Schrodinger's Cat Burglar

This game is so fun to play with a friend or loved one, especially if you're a cat lover/owner. "It's just portal with cats!" Oh my god every game is just another game with something changed/added, you guys! Play more games and you'll realize that! Anyway, its very cute and intuitive with excellent game design (as someone who's major was game design). Definitely one of my favorite coop games. I also love that it allows for couch-coop (which has sadly largely become a concept lost to the early 2000s after big greedy game companies chose to incentevise making players buy 2 copies and 2 consoles/PCs instead of 1).

One section turns meowing into an actual game mechanic (My only genuine critique would be that they could do with optimising the game. I'm on the lowest graphics settings and my (fairly new) laptop is melting)

This game is so good. It's portal, with cats.

Игра в какой-то степени напоминает серию игр Portal. Только здесь вместо двух порталов один кот, который может быть в двух местах одновременно. Игра прикольно и креативно использует эту механику и делает вокруг неё разные интересные головоломки. Некоторые лёгкие, некоторые заставляют подумать. Хотелось бы, чтобы описания некоторых достижений были более чёткими, т.к. некоторые я выполнил благодаря гайду. Но несмотря на это, очень весёлая и интересная игра!

I've never written a review before, but I thought I'd start here since I really liked the game and wanted to help the devs out. I saw a trailer for this game on YouTube and I was immediately interested, since this seemed like the type of puzzle game I like. And I have to say, it lived up to my expectations. The puzzles were fun and made me think in new ways, and the game felt well-paced. I was surprised at how polished it was too, given that it was made by a small indie studio. The game's world is quite open and there's secrets pretty much everywhere, the story is engaging (I really liked how it has you gradually uncover what's going on via collectible documents), and the music is really good. The only point where I really stopped having fun was when I had finished the game and found most of the secrets - and it's heavily implied that there's more to come. The game isn't perfect (no game is), but overall, this is amazing work from Abandoned Sheep. It's definitely worth $20 (if you are the kind of person who can wrap your head around quantum cats in two places at once and all that). I'm really excited to see what comes next. I'd love to say more, but writing is hard and the review is getting long already. TLDR: Great game - check it out if it seems up your alley.

Dedicated meow button. Lots to fun customization for Mittens. The splitting mechanics are so fun and interesting, its like thinking with portals but in reverse.

So, it seems you've stumbled upon my review for this game. As I saw in another review "It's Portal meets Stray." That is a perfect way of describing this puzzle game. Though I've never played Stray, I've seen the trailer, which gave me enough information to know that that description is perfect. Anyway, this game I don't think is worthy of either a like or a dislike, so [h1] PLEASE DON'T DISREGARD THE REST OF THIS TEXT [/h1] I wish there was a mixed option, as I'm kind of in between whether to rate this game positively or negatively. So, let's get to the [h2]PROS[/h2] [list] [*]The story is amazing, and makes a lot of sense [*]The quantum mechanics in this game seem like they would work in a probability-dependent world [*]The puzzles are decently difficult [*]The soundtrack is amazing, so much so that I have it running through my head for longer periods of time than should be expected [*]The new Experimental Department update was welcome for it's [b]twelve[/b] new puzzles [*]The puzzle elements and ways that this splitting mechanic can be used are fun [*]There is a customization menu to change the glow color and/or name of the cat [*]The game is long, and there are many areas, resulting in hours worth of playtime [*]The corporate intel and emails were fun, unique ways of hinting at lore [*]The gameplay order is a little looser, as you can revisit areas as many times as you want [*]The cosmetics that allow you to change your cat's appearance was a nice touch [*]The hidden collectibles; F-Bucks and data chips were a fun way of encouraging more exploration [*]The story's foreshadowing I noticed after partially replaying the game for the first time, e.g. [spoiler]hinting at the Production and Shipping area[/spoiler] [/list] Now, let's move on to the [h2]CONS[/h2] [list] [*]The puzzles weren't difficult enough for me, except for three substation puzzles in Power Control [*]The gameplay is very linear, and set in a specific order, where there's always a clear destination [*]The jumping mechanics can be a headache sometimes [*]Some of the quantum shard locations are a [i]pain[/i] to get to [*]The interaction with the [spoiler]Concierge AI[/spoiler] felt a little too back-and-forth-y [*]Despite the name, there really isn't much "burglary" going on in the game [*]The game doesn't really have very many areas that are technically considered "puzzles," and there are so many hallways in between each of them [*]After clearance level 1, the clearance levels go by pretty fast [*]The gameplay feels a little repetitive [*]The Separation Lab area feels like it goes by too fast [*]Though I do appreciate the option to slow down timed aspects of the game, the [spoiler]Quark Bleed[/spoiler] and gradually draining batteries weren't very fun in my opinion [*]The comms conversations started getting annoying after a while with the "[Squeak] [Meow] [Squeak] [Meow]" [*]At some point, I had more than one save and started experiencing "Cross-Save Contamination," as some of the elements of each save were mixing into each other. [/list] I know this review is long, but I hope you read it, as I think it'll give you enough info to know whether to buy it or not, but not too much that it gives away the story. I know the number of pros is about equal if not more than the number of cons, but the value of the cons compromises the total value of the pros in my opinion. I hope this review was helpful, and if you decide to buy the game, I hope it was worth it.

