CatBox

About

CatBox is a single player casual puzzle game. It was developed by Very Very LITTLE Studio and was released on September 19, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Welcome to CatBox! Cute, fluffy and sometimes unpredictable - cats can be the real heroes of our puzzles! You will have to use your wit and logic to place them correctly on each level. More than 30 different cats and 150 levels are waiting for you. Game Features: - More than 30 kitties - More than 150 levels - Different locations - Pleasant music for relaxation

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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98%Audience ScoreBased on 49 reviews

story5 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

Charming and cozy presentation with beautiful hand-drawn cat illustrations, soft colors, and calming music that create a relaxing atmosphere.
Engaging puzzle gameplay with 150 levels of varying difficulty that balance accessibility for casual players and challenge for puzzle enthusiasts.
Heartfelt narrative framed as a scrapbook following a character's life stages, enhancing emotional depth and making the game feel personal and touching.

Controls can be clunky and sometimes frustrating due to hitbox issues when placing or rotating cats, leading to occasional player irritation.
Some technical issues including minor bugs, lack of cloud saving, limited control customization, and performance glitches on certain devices like the Steam Deck.
The gameplay may feel repetitive or monotonous for some players, especially those looking for more varied puzzle mechanics beyond fitting shapes into grids.

story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
47%
20%
The story is a charming, sweet, and cozy narrative about companionship, memory, and the passage of time, revealed gradually through illustrations and short text between puzzle stages. While initially subtle and simple, the heartfelt storytelling adds emotional depth and warmth, enhancing the relaxing puzzle experience. Some find it touching and reflective, though a few consider it short, generic, or slightly cheesy.
- “As players complete puzzles, new illustrations are added to the album, gradually revealing a story about companionship, memory, and the passage of time.”
- “This subtle storytelling elevates the experience, transforming what could have been a purely mechanical puzzle game into something more reflective and heartfelt.”
- “You can select levels and read a short paragraph of the main character's story, told from her childhood to old age, with cats being a constant presence in her life.”
- “The 'story' itself, initially, seems to just be an extra - easily ignored.”
- “There's a story to discover too, charming, but cheesy and a bit generic and short.”
- “However, as the levels progress, the story, as short as it is, becomes more touching and relevant.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The graphics feature a charming hand-drawn art style with soft colors and gentle animations that create a warm, cozy, and emotionally resonant atmosphere. The artwork is praised for its simplicity and deliberate design choice, effectively complementing the game's tone and story progression. Overall, the visuals are beautiful, calming, and enhance the emotional depth of the game.
- “Catbox embraces a hand-drawn aesthetic with soft colors and gentle animations.”
- “The art style plays a crucial role in shaping the game’s tone.”
- “The artwork is great, the story is sweet, the fonts and music are fitting, and the levels can be challenging at times but still very relaxing.”
- “Its simplicity is not a flaw but a deliberate design choice that allows the emotional and aesthetic elements to shine.”
- “The art style is cute and cozy, and the menu/level navigation offers a cute 'plot progression', showing a little girl grow up, surrounded by cats, but also very sad when you get to the last set of levels, where she is an old woman who is implied to have steadily worsening memory problems, and can no longer remember much of her life anymore.”
- “Right off the bat in the menu screen, you're met with a calming melody and a warm and inviting art-style.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music is consistently praised for its relaxing, calming melodies that enhance the cozy and thoughtful atmosphere of the game. Complemented by unique themed sections and beautiful sound design, it perfectly supports the charming artwork, cute stories, and varied puzzle challenges.
- “The music and sound design further enhance the relaxed atmosphere, providing calm background melodies that complement the thoughtful pace of puzzle solving.”
- “There are various themed sections each with their own unique background style and music.”
- “The artwork, sound, and music is on point, which I think we can come to expect from this dev.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
49%
38%
The gameplay centers on fitting cats of various shapes into designated spaces, combining simple puzzle mechanics with charming, subtle storytelling. Early levels offer an easy introduction, while later stages demand more strategic thinking, with gradual variation keeping the experience engaging. Although gameplay is straightforward and enjoyable, some quality-of-life features like speedup settings have issues.
- “While the core mechanics remain consistent throughout, the gradual introduction of new shapes and layout variations keeps the experience engaging over extended play sessions.”
- “The primary gameplay loop revolves around placing cats of varying shapes and sizes into designated spaces.”
- “Early puzzles are accessible and serve as a gentle introduction to the mechanics, while later stages require more deliberate strategy and spatial foresight.”
- “The gameplay is decent, although there's not much to ask from this type of game.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Catbox delivers a gentle, emotionally resonant experience through its subtle storytelling and cozy design, elevating its spatial puzzles into a heartfelt journey. The game's simplicity enhances its reflective atmosphere, offering a touching narrative that grows more meaningful as players progress. Overall, it provides a short but impactful emotional experience accessible to all players.
- “Catbox, developed and published by Very Very Little Studio, is a cozy grid-based puzzle game that combines spatial reasoning challenges with a gentle, emotionally resonant presentation.”
- “This subtle storytelling elevates the experience, transforming what could have been a purely mechanical puzzle game into something more reflective and heartfelt.”
- “It offers a short but touching story and accessible puzzles that anyone can enjoy, with or without the in-game hint system.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is warm and personal, enhanced by charming visual storytelling and thoughtful level design. Calm, soothing music and sound design further complement the relaxed, contemplative pace of the puzzle-solving experience.
- “Yet what might initially seem like a simple block-placement puzzle gradually reveals surprising depth through thoughtful level design, charming visual storytelling, and an atmosphere that feels warm and personal rather than purely abstract.”
- “The music and sound design further enhance the relaxed atmosphere, providing calm background melodies that complement the thoughtful pace of puzzle solving.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is driven mainly by completionist goals, encouraging players to revisit the game to achieve full completion.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a charming cat-themed design but suffers from some bugs that affect its overall stability.
- “Block puzzle with a cat theme, pretty but a little buggy.”