2012 tumblr simulator, cool concept but sometimes annoying sfx and writing. kinda felt rushed in the end.
incroyable
devastating.
This is an interesting yet a quite bad game.
The game leaves a strong first impression, the idiosyncratic art style and asset utilization hails unease, not to forget the impudent soundtrack which I can't decide whether it was bold or laughable... or both?
I love indie devs and I appreciate the efforts they make, but because of that I can't pin all and every technical or artistic error on lack of means as it insults devs that produce quality that surpasses what millions of dollars couldn't buy. Despite my curbed expectations, the game lacks polish so badly you could read braille off this shit. They tried to bite much more than they could handle, and that negatively affected the good components as well.
The writing comes off as a teenager's Wattpad submission, the puzzle logic dejects you, the environment throws you off at times for no reason. I have more to say but I won't be bothered.
Lowering your roof is better than propping it up boards.
The game leaves a strong first impression, the idiosyncratic art style and asset utilization hails unease, not to forget the impudent soundtrack which I can't decide whether it was bold or laughable... or both?
I love indie devs and I appreciate the efforts they make, but because of that I can't pin all and every technical or artistic error on lack of means as it insults devs that produce quality that surpasses what millions of dollars couldn't buy. Despite my curbed expectations, the game lacks polish so badly you could read braille off this shit. They tried to bite much more than they could handle, and that negatively affected the good components as well.
The writing comes off as a teenager's Wattpad submission, the puzzle logic dejects you, the environment throws you off at times for no reason. I have more to say but I won't be bothered.
Lowering your roof is better than propping it up boards.
This is one of those rare games I felt was completely perfect for what it was. The pacing alternates smoothly between the slow, melancholy exhaustion of depression to the adrenaline spike of desperate fighting for survival; it manages to deliver very effective creeping horror (which the art style is FANTASTIC at) as well as an honest, raw depiction of depression and suicide, and succeeded fantastically on both sides. This is a very Heavy story, but somehow it didn't feel depressing, to me - it's not sad for the sake of sad, or dark only for the shock value. It's Mitzi's gallows humor and her determination to use what's left of her cut-short life for what's still important to her, it's Susan's quiet strength in the face of tragedy and horror, it's the catharsis of facing that pain head on and feeling it, accepting it, and using it to claw your way back out of the grave to seek vengeance on your cat-killing neighbors. wait
my point is this game is really good and I understand how the tone and sometimes slower pace might not have worked for everyone, but I feel like it resonated a lot with me.
my point is this game is really good and I understand how the tone and sometimes slower pace might not have worked for everyone, but I feel like it resonated a lot with me.
surreal
This review contains spoilers
man the level where you don't know where susan's things are, but you need to make like. a cup of tea or smth. and she loses more and more energy as she can't find the milk and other items and has a breakdown if she can't make it before her energy runs out is still the best representation of depression in videogames
i remember some horror sequences well still
i liked the grim tone of the game and i thought the graphics, however limited, matched it. yeah the walk animation / speed kinda irked but not too bad
susan and mitzi's friendship was great but the susan lesbophobia moment is still so funny kdfjdfs
i remember some horror sequences well still
i liked the grim tone of the game and i thought the graphics, however limited, matched it. yeah the walk animation / speed kinda irked but not too bad
susan and mitzi's friendship was great but the susan lesbophobia moment is still so funny kdfjdfs
This was a very enjoyable game. I wasn't expected to be so invested in the story of Susan and Mitzi's friendship while all these dark things are happening.
It was much more complex of a story than I was expecting and the gameplay was not too challenging, which was good for this type of game.
It was much more complex of a story than I was expecting and the gameplay was not too challenging, which was good for this type of game.
only play this if you're in a good headspace and at least give a cursory glance over any content warnings you can find. rly fuckin good game
Visually striking and emotionally difficult. You need to be in the right headspace to play it, but it's worth experiencing for what it is and what it tries to say.
Sólo lo recomiendo si sois muy amantes del género gore. Que en un juego de terror está muy bien, pero a la larga, tanto gore, tanto desmembramiento y tanto sinsentido, cansa... a mí me hizo olvidarme de la historia (cojonuda) y aburrirme.