I learnt about the Schrodinger's Cat Burglar almost by mere accident. The trailer just randomly popped up in my Youtube recommendations, I though the game had potential, and then found out it was just 2 weeks before its release. Since I’ve recently started playing co-op games with a friend, I decided this could be a nice choice because it was a puzzle and had a Remote Play support. So, I bought the collector’s edition (to support the developers because it’s their first game) a few days after the release, however, because of my busy schedule we’ve only recently 100%-ed it and thus I’m writing the review now. [b]Story[/b]. The plot starts as a pretty light comedy where a cat burglar explores a quantum research facility owned by a nasty cyberpunk-ish corporation and uses their newly acquired quantum powers to escape. However, as you get closer to the final, the story also becomes more serious in tone and eventually turns out into a drama about saving the world; some of the unraveled facts may even make you tear up. The dialogues are pretty interesting and funny, the lore documents also have good writing and not only explain the events but usually have a good joke in them. The biggest flaw of the story is its anticlimactic ending though… at one point the game just ends with the credits rolling. No cutscene, no text on screen about what had happened next, simple “to be continued”. Feels like the developers were in a hurry for the release date and had to cut the game on what they had already made. I do hope though that we will at least get a DLC to wrap up the main story. [b]Music and Atmosphere[/b]. The soundtrack is an electronic techno and ambient mix and it is a pretty good one! The music fits the game’s narrative and creates an atmosphere of a quirky sci-fi spy thriller. I do not regret buying the collector’s edition and some of the tracks will definitely end up in my personal playlist. [b]Gameplay[/b]. The gameplay basically consists of two main aspects: solving puzzles and exploring the facility. You start as just one whole cat with simple movement mechanics, then you get an ability to be in two places at the same times, then this ability deepens when one of your states is observed, then some items become splitable too, and so forth… The game gradually presents new mechanics in new locations and you never manage to get bored. At the same time though, it also never really pushes any mechanics to its absolute limit and almost never makes you think “out-of-the-box”, so if you a hardcore puzzle fan, you may feel a lack of a real challenge. The puzzles themselves are quite well-made and pretty satisfying to solve. The only 2-3 times we decided look up a solution online, it turned out we simply were not attentive enough. As for the exploration, the game has some metroidvania elements: some doors are locked and you will have to come back to them later. However, you rarely have to use new mechanics to overcome the obstacle; the access is almost always unlocked by raising your clearance level which you do throughout the story. Moreover, sometimes a locked door can only be opened from the other side which is often located at an already explored level. Yet the game has no map, so it is very tedious to keep track of where you’ve been and which passages you’ve missed. Fortunately though, the entire facility is one big coherent map and airlocks only serve as load-unload screens and not as teleports between different levels, so it’s not hard to spacially assume where that missed turn to the closed door can be. The customization is surprisingly deep, you can choose your fur color, eye color, collar, accessories, fur type and even the protagonist’s name (though only out of the suggested options). You can also customize all 3 cats (whole, one state, another state) separately which is a nice addition if you are playing the game with a friend. As for the co-op, while it is present and you will control two different states of the cat, most of the time you will still play as a “whole” one controlled only by one player. It’s not a problem if you swap with a friend from time to time but it may put off some players who want a full-time co-op experience. The Remote Play is also buggy. Sometimes the game couldn’t see two Xbox controllers and we had to restart it. The puzzles requiring simultaneous input were a nightmare and we couldn’t make them work even by putting max delay in the accessibility settings, so I just switched to solo mode every time one popped up. Fortunately, you can switch between single and co-op on the fly without needing to return to the main menu. Last but not least, the camera angles are not perfect and sometimes it’s pretty hard to understand the real positions of an object. The controls are also somewhat sloppy because of the isometric view and you never truly know whether you cannot jump onto a certain object because you really can’t or because you simply haven’t found a proper position to leap from. There are also a few bugs with getting stuck in textures; fortunately, the save points are pretty frequent, so you don’t lose a lot of progress. [b]My Friend’s Opinion[/b]. Because I’ve played Schrodinger's Cat Burglar with a friend, I’m also adding their opinion to my review. [i][b]The good[/b]. Puzzles and their design: I never felt like I had figured out the solution and written it out in my head but couldn't implement it in the game. Exploring the facility is quite rewarding, though not as complex as in Metroidvanias. You unlock new locations with higher security clearance, not by using new abilities. The writing is surprisingly good: lore notes don't feel like garbage, the dialogues are entertaining and not annoying at all. Cat customization is detailed. [b]The not very good[/b]. Controls aren't responsive enough. There are issues with setting up co-op via Remote Play. The visual style is somewhat generic. The ending is anticlimactic.[/i] [b]Conclusion[/b]. Schrodinger's Cat Burglar is an amazing fun experience both in co-op and single player. While there are a few notable flaws like lack of proper metroidvania elements and the absence of a map, the core gameplay, music, and story easily overweigh them. It is a pity that the release went almost silently and very few people talked about it even in the indie game communities. I am still astonished that I learnt about this title simply because of a random Youtube recommendation. If you want a light fun puzzle game with a good narrative for a few evenings – this is an amazing choice! However, if you want a pure hardcore puzzle experience which challenges all of your braincells, you may better look for other titles. [i]P.S. If you are planning to 100% the game, DO NOT TURN BACK when it says you got to the point of no return! I also decided to clean up everything before going for the ending and in the end spent 6 hours running around without a map only to find out that two of the collectables are inaccessible until you actually finish the game! Finish the story first and come back for the rest later. The game simply teleports you back before the final level anyway.[/i] [i]P.P.S. There is one probably missable achievement called [spoiler]Scratch At The Door which requires you to get soft-locked in a puzzle[/spoiler]. I am not sure how I managed to get it in the final location but in case you are worried and don’t want to replay the game a second time, open the achievements guide once you get to the [spoiler]Separation Lab[/spoiler].