Hustle Cat

The installer/putter-together/whatever guys were here today to put together the elliptical machine that was my birthday present to myself (since we still have no car and I had to cancel the gym membership). So I had to get out of my office while they were here. I figured I'd try one of the games that we picked up during the Lunar New Year sale on Steam.

I gotta admit that I so love the sales on Steam. I was able to get Hustle Cat, one I've been eying for a while, for about £2. It's a great way to try games that you aren't sure about how the quality would be -- reviews of this one were pretty good, but you never know. People also love Hakuoki but I haven't been able to get through it yet.

So I got almost an hour in while they were hammering and screw driving or whatever. In this one, you play Avery Grey, who can be either male or female or unspecified, depending on how you want to play. This is a nice touch as there are both male and female routes (or so I gather) in this one, so however you want to identify, you can. I picked female and one of the more feminine looking avatars, but if I wind up unlocking all of the routes, I'll probably at some point be a Mr. Avery. Or maybe not. I dunno. Doesn't matter, which is the nice bit.

You're crashing on your aunt's couch as you try to find a job. She's away, which is good, because you're kinda a bit of a slob. You also have a fat cat named Mochi. While out wandering one day, you come across A Cat's Paw, a cafe with a help wanted sign in the window. It's a rather strange place, with cats everywhere, but after a (weird) interview with Mr. Graves (who's got that Older Goth thing going on), you get the job. And you immediately sign a contract without reading it over. Doh!

So knew that wasn't going to be a good idea.

You go to work the next day and meet all the rest of your co-workers. There's Landry, the first one you met, who seems like a tall, nice, helpful dude. There's Reese, a little spitfire of a dude in a cap, who's got that Napoleon complex going on. And Hayes, the bespectacled one who seems super sweet but very, very shy. That's it for the guys. Then there's Mason, the imposing but kind female cook and Finley, the adorable big-eyed waif type who moonlights as an internet sensation YouTube cat called Jelly Donut.

And, of course, the boss...Mr. Graves. Which I gather you can't unlock unless you manage to get all of the other routes.

You soon discover that all is not as it seems. Whenever the employees leave the cafe, they turn into a cat. And you're about to do the same. It was all in the contract you signed (sort of). You're determined to get to the bottom of it, though not everyone minds as much as you do at getting caught up in this weird magical transformation. Take Hayes, for instance. His "cat time" is how he gets away.

I haven't made it too far as yet, but it looks promising. The art is okay. Nothing to rave about, but not horrible either. The interface is very clean, though I would like some kind of status indicator screen where you have some idea of how you're doing/what route you're going down. Some decision points seem obvious (perhaps in hindsight), but others I have no idea. That's about the only quibble so far. The writing seems pretty good and engaging and the characters seem interesting.

I am going to attempt to lean towards Landry, as when Mr. Graves asked what kind of cat is my fav, I said Maine Coon and that's apparently what type he turns into. Besides, he seems nice and probably the easiest option (maybe?). So far, the only one that doesn't hold a lot of appeal for me is the Reese character. I'm just not into itty bitty bossy boys.

I want to do this without any walkthrough or hints and see how it goes. More later after I play a bit more.