One of the things I’ve truly enjoyed over the years, playing so many indie games, has been watching developers start out with a clever idea and solid gameplay, then continue to refine and improve on their craft. For all of its cute looks and silly cat puns, the Cat Quest series has never particularly been a slouch. Generally playing as a lighter and more friendly action RPG, in the mold of perhaps the classic Secret of Mana and many others, it may have been off the radar of your average gamer in its first 2 iterations, but I’ve always been happy with it in the context of its goals.

Now, 7 years after the release of the original title, the developers are back with their third crack at the franchise, and I’m here to tell you they’ve upped their game. Firing it up co-op with my wife, we blazed our way through some absolutely insane enemy bosses, intense fights on both land and sea, and more silly assorted animal puns than you could imagine. What I love most is that this third iteration has been clearly built on the foundation set by the other two games, and then taken a step to the next level. The biggest, and most critical, change has been the addition of your pirate ship. Not only did that open the door to satisfying combat on the high seas (or some cheap attacks on land-based targets on occasion), but it also expanded the feeling of an open world. The ability to go places you clearly don’t yet belong in is something I enjoy greatly, and the reward of surviving some tough conflicts is often premium gear earlier than you should have it, which is something I live for.

What we both really enjoyed was how many strategic options were constantly being opened to us as we played. New weapons, armors, spells, and assorted perks kept our styles of play evolving, but if you’re bound and determined to stick with your build, that’s also possible as long as you keep throwing your funds into leveling up your favorite gear. Exploring pretty well every corner of the map and collecting every bounty possible was also a great thrill, and led to matching up against some truly massive and formidable foes. Defeating them wasn’t always possible the first time out, or even the second sometimes, but knowing you could come back later to finally knock them out was always a great motivation. Throw in the fact that you score some absolutely ridiculous gear by taking out the game’s major big bads, and there’s plenty to do before you make the credits roll.

While scouring the game for pretty well every secret or challenge set us up perhaps a bit too well for the final battle, which ended up being anti-climatic as a result, I’d say we had no regrets. The gameplay is polished, the equipment variety is plentiful, the upgrade paths make it pretty easy to get yourself customized, and in general this is a far better title than its cutesy name and art style may imply. If you’re hoping for a high degree of challenge, aside from simply trying to finish the game as quickly as possible, that’s less likely to happen. This is a title meant to be enjoyed in its entirety, with plenty of great side quests, some unusual surprises (getting to choose how a love story plays out was particularly clever and funny), and loads of heart even when often still played for laughs. When it comes to family-friendly action RPG play, I’d put it very high on my list.