One of the wilder aspects of how this generation has slowly been signaling a change in how games are made, aided by indie studios distributing everything digitally, is the emergence of oddball titles or at least characters. One common thread for a portion of these titles has been the inclusion of cats as either a protagonist, or at least involved centrally in some way, but none to date have chosen the route CATO has gone on. Rolling with the popular “buttered cat paradox”, which proposes that a cat with a piece of buttered toast on its back (buttered side facing towards the cat) could essentially achieve anti-gravity, this puzzle platformer has its silliness baked in at its core.

Running with this conceit alone could have made for an amusing game, but thankfully the developers have instead used it as a launching pad for smart play. It turns out that both your cat and the slice of buttered toast that serves as their companion are capable of performing tasks on their own, but when they combine they’re able to use their anti-gravity powers to great effect. That doesn’t mean your attempts to continue to advance through the game’s stages will be easy though, as you’ll continue to bump into new elements that will challenge both your problem solving and your dexterity with a controller while on your journey.

What’s great is that for the most part the challenge curve stays consistent throughout, though there will be minor spikes at times. New elements are typically introduced in simpler forms, allowing you to get familiar with them through a little experimentation, and never requiring explicit instructions. This could perhaps lead to some frustration if you don’t happen to intuitively grasp something new to the mix, but more often than not it was easy to figure out how everything worked.

On the more action-oriented side of the coin the game also performs well, generally providing you with the means of success if only you’re able to execute. Between the pretty simple controls and clean performance, every challenge thrown at you feels within reach, and yet still quite satisfying. If you’re a fan of well-executed puzzle platform action, this is an excellent (and amusingly weird) romp!