Sims 4, Animal Crossing, a hint of Rimworld, and a dash of Stray – that’s what it takes to make this new management game, which challenges you to lead a colony of adorable, but naturally volatile, little cats.
Catizens, developed by the team at Bad Optics Games, tasks you with building a town based around the characteristics and traits of your custom feline population. “Just like in real life,” Bad Optics explains, “cats require personal attention and special treatment. Combinations of different personality traits and moods affect their proficiency and obedience. Catizens form relationships with each other and will occasionally issue personal requests, so you will need to learn what makes each cat happy in order to stay on their good side.”
You’ve heard of the phrase “herding cats”? Well, from the sounds of it, Catizens wants you to do that for real, and not just physically but emotionally.
As well as designing how your cats look and their personality types, a la The Sims, you have to build them a town, catering for a variety of different professions (similar to Animal Crossing) and also explore the surrounding wilderness to fight monsters and discover resources, like Rimworld. And you can probably guess where the comparison to Stray comes in. That’s right, just like Stray, Catizens is available now on Steam.
If you want to try your paws at some other tough management gigs, check out our guide to the best management games. You might also want to look at our best simulation games guide, or maybe some of the best upcoming PC games. You can also find a beginner’s guide to Stray, and a list of other games like Animal Crossing, because we all need some pastoral serenity in our lives.