Admittedly, The Cat Lady has some flaws: Exploration feels clunky, you can't skip dialogues. The plot can be a bit slow as well and has little replay value, unless you just want to experience the story for a second time.
On top of that, it deals with some heavy themes that might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Yet, I still utterly adore this game. It provides an atmosphere of complete isolation, a sense of alienation. Every moment of happiness, human connection feels fragile and brittle, thus becoming a cherished instance of light in a sea of despair and hopelessness.
Susan's tale is not a happy one. There's not much solace to be found. At times, the surreal scenes reminded me of Kafka's works and I was reminded, again and again, of a line from A Country Doctor: “What am I doing in this eternal winter?” Indeed, playing this made me feel as if I was trapped in a November night, the last person awake, just my thoughts to keep me company. Heavy and foreboding and, at the same time, so very kind and comforting.
Just give this a shot. Maybe it won't turn your life upside down but I think it changed me a bit. I am quite sure it saved my life a tiny bit. If someone would ask me what it means to be human, I would point at this game without hesitation.
On top of that, it deals with some heavy themes that might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Yet, I still utterly adore this game. It provides an atmosphere of complete isolation, a sense of alienation. Every moment of happiness, human connection feels fragile and brittle, thus becoming a cherished instance of light in a sea of despair and hopelessness.
Susan's tale is not a happy one. There's not much solace to be found. At times, the surreal scenes reminded me of Kafka's works and I was reminded, again and again, of a line from A Country Doctor: “What am I doing in this eternal winter?” Indeed, playing this made me feel as if I was trapped in a November night, the last person awake, just my thoughts to keep me company. Heavy and foreboding and, at the same time, so very kind and comforting.
Just give this a shot. Maybe it won't turn your life upside down but I think it changed me a bit. I am quite sure it saved my life a tiny bit. If someone would ask me what it means to be human, I would point at this game without hesitation.
The greatest game I have ever played in my life and most likely will never be topped.
Everything about this game is just amazing.
The story hits right on the spot and it has one of the best OST I ever heard in a game.
But it is not a game for everyone considering it's long novel aspect.
The story hits right on the spot and it has one of the best OST I ever heard in a game.
But it is not a game for everyone considering it's long novel aspect.
Not a fan of the art style, the controls can be a bit clunky, and the delivery can get a bit heavy-handed as well, but I enjoyed every single interaction with Mitzi and found her to be one of the better secondary characters in a video game.
now i understand why it is a cult classic
also i live for susan and mitzi's friendship <3
also i live for susan and mitzi's friendship <3
uma das melhores experiencias que eu ja joguei, é triste, e foda
This review contains spoilers
I usually start out my reviews by giving a general statement about the developer, some thoughts about this game, etc. The truth is with this one I really can't do that, because to me this is more than a game, this was an art piece. I mean don't get me wrong, it is a point and click game with puzzles, and gameplay wise you go through all of that stuff that feels kind of weird to get used to but makes sense once you do it. I'm going to be honest, I used a guide because the truth is I was told by people that it was a heavy game and I wanted to experience it without too much frustration over my suckage of puzzles because I suck with them. I'm gonna post a guide, but I'm sure there are others around as well:
https://the-cat-lady.fandom.com/wiki/Game_endings
It's solid for the most part but there are multiple endings. I'm not gonna tell you about the game's plot to be honest because this game deserves your time and it's a really heavy game. Gonna throw out a trigger warning that this game does talk about and show stuff like depression, suicide, mental illness, the male gaze, etc; there's a whole laundry list to unpack here and it does it all well and has you thinking. Instead all I can really tell you is how I felt, as someone who does deal with depression and anxiety and frankly thinks that life sucks sometimes.
