MagiCat
- August 22, 2017
- Kucing Rembes
- 7h median play time
Get on Steam"MagiCat" is a single-player kids' platformer game with phenomenal mechanics and splendid visuals. Embark on a quest to retrieve a stolen artifact, exploring 63 levels with unique boss battles across 7 worlds. Enjoy a handcrafted retro experience with gorgeous level design, unlockable skills, and color schemes for the main character.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Phone
Steam Deck
Windows
Tablet
Reviews
- MagiCat features a charming art style with cute pixel graphics and smooth animations, making it visually appealing.
- The game offers a variety of levels, each introducing unique mechanics and challenges, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging.
- It has a fair difficulty curve, allowing players to enjoy the game casually while also providing challenging elements for those seeking 100% completion.
- The music is often repetitive and lacks memorability, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Some players find the difficulty spikes in later levels to be frustrating, especially when trying to collect all gems without using the dash ability.
- Boss fights can feel uninspired, as many are just larger versions of regular enemies, leading to a sense of repetition.
- gameplay144 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Magicat is characterized by its impressive variety, with each of the 63 levels introducing unique mechanics and challenges that keep players engaged. While the core gameplay loop is simple—traversing obstacles, solving puzzles, and defeating bosses—the game ramps up in difficulty and complexity, offering optional challenges for completionists. Despite some mechanics being underutilized and occasional frustrations with difficulty spikes, the overall design is praised for its creativity and nostalgic homage to classic platformers.
“A wonderful puzzle platformer with unique mechanics in every level.”
“The gameplay on the surface is relatively simple, traverse various obstacles to get to the end of a stage, defeat a boss and repeat; however, if you're going for more, there's gem collectibles that for full completion require no dash usage, and those bosses? You gotta do them hitless for extra completion percent. It quickly goes from a casual platformer to a good challenging platformer should you choose 100%, and I think the game is very fun with its gameplay cycle, since each stage tries to incorporate a gimmick per stage, whether a new enemy, an entirely new way to move, or something more outside of the box. The game does its best to have variety, and I think it succeeds.”
“Every stage, every puzzle, every kill spree you gotta do for the gems and even the bosses all require you as a player to learn the new mechanics of the stage, which the game will teach you step by step, increasing the knowledge they demand you know about the logic puzzles, which while demanding soon into the game is all reasonably challenging.”
“But the moment you get the hang of it, the level ends and you never see the mechanic again.”
“Most of the gameplay and even stages feel like a mix of Kirby's Adventures from NES and Super Mario Bros 3 or even Super Mario World, adding its own style and mechanics that will often make you ragequit or feel frustrated as some stages are quite difficult and challenging.”
“Also, there are still things that devs keep on adding to these kinds of games, like being knocked back every time you are hit, making you fall into a pit, which is just infuriating.”
- music53 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it inoffensive yet repetitive and lacking in variety, leading some to replace it with external music sources. While the chiptune soundtrack fits the game's aesthetic, it is often described as forgettable or even grating, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, some players appreciate the charm of the sound design and the quality of the presentation given the game's low price.
“Music: chiptune, of the happy-go-lucky variety.”
“You’ll want to listen to the soundtrack after you finish this game.”
“The OST in the game is also very nice to listen to so far.”
“The gameplay is great, the collectibles challenging and addictive, the progression of difficulty and level design nearly perfect, it introduces new gameplay on nearly every level (including a wonderful schmup imitation) -- but something still just makes it feel like the $1 platformer it is, and I think much of that is thanks to the absolutely godawful -- awful -- chiptune soundtrack.”
“As a connoisseur of game soundtracks, this one was disappointing.”
“The levels are quite diverse, but the soundtracks aren't that good!”
- graphics34 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming 16-bit pixel art style, featuring smooth animations and vibrant colors that enhance the overall aesthetic. Reviewers highlight the cohesive and polished visuals, which are reminiscent of classic platformers like Kirby and Mario, contributing to an adorable and engaging experience. However, some users note performance issues on the Steam Deck, with frame rates fluctuating below 60fps.
