Little Kitty, Big City review

Our VerdictLittle Kitty Big City is an adorable, entertaining journey through a delightful world that’s just the right size.

Our Verdict

Little Kitty Big City is an adorable, entertaining journey through a delightful world that’s just the right size.

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I’m not a cat person. Cats know this—they tend to watch me suspiciously from afar instead of being any sort of affectionate—but it took me mere seconds to decide that I would die for the titular kitty in Little Kitty, Big City.

Need to knowWhat is it?Doing little cat things in a big old worldExpect to pay:Developer:Double Dagger StudioPublisher:Double Dagger StudioReviewed on:Windows 11, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS, 16GB RAMMultiplayer?NoSteam Deck:VerifiedLink:Official site

Need to know

What is it?Doing little cat things in a big old worldExpect to pay:Developer:Double Dagger StudioPublisher:Double Dagger StudioReviewed on:Windows 11, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS, 16GB RAMMultiplayer?NoSteam Deck:VerifiedLink:Official site

Luckily, though, they’re not forced to be cute in a vacuum—their inadvertent adventure out of doors provides plenty of opportunity to dip their toe beans into the big wide world.

Or… the big-ish wide world. The map of the game really works out to be about the footprint of a single city block and its surroundings. Normally I’d worry that it would feel confined, but considering the scale of a cat (little), it feels like plenty to explore. The levels are built strategically to complement Kitty’s increasing climbing abilities, so street level gives way slowly to walls and then the tops of cars, houses, and the lower floors of apartment buildings.

Image1of4(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Image1of4

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

While a cat’s disregard for the laws of human geometry is certainly in character, it doesn’t make for the most satisfying platforming. It gets worse when challenges late in the game are increasingly vertical, where a jump you really should have landed sends you tumbling hundreds of feet to the street below, wincing as you wait to become a kitty-cake… and then, of course, pop right up onto your paws again, because just like in real life, cats don’t take fall damage. But surviving doesn’t make the trek back any less tiresome.

Though the platforming is occasionally frustrating, the other systems Kitty learns to use are simple and satisfying. Catching birds is one of the most fun activities in the game; a wise elder cat instructs you on obtaining bait (tripping a human carrying a sandwich), setting your trap (dropping a piece of bread in the middle of a parking lot), and finally catching your prey (pouncing from afar on the birds that come to peck at it, an incredibly fun slow-motion animation that I never got tired of watching). It’s fairly foolproof but complicated enough that you really feel like you’re doing something, so that when Tanuki sent me to gather three feathers for her fast travel system I cheerfully skittered off to do as she asked.

Tanuki, you say? Fast travel system, you say? Yeah, did I not mention there’s a raccoon variant building a subspace highway in the sewers?

Tanuki’s certainly one of the more memorable animals you’ll meet throughout the game, as she warps you into trash cans and has one-sided conversations with statues of kaiju and pops her head out of manhole covers at the worst possible time. You’ll also come across Beetle, the stressed-out sidekick to a popular but demanding social media influencer, and Chameleon, who’s convinced your weird eyes can see past his incredible “camouflage” (he is fully visible all the time). One of the best sidequests involves collecting Papa Duck’s lost ducklings, who trail you in a cheerful line until you collect them all—I spent a good hour of the game with at least one feathery companion, who will dutifully waddle through air vents and flutter their tiny wings up onto stacks of boxes in order to follow Kitty into whatever shenanigans they can find.

Image1of5(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Image1of5

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

(Image credit: Double Dagger Studio)

Little Kitty, Big City

I was very sad to entrust my new little siblings back to the care of their dad, and delighted when they showed up later in the game for another cameo. The simple, funny writing lets the characters shine, giving them personality while letting their sprightly animations and sidequests do the brunt of the work.

When I’d finally eaten enough fish to gain the outdoor cat skills needed to ascend my apartment tower and finish the game, I found myself feeling a bit rueful at the prospect of leaving all my new friends. What do you mean, I have to go back home? Sure, I miss my favorite nap spot… and my human’s up there, waiting to pet me and play with me and give me treats… but what about Crow and all the Shinies I’ve collected for him? What about Tanuki’s inventions? Will Chameleon be okay if I’m not there to spot him the next time he climbs up too high? What about my best friend Big Potato????

But luckily for Kitty, they’ve learned on the wild streets the skills they need to stay in touch, and the next time they venture down from their window they won’t have any trouble finding their way back up. The city, it turns out, is nottoobig—it’s just the right size for a curious cat.

Disclosure: Former PC Gamer editor Philippa Warr was involved in the development of Little Kitty, Big City. She had no personal relationship with the reviewer.

The Verdict89Read our review policyLittle Kitty, Big City reviewLittle Kitty Big City is an adorable, entertaining journey through a delightful world that’s just the right size.

The Verdict

89Read our review policyLittle Kitty, Big City reviewLittle Kitty Big City is an adorable, entertaining journey through a delightful world that’s just the right size.

89Read our review policy

Little Kitty, Big City reviewLittle Kitty Big City is an adorable, entertaining journey through a delightful world that’s just the right size.

Little Kitty, Big City review

Little Kitty Big City is an adorable, entertaining journey through a delightful world that’s just the right size.

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Our Verdict#

Our Verdict