Schrodinger's Cat Burglar

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].

Played the demo for a while then took the plunge. Portal meets Stray! What's not to love?

Really cute, fun and enjoyable puzzle game. Puzzles are not too hard but challenging enough to keep you entertained for 10+ hours

I came across this game on Tiktok before it was released and it got me hooked even then, but the end product was even better than I expected, it honestly became one of my favorites. The puzzles sometimes really make you think for a good 15 minutes, especially the bonus levels. It's fun, educational. The lore is interesting as well, especially if you take your time to read all the intel you collect. There are also lots of accessibility settings and customization options. Also the soundtrack is a banger! The only problem I had was the jumping mechanism. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to find the sweet spot where the paw icon pops up so you can jump. I also realized after finishing the game that you can change between the two targets while holding down shift, but that's on me :) Overall I couldn't recommend this game enough. Give me 500 sequels now. Please and thank you. Also plushies of Mittens and Ada would be appreciated :)

Absolutely loved this! Finished the story today and will definitely go back to try and 100% it! If you like portal and you like cats you will like this game!

i like cat i like paradox i like puzzle i like game (i got as gift)

Um dos melhores jogos que joguei esse ano. Fofo, engraçado, puzzles muito bem feitos e com dificuldade progressiva, e além de tudo te ensina conceitos de física quântica. 10/10

Отличная игра для COOP по Remote Play или на одном ПК! Очень весело, отличная графика интересные головоломки!