It was highly visceral, poignant, and honestly relatable in a lot of ways. The whole game has you fight through Susan's mental well being while also dealing with some of the worst people in society that you could ever think of really, mixed in with warped and macabre imagery and a soundtrack that's honestly great (buy the album by the way); I legitimately think that it's on par with Silent Hill 2 in just how sad and depressing it can be, with several times where I was stunned at how thoughtful and sincere the writing. Susan struggles through this game, not only just to die but even just to go through her day; in Chapter 3 you literally spend your time trying to avoid things that would help trigger Susan and upset her in a place where EVERYTHING will remind her of her past, which is easier said than done with anyone who deals with that stuff in real life. I know a lot of people and even myself to a lesser extent also deal with that stuff and when you end up caring for a well written character like Susan (and later Mitzi as well) you WANT to make sure that she's ok. But that's what depression is, a constant struggle in which you will always fall down but you have to pick yourself back up and deal with the aftermath of it, and a lot of people can't do that but that's the point; and that's a lot of what Susan deals with. Trauma from her past, the creeping male gaze of people who want to potentially/will try to harm her even; there's multiple times where I squicked and cringed at some of the dialogue here, and for all the right reasons as this game is written really well. I think for me what really hit me and made me tear up was the final part, where spoilers if you give Mitzi the gas mask, you come back alive for the final time and confronting the final antagonist; Mitzi aims a gun at the last parasite, The Eye of Adam, with the intent to kill. Her whole backstory being that her boyfriend Jack died after Adam encouraged Jack to kill himself, and now she planned on killing him. As Susan tries to talk her down from killing him (as there are Oxygen tanks everywhere and they would all surely blow up except Susan who could come back to life) Mitzi says "I might as well kill him, it's not like I have anyone to live for!", cue the silence and one line: "I care about you". I'm gonna be honest, I don't know how to explain it well but it hit me like a pile of bricks, and it felt validating to hear such positive thinking. Now this is the Golden Ending, themes might change depending on your route but honestly to me this felt cathartic and even validating for someone who feels like sometimes no one really cares about you. It has a lot of moments like these, a couple of comedic moments sure, but a lot of moments where you're rooting for Susan and her friend Mitzi throughout their struggles. I'll even say I was f u c k in rockin out when in Chapter 4, you finally shoot the wife of the Pest Control parasite, who is himself an awful human being, with a gas mask and a shotgun after she burnt out Susan's eyes with bleach and blamed you for trying to "steal" her disgusting, pervert serial killer husband. It really knew how to make me feel in certain situations, and honestly it's too long to even really put here because again there's a lot to unpack. The only thing I could complain about plot wise is how [spoiler] they focus a bit on Joe Davis during Chapter 6, he's the main protagonist of the previous dev's game and the next game/remake Downfall, and some fan service is cool but having been aware of it beforehand it kind of felt like it was just sort of teasing a bit for the next entry, and that's cool I guess but felt kind of weird cause I never played that game and only really remembered a bit when I looked it up later.
The soundtrack is amazing and really fits with everything going on; though don't expect Akira Yamaoka, expect some somber pieces of music, some really tense tracks and maybe a mid 2000s I don't know what to call it sad rock song or two. But to me it fit perfectly for what the game was going for, and I couldn't complain about it. The voice acting can range between great and kind of off mic quality/accent wise but truth be told I wasn't bothered about it. The art style is freaky as hell, depressing and haunting even but beautiful at the same time.
I guess if I had any final thoughts to put down it would be this: again, this is an Art Piece of a game, one that I'll be straight up with you I won't be playing any time soon or possibly ever again. It's depressing as hell, deals with various themes, and with it's content alone this game to me personally stands out as timeless in a sense. But like The Heilwald Loophole, I'm gonna be thinking about this for a long time and will most likely give the developer's next two games Downfall and Lorelai from the Devil Came Through Here trilogy a shot. I don't know how to recommend this game to you, nor in which mental state to play it in; but if you even have a vague curiosity about the game or you want to play a game that tackles serious issues then yeah I would recommend it 100 percent. If I have anything to add later I'll do it in post but honestly I don't really know what to say other than two things:
As of the time of this review there's about 17 hours left for the Steam Spring Sale and it's like 3.39 so buy it.
if you're ever having feelings of depression or suicide you're not alone, and to please reach out for help wherever you need to because life is a struggle and there's no shame in how you feel. My apologies if this wasn't written the best as with everything this is free form but I'm not really sure how to go about it and worse comes to worse if I can better explain I'll edit the review later.