“Graphics: cute 16-bit pixel art, with beautiful animation for the main character and enemies.”
“The graphics are perfect for what they are, no issues, cutesy, stylish, doesn't make any elements unclear and all very cohesive, absolutely polished pixel perfectly.”
“The visuals are adorable and are on the quality of the big platformer games.”
“Warning for Steam Deck owners: this game does not run at 60fps and fluctuates from the 40s and 50s as it appears the game is entirely CPU dependent. I doubt this game would struggle on integrated graphics otherwise.”
“However, the art direction, although more retro-inspired with pixelated graphics, does come far too close to Miracle Fly without being made by the same team to worry me.”
“Graphically, the game is simple and filled with vibrant colors, but it lacks depth and complexity, making it feel somewhat underwhelming.”
- story33 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and often serves as a backdrop for its platforming mechanics, featuring animal characters communicating in a playful, meow-like language. While some players appreciate the innovative concept and the glimpses of narrative provided through cutscenes and expressions, many agree that the story lacks depth and is not a primary focus. Overall, it is seen as a lighthearted addition that complements the gameplay rather than driving it.
“The game has some sort of story, delivered through cutscenes with meow-ish dialogue; a script sometimes difficult to follow, but with clear and concise acting to make up for it.”
“You have a story, and can get glimpses of it by expressions and actions, of the few cutscenes it has, but all the text is in animal language, because, well, they are animals.”
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“Also note the total and utter lack of a story or characters.”
“That being said, the story, as platformer tradition goes, is just an excuse to go and platform, so you can very well not worry about it.”
“Well, as I mentioned, the story is all but non-existent, and also I can't say the music is memorable, although it's not annoying either.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the "funny cat game" is characterized by its cute aesthetics and whimsical charm, which contrasts with the surprising difficulty presented by the introduction of new game mechanics in each level. This blend of lighthearted visuals and challenging gameplay creates a unique comedic experience for players.
“It looks all cute and funny, and in virtually every level a new game mechanic is introduced.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, with smooth movement and fair challenges that encourage players to improve their skills. It features a robust stat-tracking system that motivates players to achieve better results, along with optional features that add extra challenges for those seeking more depth. Overall, players find the aesthetic charming and the replay value significant.
“The movement is smooth, the challenges are fair, the aesthetic is adorable, and there's lots of replay value.”
“Replay value is extremely high, as the game collects stats about everything you achieve and by doing so permanently insists on you to get better and better until you reach the real final ending.”
“Magicat also has optional features that provide extra challenge and/or replayability.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding in the game to be tedious, particularly due to the slow combat mechanics and the high health of enemies, which requires multiple hits to defeat. While certain shop items can help skip levels, reaching these items necessitates significant grinding for resources, making the experience feel drawn out and repetitive.
“Certain shop items allow the players to skip entire chunks of levels; after reaching the world 3 shop, only one more level in the game becomes mandatory in order to reach the final boss (skipping so much of the game just requires a lot of grinding for paws).”
“- [b]slooowlyyy...[/b] killing enemies - especially in later levels - is slow and tedious due to the nature of Magicat's attack and enemies soaking up 2-3 hits each.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, particularly from Steam Deck users, who report fluctuating frame rates in the 40s and 50s, indicating a heavy CPU dependency. Despite this, updates have introduced features like v-sync and CRT options, contributing to a generally smooth performance.
“Throughout the many updates, they've added v-sync, CRT, and other nice features, and they make sure the game still runs smoothly (it does!).”
“Warning for Steam Deck owners: this game does not run at 60fps and fluctuates between the 40s and 50s. It appears the game is entirely CPU dependent (set GPU clock speed to 200MHz) and is not well optimized, as I doubt this game would struggle on integrated graphics otherwise.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the emotional depth and wholesome nature of the game, highlighting the developers' efforts to create a heartfelt experience. This focus on emotional storytelling resonates positively with the audience, enhancing their overall enjoyment.
“I love it when developers put effort into making wholesome games like this.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy of the game may be misleading, as the difficulty scale appears to be unbalanced, leading players to feel that the game is not as advertised.
