Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows | Game Brain

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows Game Cover

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Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows is a single player casual platformer game with a horror theme. It was developed by Last Quarter Studios and was released on July 25, 2016. It received very positive reviews from players.

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows is a minimalist 2D platformer about a liquid cat, locked in a world she doesn't quite understand, trying to get out. The core of your movement is simple: move, jump, and climb, with your ability to turn into liquid allowing you to squeeze through tight spaces and dash across the rooms at high speeds. As you play, you'll discover abilities which let yo…

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Single-Player

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows screenshot

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93%

Audience ScoreBased on 589 reviews

story56 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Unique and fun platforming mechanics featuring a cat that can transform into liquid, gas, and solid states, providing engaging and varied gameplay.
Minimalist art style, smooth controls, and a calming, atmospheric soundtrack that complement the game's tone and enhance the emotional experience.
Surprisingly deep, emotional, and thought-provoking story woven subtly through environmental storytelling, making the game memorable despite its simplicity and short length.

Some levels and mechanics feel repetitive or underutilized, with a few instances of poor level design and difficulty spikes that may frustrate players.
The story's cryptic and abstract nature alongside some narrative presentation issues can be confusing or unsatisfying for some players.
Technical issues include occasional bugs, inconsistent control behavior, and lack of certain quality-of-life features like full control remapping or better checkpoint placement.

