall, which doesn’t help too much.
The Verdict
Overall, the Pixel Bandits Feline Felicitations Level for Cat Cafe Manager is 2/4 – Lacking . There are some great ideas in Cat Café Manager, but it’s fallen down a little with a shallow narrative and short campaign, as well as some relatively frequent (two in two days) crashes back to dashboard. In addition, on Nintendo Switch performance begins to lag when moving towards the endgame as you get more decorations and customers in the café.
The title does have some strong cosy vibes, and I enjoyed the management of client types and their resources, as well as the characters and simple control mechanics. Hopefully some of these things are within the team’s plans for future development as otherwise the low price point means that if polished this would be worth a look for cosy-gaming fans.
