While growing up you likely, at some point, got to enjoy any number of animated movies that featured animals as their main characters. Whether it was The Fox and the Hound, Oliver and Company, or any number of other earlier or more contemporary titles, there just seem to be plenty of classic animation titles that have not just featured animals, but domesticated pets like cats and dogs specifically. Stars in the Trash is absolutely looking to cash in on that nostalgia, and general familiarity with the antics revolving around our furry companions, with you playing the part of a free-spirited feline. While it may not feature a terribly long adventure, it’s at least pretty unique, fun, and likely catnip for animal lovers.

Starting out you’ll go through some well tutorialized paces around the house, getting to know what your furry avatar can do. While there are obvious abilities to jump and swipe, there’s also a dedicated button for knocking things off of counters when possible or meowing on command, and you’ll also learn about some less essential skills that aren’t as critical but still fun like attacking a ball or digging your claws into a piece of cardboard. Once you’ve managed to slay the household’s most fearsome beast, the dreaded vacuum cleaner, you’ll be ready to venture out into the world.

For the most part this ends up just playing out like a cat-based platforming adventure. You’ll need to work out simple puzzles, there are some stealthy elements while trying to elude a pesky animal control worker, and you’ll get into some light combat, but most of your challenges will be platforming-oriented. While for the most part these work out well enough, I’ll admit that there were times when it was either difficult to know what you should do, since objects you can grab aren’t always clear the first time you try them, or the controls didn’t quite feel as crisp as would be nice. Thankfully your penalty for making mistakes tends to be pretty minor, simply taking you back to the beginning of the current section you’re on, but it’s an area that could have been better polished. The only other pity is that in the end it’s a somewhat brief affair, though given the hand-animated look I can’t say that’s a surprise either.