Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender
- February 3, 2014
- Electric Cafe
- 25h median play time
Aqua Kitty is one of the finest indie games you’ll find on the Xbox Live Marketplace. If you’re a fan of horizontal shooters, and can handle a seriously old-school challenge, this is a must have – even more so when considering the criminally low asking price. There might not be much variety here, but when everything is this refined, it doesn’t really matter. Download Aqua Kitty as soon as you have a chance, and be sure to milk it for all it’s worth.
Get on Steam"Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender" is a fast-paced, retro-style shoot-em-up game. Players protect a school of cat milkmen from robotic enemies while they extract milk from the ocean floor. With upgradeable weapons, power-ups, and multiple levels, it's a challenging and fun experience for fans of classic arcade games.
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
Linux
PlayStation
Playstation Vita
Xbox
Reviews
- Charming pixel art and a catchy chiptune soundtrack enhance the overall experience.
- Fun and addictive gameplay reminiscent of classic arcade shooters, with a unique twist of defending milk-mining cats.
- Offers a variety of modes, including an endless mode and local co-op, providing good replay value.
- Difficulty spikes can be frustrating, especially in later levels where enemies become overwhelming.
- Limited weapon upgrades and power-ups can make gameplay feel repetitive and less rewarding.
- The radar system can be confusing, making it hard to track both enemies and the miners you need to protect.
- music100 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, particularly for its catchy chiptune soundtrack that complements the charming pixel art and retro aesthetic. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, enhancing the overall gaming experience, although some note that the limited number of tracks may lead to repetition. Overall, the combination of vibrant music and engaging gameplay makes it a memorable title for fans of the genre.
“The soundtrack alone is worth the cost of admission.”
“A fun and surprisingly challenging bullet hell game with cutesy graphics and an amazing soundtrack; worth a purchase for the OST alone.”
“The music is amazing, and the visuals are really well put together, and the challenge is fair and curves just right to keep it challenging yet fair.”
“The soundtrack is grating, and the sound effects are as forgettable as the gameplay.”
“This is a fairly simple cute little game with cute simple graphics, cute simple music and simple controls which gets really difficult really fast but still manages to not seem too frustrating.”
“If you consider this game as buying an 8-track chiptune music album with an arcade shooter as a bonus, then it's probably worth a purchase, especially during a sale.”
- gameplay96 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender is a mix of fast-paced, arcade-style shooting mechanics reminiscent of classic titles like Defender, featuring simple controls and a charming aesthetic. While many players appreciate its addictive nature and retro feel, some criticize it for being repetitive and lacking depth, with difficulty spikes that can detract from the overall experience. Overall, it offers a solid, if not groundbreaking, gameplay experience that appeals to fans of the genre.
“The gameplay is simple: kill everything, and save the milkminer cats from abduction by the robotic jellyfish-like creatures.”
“Aqua Kitty has great retro graphics, a cute premise, frantic gameplay, and awesome music.”
“The gameplay itself is very simple to understand and still very well-made.”
“The premise—cats defending a milk mine in underwater subs—sounds like a fever dream, and the gameplay is just as incoherent.”
“It's a mindless grind of shooting enemies, all wrapped in repetitive, uninspired mechanics.”
“Cute graphics and cats simply don't win out over undercooked gameplay.”
- graphics90 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and colorful pixel art style, reminiscent of classic retro games, particularly from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. Players appreciate the cute aesthetic and vibrant visuals that complement the engaging gameplay and catchy soundtrack, although some note a lack of graphical options and simplicity in design. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's enjoyable and nostalgic experience.
“The graphics are charming and the soundtrack is catchy, making for a truly enjoyable gaming experience.”
“Aqua Kitty boasts a fantastic, chiptune soundtrack that meshes perfectly with its pixel-art style, giving the underwater shooting an overall pleasant visual presentation.”
“The graphics are colorful and the music is awesome; maybe the game is a little bit too hard for a casual player, but I guess it's a plus if you like a good challenge.”
