Sometimes, all a game needs to sell itself is a concept. A silly and deeply British take on the likes of Hatoful Boyfriend set on an island full of sassy cats with a dash of mystery, roleplaying, and citing Pony Island as a key inspiration? Yeah, I’m on board for Purrfect Date.
Read on for a little more detail, and a heartwarming release date announcement trailer that left me in fits of uncontrollable giggles, and humming the irritatingly catchy song over an hour later.
A lot of devs may be struggling to break even, but the great indie deluge has brought us a near endless stream of wickedly creative games these past few years. Here’s some of the best.
Go on, watch the video above and tell me it doesn’t put a smile on your face. Purrfect Date is the debut game from Bae Team, a very strange duo who love cats, visual novels, mysteries, and have a pointedly offbeat sense of humour. After realising they’d run out of things weird enough to hold their attention, they decided to make something instead, so this is what we get. It only stands to reason that Bossa Studios, the barmy collective behind I Am Bread, have stepped up to publish it.
Set across seven days in feline paradise, Purrfect Date asks you to step into the 12 shoes (stands to reason, doesn’t it?) of six researchers investigating Cat Island… an island (unsurprisingly) populated by cats. Remarkably chatty ones, at that, and you’re tasked with balancing your combined duties of research, recon, and romance in order to find out what makes these fluffy friends tick.
Replay value promises to be pretty decent, as your interactions over your week in feline paradise promise to come to a head in one of several possible seventh-day scenarios. It’s all absurd, and the intentionally scruffy art style, portraying these cats as the awkward, hairy dorks that they truly are, has got me onboard.
As a card-carrying cat-tender, I must say that unless at least one of the mogs in the game communicates their affection purely through fierce headbutts, it’s just unrealistic.
Purrfect Date is due for release on December 15th, although no price has yet been announced. You can wishlist it on Steam to be reminded when it comes out.