Games that use animals as characters aren’t new; there are some very good examples that provide good experiences. But recently, Stray brought a different light to feline games with a different gameplay and an interesting perspective as if the player were following the little cat.

Copycat is a narrative-driven game about a shelter cat whose place is taken by a stray, focusing on themes of rejection, and it tries to do the same thing as Stray, only with a more dramatic story accompanying a lady who is in very poor health.

A Cat with A Lot of Personality, But…

With a very brief experience, in Copycat you step into the shoes of a cat that is being adopted by someone. You can choose from a number of felines in an adoption center and once you’ve made your choice, it’s revealed that you’re being adopted by Olive, a lady who is in poor health but needs some company.

It’s good that the game shows some information at the time of adoption, such as the adoption center employee stating important information so that adoptions aren’t made irresponsibly. Once you’ve made your choice, the game moves on to where a large part of the game will take place, which is Olive’s house.

Narrator’s Voice vs. