Cattails: Wildwood Story

About

"Cattails: Wildwood Story" is a single-player Role Playing game with excellent mechanics, fabulous graphics, and a delightful soundtrack. As a cat, you'll lead your colony in the mysterious Wildwood, building a thriving town, hunting prey, harvesting herbs, and forming relationships with other cats, including friendships, romance, and raising kittens. Customize your town's location and appearance, and prepare to grind, with plenty of humor and emotional moments throughout.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+11

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,311 reviews

story144 positive mentions

grinding86 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and charming character designs, enhancing the overall experience.
It offers a cozy and relaxing gameplay loop, allowing players to explore, hunt, and build relationships at their own pace.
The addition of rival marriages and customizable colonies adds depth and replayability to the game.

The combat system can feel clunky and unbalanced, especially during boss fights and in the mines.
Some players may find the gameplay repetitive after completing the main story, with limited post-game content.
The dialogue can become repetitive, with characters recycling lines after reaching higher friendship levels.

story
417 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
63%
3%
The story of *Cattails: Wildwood Story* revolves around a cat protagonist tasked with rebuilding a colony after a catastrophe, featuring a blend of fetch quests and community-building elements. While some players find the narrative engaging and charming, others criticize it for being simplistic and repetitive, often feeling like a series of tasks rather than a cohesive plot. Overall, the game is praised for its character interactions and cozy atmosphere, making it a delightful experience for fans of life simulation games, despite its narrative shortcomings.
- “Cattails: Wildwood Story is a cozy, engaging game, like a cross between Stardew Valley and Wolfquest, but with cats.”
- “The story is engaging, the characters are fun to befriend and watch develop alongside your own journey in the Wildwood, and the amount of different ways to spend your days make this game so very wonderful to explore!”
- “The main story has you going through these places with fighting too, I really like the story part, and having my own town of cats.”
- “In this new story, you are supposedly the leader of a new cat colony after a catastrophe (pun intended) - but in reality, you're more of a puppet.”
- “The sequel shows technical improvements in many areas, but the shift from a naturalistic cat colony story to a religious narrative about purifying ancient ruins fundamentally changes what made the original special.”
- “The storyline is lackluster and seems to be directionless.”
gameplay
181 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
70%
4%
The gameplay of Cattails: Wildwood Story is a blend of hunting, gathering, and relationship-building mechanics, reminiscent of titles like Stardew Valley, but with a unique feline twist. While many players appreciate the engaging and relaxing gameplay loop, some find it can become repetitive over time, particularly with the hunting and exploration elements. Overall, the game is praised for its charming art style, improved mechanics from its predecessor, and the depth of character interactions, making it a delightful experience for fans of cozy simulation games.
- “Cattails is such a wonderful game and anyone who loves warrior cats, cats in general, or Stardew Valley gameplay with animals would absolutely enjoy this game!”
- “The gameplay is fun and engaging, and tough in some spots!”
- “The art style and gameplay is very nice and relaxing!”
- “The hunting mechanic is really the only unique feature that I encountered in 5 hours of play, and it gets old quickly.”
- “Cute idea but gameplay is a real slog.”
- “The gameplay is very much just: find these materials around the map, purify ruins, repeat until the main story is finished.”
graphics
102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The graphics in the game have received widespread acclaim for their charm and quality, with many praising the adorable pixel art style and detailed character portraits that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the improvements over the previous game, noting that the visuals contribute significantly to the cozy and immersive atmosphere. While some critiques mention minor issues with certain animations, the overall sentiment is that the graphics are a standout feature, making the game visually appealing and engaging.
- “The visuals and music are extremely charming, and you can really tell this is a labor of love from the creator, trying to do all he can to ensure each stretch of Kickstarter funds go to adding just that bit more depth to the game.”
- “They are gorgeous, each cat has so much character in all of their artwork and it really elevates the game.”
- “The graphics are fun and have a lot more personality, the character creation is super detailed, and the gameplay feels a lot more natural and refined.”
- “It becomes extremely repetitive and the graphics are hard to look at.”
- “When chatting with other cats, the graphic aspect (font, size, dialogue window) of it makes me not want to read it.”
- “The overworld graphics feel like a step down from Cattails 1.”
grinding
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
4%
93%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly in farming and combat mechanics. While some enjoy the exploration and item collection, others feel that the grinding detracts from the overall experience, especially in the mining system and relationship management. Overall, players who appreciate grinding in games may find enjoyment, but those seeking a more streamlined experience might be disappointed.
- “The buddy system is nice, and it isn't too grindy to level up your buddies.”
- “Combat's not as difficult until later levels, the skill upgrades aren't as grindy as before, expanded herbs, prey, items, new characters, more variety of enemies, more to explore in the wildwood, and a greatly improved art style for dialogue portraits. Honestly, there hasn't been an area that hasn't been improved compared to the original Cattails game.”
- “Especially towards the end, the game can become a bit tedious and repetitive.”
- “However, as much as I tried to like the game, it felt too grindy and unrewarding.”
- “The best way to describe it is: you know that feeling when you've played a life sim for 100 or so hours and you're starting to get bored, you've done all the main progression and now you'd just be grinding for optional stuff and you are no longer having fun?”
music
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
30%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its charm and quality, with many reviewers highlighting its soothing and relaxing nature, as well as its ability to enhance the overall gameplay experience. The soundtrack features a variety of tracks that change with the seasons and different in-game events, contributing to a vibrant and immersive atmosphere. Overall, players find the music to be a standout aspect, often describing it as beautiful, engaging, and a perfect complement to the game's visuals and themes.
- “The music is incredible and I love that you can buy the tracks and put them in your den to listen to all year round.”
- “The soundtrack by Tormod Garvin is great as well, kinda jazzy and it sort of has an Animal Crossing vibe with different tracks for different seasons and times of day.”
- “The music is perfect background noise for whatever you're doing and isn't repetitive or grating.”
- “The music and themes in the floors are much plainer than the Stardew mines (which I adore), which is why I was disappointed with Cattails mines. As many of them as there are, it's just more of the same.”
- “- I wish the mines had some groovy and adventurous music instead of the ambiance.”
- “My only complaint is that the music gets grating after a while, but you can very easily mute it!”
emotional
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is overwhelmingly positive, with players highlighting its wholesome and heartwarming nature. Many express deep emotional attachments to the distinct characters and personal experiences, such as creating avatars of beloved pets, which evoke strong feelings. The game is praised for providing comfort during difficult times, offering a blend of fun, relaxation, and emotional depth through its engaging story and character interactions.
- “The characters are distinct and wholesome, memorable enough to create emotional attachment.”
- “This game has given me something to focus on while dealing with a very hard loss in my life; this wholesome game was exactly what I needed.”
- “I will say going into the shrine and seeing all the dedication cats made me cry, but in a sweet way.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players finding the cat characters and their quirky personalities particularly amusing. The dialogue, especially from characters like the museum-running cat, adds a layer of hilarity, while the game's fantasy elements and seasonal changes contribute to its comedic charm. Overall, the blend of funny scenarios and endearing characters creates a lighthearted and enjoyable experience.
- “A funny kitty game with a great story!”
- “The cats are all adorable, especially the one who runs the museum - her dialogue is hilarious!”
- “The characters are interesting, the cats have personality, the game is full of heart and attention to funny cat details.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
38%
23%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players praise its engaging characters, diverse gameplay, and new game+ features that enhance replay value, others express disappointment in its relatively short main story and limited options compared to its predecessor. The varying opinions highlight that while many find it enjoyable enough to replay multiple times, others feel it lacks depth and challenge for sustained engagement.
- “The game has good replay value, the characters are fleshed out, the gameplay is good, and overall it is just amazing.”
- “It's really cool and has lots of replay value in it as well, very fun even after the main story is completed and just an overall good time.”
- “Good characters, excellent if a little short main story and a good level of replayability through the new game+ mechanism and the difficulty levels.”
- “My main issue comes from the lack of replayability, and with the main story being easily completed in less than one in-game year (depending on settings and dedication), I find that to be disappointing.”
- “Despite all its added bells and whistles, Wildwood Story still does not offer much in terms of replayability aside from choosing a different location for your settlement (which does not come with different cats, unlike the first game).”
- “Especially considering that the original Cattails had better replay value due to not only being able to...”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its cozy and relaxing qualities, enhanced by beautiful character art and a charming soundtrack. Players appreciate the inviting environment that allows for a soothing experience, making it ideal for unwinding after a long day. Overall, the game creates a delightful and immersive world centered around the life of a cat, fostering connections and customization.
- “This is the perfect game for those who would like to kick back after a stressful day with a cup of tea and a warm blanket to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere with amazing character art!”
- “This game is so cute and has such a cozy atmosphere.”
- “In conclusion: Cattails: Wildwood Story is a journey through the eyes of a cat, with its cozy atmosphere, delightful relationships, and customization options.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised, with most players reporting smooth performance and minimal issues. While some users experienced minor framerate stuttering, it did not significantly affect gameplay, and the game is considered well-polished and refined.
- “This is an amazing sequel to an amazing game; everything is polished and refined, and it is amazingly optimized.”
- “I have encountered some framerate issues and stuttering, but nothing that has impacted my gameplay.”
- “For technical aspects, it runs very smoothly, and I've only encountered one very minor crash with no real stuttering, lagging, or dropping of inputs.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is highlighted through engaging cut scenes, particularly in the context of rival marriages, which enhance the narrative experience. Players appreciate the intricate and complex character designs, contributing to the overall enjoyment of the gameplay and story.
- “The rival marriages mean even more cutscenes with character development, which is always fun.”
- “This is one of the best life sim-esque games I've ever played. The character designs are incredible and complex, the gameplay is very fun, and the story (as far as I've gotten so far) is amazing.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users have noted that the game's stability is affected by seasonal changes, specifically mentioning that lava freezes during the winter, which may impact gameplay dynamics.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization strategy, which includes advertising elements, is criticized for not enhancing gameplay and offering minimal additional content, such as flavor text from NPC parents.
- “The monetization strategy feels intrusive and detracts from the overall experience.”
- “I find the constant push for in-game purchases overwhelming and frustrating.”
- “The reliance on ads and microtransactions makes it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”