“I can recommend the game purely from its gameplay and soundtrack, but the lack of graphical options is a bit of a pain for me, especially considering the fact that the game maxes out at 1280x720, which is not acceptable in 2014.”
“As a result, the cats are more or less a graphic skin with no bearing on gameplay and no story content.”
“Cute graphics and cats simply don't win out over undercooked gameplay.”
- story24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and largely serves as a backdrop for the gameplay, revolving around cats mining milk from the sea due to a famine. While some players appreciate the quirky premise, many criticize the lack of narrative depth, cutscenes, or character development, leaving the storyline feeling generic and underexplored. Overall, the focus remains on the arcade-style action rather than a compelling narrative.
“Solid classic arcade wave-style shooter with a fun, cute theme, weirdly gorgeous artwork, and more of a story than these games usually ever get.”
“The story is simple and silly, the graphics are bright and vibrant, and the music is amazing.”
“Storyline and plot are all about saving the cat miners and undersea milk farms from destruction... really, do you need any more than that?!”
“All of this cat cuteness is mostly a facade, since there seems to be no cutscenes or in-game story explanation whatsoever. If it wasn't for the store page, I wouldn't know that the cats are trying to mine milk from the seabed because of a milk famine (yeah, it's stupid).”
“One of the biggest problems I have is that despite the clever theme and cute cat art, there's no story, not even a still picture with text to drive a narrative as to what you are doing, why you are doing it, or incentive to keep you interested.”
“In fact, true to the games of old, it comes out as a very simple and basic game with little in the way of story, upgrades, or level variety.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humor, featuring a whimsical concept of cats defending milk mines from robotic fish, which adds a lighthearted and entertaining twist to the arcade shooter genre. Players appreciate the combination of cute pixel graphics, retro tunes, and engaging gameplay, making it a fun and relaxing experience that stands out for its comedic elements. Overall, the humor is described as effective and charming, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
“This is a hilarious arcade-style 2D shooter, except with cats defending milk mines!”
“... top class defender-clone... great pixel graphics, retro tunes, and slick controls... all wrapped up in a daft and humorous cat concept... I could see myself losing hours to this game. It's relaxing, old-school, challenging, and just plain fun - something many games (certainly in my collection) are missing... grab it now (and throw in the soundtrack too - it's ace!)”
“The good: it has very cute, effective graphics, a sweet soundtrack, and a humorous concept just bursting with possibilities (cats with a deep-sea milk rigging operation under attack by robotic fishes).”
- replayability5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, "Aqua Kitty" offers solid replayability through its multiple difficulty settings, endless mode, and high score system, making it appealing for completionists and casual players alike. However, some users note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, potentially diminishing long-term engagement.
“With a simple but nice pixel art alongside a catchy audio track, Aqua Kitty is a cute and recommendable shooter, perfect for short sessions and with a good replay value for completionists.”
“It's a tad short, but with three difficulty settings and an endless mode, there's plenty of replayability.”
“There's good replayability thanks to the high score system and exciting gameplay.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly after the initial levels. While the early stages are enjoyable, the later levels require excessive retrying, leading to a lack of incentive to continue due to the repetitive and difficult nature of the gameplay.
“Started alright, but quickly got tedious and boring.”
“At level 10, I had to retry a lot; it became tedious and annoying.”
“While the first few levels are enjoyable, and all seems well initially, the game quickly divebombs into frustrating and tedious territory.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players report a stable experience with no significant glitches or gameplay issues encountered, even after progressing through multiple levels.
Critic Reviews
Aqua Kitty - Milk Mine Defender Review
Aqua Kitty is one of the finest indie games you’ll find on the Xbox Live Marketplace. If you’re a fan of horizontal shooters, and can handle a seriously old-school challenge, this is a must have – even more so when considering the criminally low asking price. There might not be much variety here, but when everything is this refined, it doesn’t really matter. Download Aqua Kitty as soon as you have a chance, and be sure to milk it for all it’s worth.
90%Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender DX Review
72%
