This sidescroller combines cat photography with the joy (misery) of social media clout-farming

One of my proudest pictures of a 2018 trip to Croatia wasn’t of me and my pal. No, it wasn’t of the beautiful scenery or the glistening sea either. It was of many cats lying in the sun together outside a little church. I hadn’t seen that volume of cats in my life, nor that volume together in one spot, all hanging out. Now, you too can live this magic: there’s a demo of this upcoming sidescroller called Neko Odyssey on Steam, and it consists of you taking photos of cats for internet clout. It’s nice!

Neko Odyssey goes for a familiar nostalgic Japanese game look, employing a 2D pixellated style overlaid on a 3D backdrop. It really captures the heart, what with pleasant boppy music and an authentic-seeming town in the demo. Solid vending machine work. Good ramen restaurant layout. Strong abundance of cats.

Cats that you’ll want to take photos of, largely by walking up to them and pressing the space bar. The aim? To grow your Insta following for an audience who demands more cat pics, with those likes viewable at the press of a button and a quick doomscroll of your feed.

One of my favourite pics was of a cat whose face was wedged in a crack in a wall.

And I like this one of a cat who was sat opposite his owner in a ramen restaurant, clearly annoyed at his lack of a portion.

Some cats aren’t that easy to take photos of, though. Some demand cat food, while others are perched in hard-to-reach places you’ll need to figure out a route towards. According to the Steam page, there’s also a “storyline where you’ll unravel the mysteries of the town based on the information you capture in your cat photos”. I can’t say mine have much truth to them.

No, I won’t pretend that Neko Odyssey is going to be the next big thing. But the demo is pleasant enough for a quick jaunt and a quick hit of the dopamine.