From Steam Reviews: https://steamcommunity.com/id/gamemast15r/recommended/
https://the-cat-lady.fandom.com/wiki/Game_endings
It's solid for the most part but there are multiple endings. I'm not gonna tell you about the game's plot to be honest because this game deserves your time and it's a really heavy game. Gonna throw out a trigger warning that this game does talk about and show stuff like depression, suicide, mental illness, the male gaze, etc; there's a whole laundry list to unpack here and it does it all well and has you thinking. Instead all I can really tell you is how I felt, as someone who does deal with depression and anxiety and frankly thinks that life sucks sometimes.
It was highly visceral, poignant, and honestly relatable in a lot of ways. The whole game has you fight through Susan's mental well being while also dealing with some of the worst people in society that you could ever think of really, mixed in with warped and macabre imagery and a soundtrack that's honestly great (buy the album by the way); I legitimately think that it's on par with Silent Hill 2 in just how sad and depressing it can be, with several times where I was stunned at how thoughtful and sincere the writing. Susan struggles through this game, not only just to die but even just to go through her day; in Chapter 3 you literally spend your time trying to avoid things that would help trigger Susan and upset her in a place where EVERYTHING will remind her of her past, which is easier said than done with anyone who deals with that stuff in real life. I know a lot of people and even myself to a lesser extent also deal with that stuff and when you end up caring for a well written character like Susan (and later Mitzi as well) you WANT to make sure that she's ok. But that's what depression is, a constant struggle in which you will always fall down but you have to pick yourself back up and deal with the aftermath of it, and a lot of people can't do that but that's the point; and that's a lot of what Susan deals with. Trauma from her past, the creeping male gaze of people who want to potentially/will try to harm her even; there's multiple times where I squicked and cringed at some of the dialogue here, and for all the right reasons as this game is written really well. I think for me what really hit me and made me tear up was the final part, where spoilers if you give Mitzi the gas mask, you come back alive for the final time and confronting the final antagonist; Mitzi aims a gun at the last parasite, The Eye of Adam, with the intent to kill. Her whole backstory being that her boyfriend Jack died after Adam encouraged Jack to kill himself, and now she planned on killing him. As Susan tries to talk her down from killing him (as there are Oxygen tanks everywhere and they would all surely blow up except Susan who could come back to life) Mitzi says "I might as well kill him, it's not like I have anyone to live for!", cue the silence and one line: "I care about you". I'm gonna be honest, I don't know how to explain it well but it hit me like a pile of bricks, and it felt validating to hear such positive thinking. Now this is the Golden Ending, themes might change depending on your route but honestly to me this felt cathartic and even validating for someone who feels like sometimes no one really cares about you. It has a lot of moments like these, a couple of comedic moments sure, but a lot of moments where you're rooting for Susan and her friend Mitzi throughout their struggles. I'll even say I was f u c k in rockin out when in Chapter 4, you finally shoot the wife of the Pest Control parasite, who is himself an awful human being, with a gas mask and a shotgun after she burnt out Susan's eyes with bleach and blamed you for trying to "steal" her disgusting, pervert serial killer husband. It really knew how to make me feel in certain situations, and honestly it's too long to even really put here because again there's a lot to unpack. The only thing I could complain about plot wise is how [spoiler] they focus a bit on Joe Davis during Chapter 6, he's the main protagonist of the previous dev's game and the next game/remake Downfall, and some fan service is cool but having been aware of it beforehand it kind of felt like it was just sort of teasing a bit for the next entry, and that's cool I guess but felt kind of weird cause I never played that game and only really remembered a bit when I looked it up later.
The soundtrack is amazing and really fits with everything going on; though don't expect Akira Yamaoka, expect some somber pieces of music, some really tense tracks and maybe a mid 2000s I don't know what to call it sad rock song or two. But to me it fit perfectly for what the game was going for, and I couldn't complain about it. The voice acting can range between great and kind of off mic quality/accent wise but truth be told I wasn't bothered about it. The art style is freaky as hell, depressing and haunting even but beautiful at the same time.