story
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
61%
4%
The story in "Cats Are Liquid" is a subtle, abstract narrative conveyed through environmental cues and minimal text, exploring themes like depression, loss, and personal growth. While many players find it emotionally impactful and intriguingly deep for such a simple platformer, others criticize its vague, fragmented presentation and unsatisfying, depressing ending. Overall, the story adds a meaningful layer to the gameplay but can be polarizing due to its cryptic and minimalist style.
- “The story itself unfolds quietly and abstractly, told not through dialogue but through environmental cues and the progression of levels.”
- “It proves that emotional storytelling doesn’t require complex graphics or elaborate dialogue—just thoughtful mechanics, atmosphere, and a willingness to let players find meaning for themselves.”
- “This game is the perfect mix of fun gameplay and a contemplative, pensive story about loss and clinging to a past we cannot go back to.”
- “The story is just all over the place with an unsatisfying end to the main game, and I went the entire main game without understanding any of it, which is not good for a game with such a mysterious atmosphere.”
- “I don't want to spoil it for those who might actually be interested in this game and the story despite how bad it is, but I will say that the ending is extremely dissatisfying and leaves a lot of the elements of the game and the story unexplained.”
- “The story starts out fine but unfortunately devolves into a mess so full of "#deep," try-hard nonsense that I almost didn't recommend the game, even though I really loved everything else about it.”
gameplay
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
53%
5%
The gameplay is generally praised for its smooth, intuitive mechanics centered on a liquid-transforming cat, offering enjoyable and creative puzzle-platforming with responsive controls and steady difficulty progression. While some find the levels and mechanics repetitive or poorly explained—especially on certain platforms—the overall experience is engaging, with diverse powers and a good mix of challenge and accessibility. Despite occasional pacing and design issues, it delivers rewarding gameplay well-suited for its price and length.
- “At first glance, it appears to be a simple puzzle-platforming game starring a cat that can turn into liquid, but beneath its smooth mechanics lies a surprisingly poignant narrative about isolation, identity, and perseverance.”
- “Controls are responsive, and the liquid transformation mechanics feel natural and intuitive.”
- “The progression of mechanics and learning curve are both very well done as the game never instantly jumps to being extremely hard out of nowhere.”
- “The mechanics are fine, although the level difficulty is roughly the same throughout and the controls are a bit whack out of the box, especially on the Steam Deck.”
- “The levels and story got a lot more poorly designed as it went along and you can definitely tell the developer stopped putting in quite as much effort, and some of the mechanics were poorly explained, but it was fun overall.”
- “The consistency of the game mechanics unfortunately extends to the predictable, monotonous gameplay and many of the levels are identical but played with different abilities.”
graphics
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
48%
6%
The game's graphics are minimalist, simple, and colorful, with a charming, abstract art style that complements its emotional storytelling and gameplay. While the visuals lack complexity and high detail typical of AAA titles, their elegant simplicity is praised for enhancing atmosphere and clarity. Overall, the graphics effectively support the game's unique aesthetic and relaxing platformer experience despite being basic.
- “It proves that emotional storytelling doesn’t require complex graphics or elaborate dialogue—just thoughtful mechanics, atmosphere, and a willingness to let players find meaning for themselves.”
- “The minimalist art style is elegantly done and works extremely well with the style of the game, creating a charming and unique aesthetic.”
- “The graphics are simple and concise, making it clear what is what and what you need to do, while the visuals and lighting add a great touch to the overall experience.”
- “While there are options to change the resolution for the mobile app, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used in the mobile app, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
- “Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lackluster 2D visuals.”
- “The graphics are shockingly simplistic and look like they were made by a child - it's a bunch of triangles, rectangles, and circles, with only solid colors for textures.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
50%
7%
The music in "Cats Are Liquid" is generally praised for its calming, ambient, and atmospheric qualities that perfectly complement the minimalist art style and gameplay. The soundtrack is often described as beautifully fitting the game's mood, ranging from gentle and relaxing to eerie and mysterious, enhancing the narrative experience. While some find it unobtrusive or occasionally lacking variety, overall the music is considered a standout element that significantly enriches the game.
- “The silence between these sounds is just as important; long stretches without music allow the player to sit with the emptiness of the environment, making the eventual return of melody feel meaningful.”
- “I cannot get over how good the music is and how perfectly it fits together with each new level.”
- “From the gentle, curious tones of the first few levels to the heavy, depressed theme of the reset levels, the music is perfect.”
- “Soundtrack is fine but nothing special, although certain parts of specific tracks did genuinely hurt my ears a bit due to the soundfont.”
- “The biggest thing this game is lacking is more music, but the music included is still very nice and relaxing.”
- “Bad controls, crappy music, not worth the one euro I paid for it.”
emotional
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a profoundly emotional experience through minimalist design and symbolic storytelling, evoking deep feelings of sadness, introspection, and catharsis. Players praise its ability to convey complex emotions like confusion, loss, and hope with subtle mechanics and atmospheric sound, often leading to moments of genuine tears. Its narrative ambiguity invites personal reflection, making it a heartfelt and memorable journey centered on themes like coping with death and emotional adaptability.
- “Cats are Liquid: A Light in the Shadows, developed and published by Last Quarter Studios, is a minimalist yet emotionally layered platformer that blends elegant design with quiet introspection.”
- “There’s a recurring sense of confinement and release, as though each door you unlock represents a small emotional breakthrough.”
- “To be truthful, I would say this game's emotional impact is on the level of a game like Before Your Eyes or Red Dead Redemption 2.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is widely praised for its cute and hilarious cat antics, quirky relationships, and funny gameplay moments, though some find the humor repetitive or overshadowed by game mechanics. Overall, it is considered a lighthearted and entertaining experience with charming, witty elements.
- “The cat's movement is an absolutely hilarious highlight, as is its relationship with the cube and the voice at the end.”
- “The concept is funny, the gameplay is addicting, and the game is harder than expected!”
- “This is a really good game with a nice bit of humor.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
57%
The atmosphere is characterized by a subtle, introspective mood supported by simple yet effective music and mechanics, creating an emotionally resonant experience. While some find the story mysterious and occasionally confusing, the overall ambience and thoughtful design invite players to interpret the narrative personally. The combination of understated visuals and atmospheric elements fosters a unique, immersive world that resonates deeply despite its simplicity.
- “It’s the kind of atmosphere that invites introspection rather than spectacle.”
- “It proves that emotional storytelling doesn’t require complex graphics or elaborate dialogue—just thoughtful mechanics, atmosphere, and a willingness to let players find meaning for themselves.”
- “The simple, escalating tunes that play as you go level to level help build the world and its atmosphere, setting the mood for what's to come.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Grinding in the game is often seen as tedious and repetitive rather than genuinely challenging, with players needing patience and downtime to progress. While some find it addictive, the experience can feel more like a time-consuming chore than engaging gameplay.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Many of the puzzles are more tedious than challenging, with the biggest obstacle being able to take your time through an area without challenge in order to be ready for the spikes you were moving too fast to stop for.”
- “Addictive and cheap, but tedious.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the game's character development for its unique and smart design, particularly highlighting the distinctive cat character. The characters are seen as innovative and engaging, contributing positively to the overall experience.
- “I think the game is very interesting already, and I love the cat character design; it is very unique.”
- “Excellent timewaster with innovative mechanics and simple but smart character design.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game frequently freezes and experiences glitches, affecting overall stability despite attempts to resolve the issues.
- “Very cute but keeps freezing on me. I don't know what to do. I tried verifying the file integrity and all, but it still freezes.”
- “Glitches.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is well-optimized, running smoothly and efficiently utilizing its simple assets.
- “Technically, the game runs smoothly and makes efficient use of its simple assets.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of "cats are liquid - a light in the shadows" is criticized as a cash grab, with users feeling it is a mobile app poorly repurposed for PC, reflecting greedy mobile developer practices rather than a genuine game experience.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is moderate, offering 90 main levels and 13 bonus levels that provide a substantial amount of content for beginners to platforming. However, the overall incentive to replay after completion is limited.

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3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3h Main story

8h Completionist

3-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows is a casual platformer game with horror theme.

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows, Linux and others.

The main story can be completed in around 3 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 8 hours to finish. On average players spend around 3 hours playing Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows.

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows was released on July 25, 2016.

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows was developed by Last Quarter Studios.

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Cats are Liquid - A Light in the Shadows is a single player game.

Similar games include Nihilumbra, Cats are Liquid - ABP, Defy Gravity Extended, Airscape: The Fall of Gravity, EDGE and others.

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