immortalwah
2014
This is hardly a great game - indeed, the main "story campaign," such that it is, is a snore, far too mired in the awful movies on which it's based. Yet oddly enough, the free play questing opened up after "winning" is considerably more fun and satisfying. Plus you can turn Beorn into a bear.
The original is a great game, but I found this remake to be far too ugly and pathetic to give more than a few minutes. Genuinely embarrassing
2012
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.
2018
Pretty damn fun, uber-chill, VERY quick and easy, super-charming little game. Basically "what if Katamari was 10x shorter and had something to say about capitalism and the gig-economy"
Lame humor, poor voice acting, and an embarrassingly constant reuse of the same assets make Sam & Max Save the World a disappointing continuation of one of the most impressive adventure games of its day. Playing this immediately after Sam & Max Hit the Road only makes the later game's weaknesses that much more pronounced. While the earlier game was hilarious, stylish, and found new ways of elevating the form, this is just a hacky retread with some of the laziest attempts at humor I've ever seen.
Rather than six episodes, this really feels more like six stitched together unfinished fan-made demos. The fact that there are only a handful of character models reused over and over only heightens the firmly established amateurish vibe, like someone put it together using some kind of cheap game making utility. The voice acting isn't all bad, but the line readings of both main characters mar an already weak script. The actors just don't have any feel for the characters beyond the extremely broad strokes, with a stultifying lack of energy (especially Sam) and a dearth of comic timing (especially Max). I'd be perhaps a bit more inclined to forgive it as a relic of mid-2000s low quality voice-acting if it weren't for the fact that Hit the Road's actors nailed it so awesomely a decade earlier. Sadly, that downgrade in voice acting goes hand-in-hand with a general depreciation in graphics, atmosphere, visual style, and ambition.
But ya know what? I don't hate it. As much as the game often annoyed me, there were still many bright spots scattered throughout all the episodes and constant glimmers of good ideas, like Max as president, that in more talented hands could have really shined. The puzzles were mostly not bad - generally not too challenging (especially given the pathetically tiny size of the game world), but usually still fairly satisfying to solve. Some of the characters were even quite good, such as the game's final villain, who is one of the most unique and amusing bad guys I've seen in ages. So yeah, this game has a few things going for it. But goddammit, it could have been so much better.
Rough ranking:
Episode 6: B-
Episode 5: C+
Episode 2: C+
Episode 4: C
Episode 1: C
Episode 3: C-
Overall: C
Also, the Machinima sketches are dreadful
Rather than six episodes, this really feels more like six stitched together unfinished fan-made demos. The fact that there are only a handful of character models reused over and over only heightens the firmly established amateurish vibe, like someone put it together using some kind of cheap game making utility. The voice acting isn't all bad, but the line readings of both main characters mar an already weak script. The actors just don't have any feel for the characters beyond the extremely broad strokes, with a stultifying lack of energy (especially Sam) and a dearth of comic timing (especially Max). I'd be perhaps a bit more inclined to forgive it as a relic of mid-2000s low quality voice-acting if it weren't for the fact that Hit the Road's actors nailed it so awesomely a decade earlier. Sadly, that downgrade in voice acting goes hand-in-hand with a general depreciation in graphics, atmosphere, visual style, and ambition.
But ya know what? I don't hate it. As much as the game often annoyed me, there were still many bright spots scattered throughout all the episodes and constant glimmers of good ideas, like Max as president, that in more talented hands could have really shined. The puzzles were mostly not bad - generally not too challenging (especially given the pathetically tiny size of the game world), but usually still fairly satisfying to solve. Some of the characters were even quite good, such as the game's final villain, who is one of the most unique and amusing bad guys I've seen in ages. So yeah, this game has a few things going for it. But goddammit, it could have been so much better.
Rough ranking:
Episode 6: B-
Episode 5: C+
Episode 2: C+
Episode 4: C
Episode 1: C
Episode 3: C-
Overall: C
Also, the Machinima sketches are dreadful
Do yourself a favor and play the original instead.
I get that episodic content is supposed to be short, but this lazy trifle barely even qualifies as a demo. Maybe that's for the best, considering the continually weak writing and lame voice acting. On the bright side, the 4 or 5 puzzles in the game are pretty decent. Still, a full walkthrough for this "game" would barely even be a paragraph long.
2021
About as good as a mod can get. Captures the tone of the original game perfectly while adding a wildly mind-bending mechanic that will force your brain to grow - or destroy it. TOUGH but satisfying.
2005
Lots of good ideas, but the execution just doesn't work. This is the classic "spend 2 hours playing the tutorial and then have no idea what you're doing when you start a real game." Battles are ugly and confusing, and after two or three gos, you'll let the computer decide them every time. Things fare much better on the strategy side of things, but still don't gel properly. Shame cause there's a lot of promise here - maybe the sequel will get it right?
Also: Major points off for having like 2 minutes of unskippable production logo crap you have to sit through every time you boot the game.
Also: Major points off for having like 2 minutes of unskippable production logo crap you have to sit through every time you boot the game.