I guess if I had any final thoughts to put down it would be this: again, this is an Art Piece of a game, one that I'll be straight up with you I won't be playing any time soon or possibly ever again. It's depressing as hell, deals with various themes, and with it's content alone this game to me personally stands out as timeless in a sense. But like The Heilwald Loophole, I'm gonna be thinking about this for a long time and will most likely give the developer's next two games Downfall and Lorelai from the Devil Came Through Here trilogy a shot. I don't know how to recommend this game to you, nor in which mental state to play it in; but if you even have a vague curiosity about the game or you want to play a game that tackles serious issues then yeah I would recommend it 100 percent. If I have anything to add later I'll do it in post but honestly I don't really know what to say other than two things:
As of the time of this review there's about 17 hours left for the Steam Spring Sale and it's like 3.39 so buy it.
if you're ever having feelings of depression or suicide you're not alone, and to please reach out for help wherever you need to because life is a struggle and there's no shame in how you feel. My apologies if this wasn't written the best as with everything this is free form but I'm not really sure how to go about it and worse comes to worse if I can better explain I'll edit the review later.
From Steam Reviews: https://steamcommunity.com/id/gamemast15r/recommended/
people who were depressed in 2012 understand
Is this a perfectly written portrayal of mental illness?
No.
Are the animation and voice acting of high quality?
No.
Do I love Susan and Mitzi with all my heart?
Absolutely.
No.
Are the animation and voice acting of high quality?
No.
Do I love Susan and Mitzi with all my heart?
Absolutely.
A really interesting game at the time. So unsettling. Really shows that not all horror games nowadays need to be 3d first person jumpscare galore fnaf baits
Just try a little harder guys.
Just try a little harder guys.
On one hand, Cat Lady is a unique and interesting labor of love. On the other, it's dull, ugly, boring and amateurish. The whole thing feels like something a very talented moody teenager made in the late-90s. There's potential here for sure, but it's got a long way to be realized.
The story is easily the strongest element. It's unique and told quite creatively, but it never really quite gets where it wants to be. Sometimes it goes to painstaking lengths to develop characters and situations, while other times it just drops stuff in with no explanation at all (ie, the Carpenter). It's hard to say more without spoiling, but suffice it to say, the story-telling is uneven.
The acting is solid and the writing not bad. Puzzles are mostly straightforward and easy - there were only a few times I was stumped for more than a minute or two. The bigger gameplay issue is that you'll spend far more of your time sitting and listening to dialogue than you will actually playing and problem-solving. I don't mind a game that's more interactive fiction than game, but there are many, MANY long stretches of time that have you staring at a near static image on the screen while VERY long conversations play out. Conversations in which you'll only have a minimum of interaction every once in a very great while. At the very least, change up the camera angles. Move things around. Make the visuals dynamic. Make something, ANYTHING happen on screen.
The other huge problem is that what does happen visually is terrible. This is simply one of the ugliest games I've ever played. I'm very sympathetic to budget limitations, and the fact that the game is going for a depressed, muted tone, but Cat Lady is about as visually miserable as a game can get, and has some of the most laughably bad animation I've ever seen.
Ultimately, this is a weak game that's not strong enough on story to justify its gameplay issues. There's a lot of ambition and potential here, but it just doesn't work.
The story is easily the strongest element. It's unique and told quite creatively, but it never really quite gets where it wants to be. Sometimes it goes to painstaking lengths to develop characters and situations, while other times it just drops stuff in with no explanation at all (ie, the Carpenter). It's hard to say more without spoiling, but suffice it to say, the story-telling is uneven.
The acting is solid and the writing not bad. Puzzles are mostly straightforward and easy - there were only a few times I was stumped for more than a minute or two. The bigger gameplay issue is that you'll spend far more of your time sitting and listening to dialogue than you will actually playing and problem-solving. I don't mind a game that's more interactive fiction than game, but there are many, MANY long stretches of time that have you staring at a near static image on the screen while VERY long conversations play out. Conversations in which you'll only have a minimum of interaction every once in a very great while. At the very least, change up the camera angles. Move things around. Make the visuals dynamic. Make something, ANYTHING happen on screen.
