100 Asian Cats is a short, free hidden objects game. I was enticed to try it, thinking it’d be a standard, cute little experience that I’d write a paragraph or two about. I had no idea the gripes I’d come out of it with; not only because the game itself is mediocre at best, but also because of how this free content tries to snag your money in ulterior ways.
But before I get into all of that, let’s break down the game itself. The player’s goal is to find the eponymous 100 cats scattered throughout a single level - this level being a scrollable art piece depicting an Eastern-style building overrun with kitties. There’s no color, except for splashes of yellow filling the page for each cat you find and click on.
The art style of 100 Asian Cats isn’t terrible by any means. In fact, I quite liked the level of detail put into it. However, the thin lines and near-complete lack of color makes those same details muddied - especially because most of the so-called ‘cats’ are actually half of a vague ‘cat’ shape fit into any nook and cranny possible.
Somehow worse than the art, though, is the music. It’s fast and chaotic, to the point that it honestly stressed me out more than anything. I would’ve much preferred something slow to set a relaxing tone; I have no idea why they chose something so high-energy, especially when the track just doesn’t sound that great in the first place. At least the cats make cute little meows when you click on them?
Speaking of clicking, let’s briefly discuss the gameplay. At the end of the day, it’s the most barebones version of a hidden object experience you could ask for. It’s fine, but there’s absolutely nothing special about it, either. I didn’t even need to use the hint system until near the very end.
Now, I really want to dig into 100 Asian Cats’ strange avenues of monetization - starting with that same hint system. Although I didn’t run out of them, there’s apparently only a limited number of hints available to the player. I figured this out because, if you were to buy the game’s DLC, it lists itself as including additional hints! Even if I barely needed them, I think it’s plain weird to monetize a mechanic in your 20 minute-long, free Steam game.
And even though the base game is free, that DLC is not. To play this content - AKA, the only other level in the game, which is probably also 10 minutes long – you have to fork over a dollar. Not worth it, in my opinion. I also found it shady how there’s a vague button on the main menu that, when clicked, redirects to your Steam cart with the DLC already added to it.
Somehow, though, this tiny DLC is far from the only way you can spend money on 100 Asian Cats. You also have the option to spend five dollars apiece to receive what I can only assume are a laughably small art book and soundtrack. Ten dollars is a crazy ask for one or two levels’ worth of content.
At least then you’re given some actual content in return, though. Because there’s also five separate options to donate to the developers… and the highest is a two hundred dollar donation. These ‘donations’ are deceptively marked as additional DLC, and the only reward offered for each of them is some sort of in-game cat (a different color for every tier.) Even then, the descriptions aren’t clear about what purpose this reward serves in-game.
Okay. I have one last thing to complain about. 100 Cozy Games, the people who made 100 Asian Cats, have released another free hidden object game called 100 Christmas Cats. I was going to give that one a shot, too… until I found out that two of the achievements for it are locked behind a paywall. Absolutely not, that’s ridiculous.
So, although 100 Asian Cats is free and short, you can see why I ultimately think it’s a waste of time. The presentation is mediocre, the gameplay is reductive, and there are simply better options in the hidden object genre. What bothers me most, though, are the strange ways it tries to get your money (again, when it’s a very short and supposedly free game.) I’d say skip it - and probably all of 100 Cozy Games’ releases - entirely.
Visuals: 2/5
Sound: 1/5
Gameplay: 2.5/5
Worldbuilding: 1/5
Replayability: 1/5
Overall Game Score: 1.5/5
But before I get into all of that, let’s break down the game itself. The player’s goal is to find the eponymous 100 cats scattered throughout a single level - this level being a scrollable art piece depicting an Eastern-style building overrun with kitties. There’s no color, except for splashes of yellow filling the page for each cat you find and click on.
The art style of 100 Asian Cats isn’t terrible by any means. In fact, I quite liked the level of detail put into it. However, the thin lines and near-complete lack of color makes those same details muddied - especially because most of the so-called ‘cats’ are actually half of a vague ‘cat’ shape fit into any nook and cranny possible.
Somehow worse than the art, though, is the music. It’s fast and chaotic, to the point that it honestly stressed me out more than anything. I would’ve much preferred something slow to set a relaxing tone; I have no idea why they chose something so high-energy, especially when the track just doesn’t sound that great in the first place. At least the cats make cute little meows when you click on them?
Speaking of clicking, let’s briefly discuss the gameplay. At the end of the day, it’s the most barebones version of a hidden object experience you could ask for. It’s fine, but there’s absolutely nothing special about it, either. I didn’t even need to use the hint system until near the very end.
Now, I really want to dig into 100 Asian Cats’ strange avenues of monetization - starting with that same hint system. Although I didn’t run out of them, there’s apparently only a limited number of hints available to the player. I figured this out because, if you were to buy the game’s DLC, it lists itself as including additional hints! Even if I barely needed them, I think it’s plain weird to monetize a mechanic in your 20 minute-long, free Steam game.
And even though the base game is free, that DLC is not. To play this content - AKA, the only other level in the game, which is probably also 10 minutes long – you have to fork over a dollar. Not worth it, in my opinion. I also found it shady how there’s a vague button on the main menu that, when clicked, redirects to your Steam cart with the DLC already added to it.
Somehow, though, this tiny DLC is far from the only way you can spend money on 100 Asian Cats. You also have the option to spend five dollars apiece to receive what I can only assume are a laughably small art book and soundtrack. Ten dollars is a crazy ask for one or two levels’ worth of content.
At least then you’re given some actual content in return, though. Because there’s also five separate options to donate to the developers… and the highest is a two hundred dollar donation. These ‘donations’ are deceptively marked as additional DLC, and the only reward offered for each of them is some sort of in-game cat (a different color for every tier.) Even then, the descriptions aren’t clear about what purpose this reward serves in-game.
Okay. I have one last thing to complain about. 100 Cozy Games, the people who made 100 Asian Cats, have released another free hidden object game called 100 Christmas Cats. I was going to give that one a shot, too… until I found out that two of the achievements for it are locked behind a paywall. Absolutely not, that’s ridiculous.
So, although 100 Asian Cats is free and short, you can see why I ultimately think it’s a waste of time. The presentation is mediocre, the gameplay is reductive, and there are simply better options in the hidden object genre. What bothers me most, though, are the strange ways it tries to get your money (again, when it’s a very short and supposedly free game.) I’d say skip it - and probably all of 100 Cozy Games’ releases - entirely.
Visuals: 2/5
Sound: 1/5
Gameplay: 2.5/5
Worldbuilding: 1/5
Replayability: 1/5
Overall Game Score: 1.5/5