The other huge problem is that what does happen visually is terrible. This is simply one of the ugliest games I've ever played. I'm very sympathetic to budget limitations, and the fact that the game is going for a depressed, muted tone, but Cat Lady is about as visually miserable as a game can get, and has some of the most laughably bad animation I've ever seen.
Ultimately, this is a weak game that's not strong enough on story to justify its gameplay issues. There's a lot of ambition and potential here, but it just doesn't work.
an indie game about... about... ABOUT... DEPRESSION!!!!!!!!!!!! :OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Probably a very good game for what it's trying to do, and more so by 2012 standards, but it's just not for me, I'm afraid. I admire the atmosphere, the deliberately ugly visuals, and the story the game is attempting to tell, but old-school point-and-click (granted, that phrase doesn't apply literally here since there are no mouse controls, but it's the same sort of inventory puzzle-focused design) adventure games aren't my cup of tea to begin with, movement is painfully slow, and there's just too much technical/UI jank here resulting from being built on an ancient engine. Maybe I'll just skip to Lorelai, since at least that one is built in a modern game engine instead of AGS
What an amazing game!
Recommended by Texhs as part of this list.
The Cat Lady is an immediately striking game, it's monochromatic & semi-photorealistic aesthetic accompanied by an opening act that can only be described as uncomfortably candid and merciless in execution. For it's first 15 minutes or so, The Cat Lady calls to mind it's psychological horror contemporaries, however, it's the immediate swerve the premise of The Cat Lady takes after it's strong opening that lifts The Cat Lady out of its psychological horror niche and truly gives it character by placing it squarely in the realm of the exploitation film, a Silent Hill game by way of I Spit on Your Grave, a horror adventure not only about coming to grips with your trauma, but also about catharsis, of delivering justice to those who have wronged you and others like you.
What I found the most striking about The Cat Lady was its distinctly feminine attitude. Often does cheap horror use violence against women as a standard shock tactic, the standard positioning of women as a stand-in for innocence and the brutalization of their form/psyche as the ultimate "horror", quote-unquote, but rarely are distinctly feminine worries and perspectives used as a basis for tactful horror (in gaming, at the very least.) In the same way Silent Hill 3 strikes that chord of uniquely feminine fears with its focus on birth (God), the body (blood, puberty, the denial of autonomy by patriarchal organizations a la religion/The Order) and urban life (being approached by strange men in public, walking home alone at night), The Cat Lady focuses on similar topics and themes, the lead character Susan Ashworth made an immortal angel of death who enacts vengeance on so-called "Parasites", for the majority of which are men who hurt vulnerable women. These include doctors who exploit their seniority over female co-workers to enact violent and sexual fantasies upon them, repairmen who kidnap women while they're alone, and stalkers who feel sexually entitled to a woman because they tried to buy their hearts with material goods and get violent when denied.
But even outside the obvious violence, there's the more abstract forms of violence dealt to Susan: her past involving dealing with newfound motherhood alongside her misogynistic, immature husband who often made her feel like a lesser; Susan's present as a loner who's one source of joy is often criticized and threatened by the society she resides in, the entire hospital chapter that revolves around Susan and her requests/questions being denied by hospital staff despite her insistence, it's all so very purposeful in its implementation and execution. To loop back around to the I Spit on Your Grave comparison, it can feel exploitative, the way Susan and others are often victims of excessive violence to move the plot along, but the way Susan status as the player character lends our sympathies to her and gives her character and meaning, the way each parasite she takes out is firmly established as a villain and never given any sympathy or justification for their actions, it's all done to ensure catharsis, to criticize, to enact a vengeance that often goes undelivered in the real world. It makes The Cat Lady stand out among its horror contemporaries for it's shockingly mature sensibilities, despite the schlocky one-liners and cheesy soundtrack that are plenty abound.
While The Cat Lady can be quite heavy-handed in its messaging and tone (the entirety of Chapter 3 being a "DON'T HAVE A BREAKDOWN" mental health puzzle is borderline comical), it has a lot of material that resonates to this day. It's treatment of mental illness (accidentally using spoiled milk in my coffee and suffering a mental breakdown aside) is sympathetic and quite accurate to reality, and the main villain of the game's latter half being a targeted observation and take down of imageboard culture, the blackpill philosophy and the way it exploits the vulnerable into radical real-life action is something that I both was not expecting to see in a 2012 game and also still ring true a decade later. It's these touches, this sympathy and focus on catharsis and finding meaning despite tragedy that makes The Cat Lady such a thoroughly engaging experience and a genuine horror standout even a decade later.
The Cat Lady is an immediately striking game, it's monochromatic & semi-photorealistic aesthetic accompanied by an opening act that can only be described as uncomfortably candid and merciless in execution. For it's first 15 minutes or so, The Cat Lady calls to mind it's psychological horror contemporaries, however, it's the immediate swerve the premise of The Cat Lady takes after it's strong opening that lifts The Cat Lady out of its psychological horror niche and truly gives it character by placing it squarely in the realm of the exploitation film, a Silent Hill game by way of I Spit on Your Grave, a horror adventure not only about coming to grips with your trauma, but also about catharsis, of delivering justice to those who have wronged you and others like you.
What I found the most striking about The Cat Lady was its distinctly feminine attitude. Often does cheap horror use violence against women as a standard shock tactic, the standard positioning of women as a stand-in for innocence and the brutalization of their form/psyche as the ultimate "horror", quote-unquote, but rarely are distinctly feminine worries and perspectives used as a basis for tactful horror (in gaming, at the very least.) In the same way Silent Hill 3 strikes that chord of uniquely feminine fears with its focus on birth (God), the body (blood, puberty, the denial of autonomy by patriarchal organizations a la religion/The Order) and urban life (being approached by strange men in public, walking home alone at night), The Cat Lady focuses on similar topics and themes, the lead character Susan Ashworth made an immortal angel of death who enacts vengeance on so-called "Parasites", for the majority of which are men who hurt vulnerable women. These include doctors who exploit their seniority over female co-workers to enact violent and sexual fantasies upon them, repairmen who kidnap women while they're alone, and stalkers who feel sexually entitled to a woman because they tried to buy their hearts with material goods and get violent when denied.
But even outside the obvious violence, there's the more abstract forms of violence dealt to Susan: her past involving dealing with newfound motherhood alongside her misogynistic, immature husband who often made her feel like a lesser; Susan's present as a loner who's one source of joy is often criticized and threatened by the society she resides in, the entire hospital chapter that revolves around Susan and her requests/questions being denied by hospital staff despite her insistence, it's all so very purposeful in its implementation and execution. To loop back around to the I Spit on Your Grave comparison, it can feel exploitative, the way Susan and others are often victims of excessive violence to move the plot along, but the way Susan status as the player character lends our sympathies to her and gives her character and meaning, the way each parasite she takes out is firmly established as a villain and never given any sympathy or justification for their actions, it's all done to ensure catharsis, to criticize, to enact a vengeance that often goes undelivered in the real world. It makes The Cat Lady stand out among its horror contemporaries for it's shockingly mature sensibilities, despite the schlocky one-liners and cheesy soundtrack that are plenty abound.
While The Cat Lady can be quite heavy-handed in its messaging and tone (the entirety of Chapter 3 being a "DON'T HAVE A BREAKDOWN" mental health puzzle is borderline comical), it has a lot of material that resonates to this day. It's treatment of mental illness (accidentally using spoiled milk in my coffee and suffering a mental breakdown aside) is sympathetic and quite accurate to reality, and the main villain of the game's latter half being a targeted observation and take down of imageboard culture, the blackpill philosophy and the way it exploits the vulnerable into radical real-life action is something that I both was not expecting to see in a 2012 game and also still ring true a decade later. It's these touches, this sympathy and focus on catharsis and finding meaning despite tragedy that makes The Cat Lady such a thoroughly engaging experience and a genuine horror standout even a decade later.
i think i just have a hard time with adventure games, honestly.
My favourite game EVER.
Extremly disturbing, but important.
Extremly disturbing, but important.
Fantastic follow up to Downfall. The story was dark but well done. The only misgivings I have are some of the voice acting and the varying length of chapters.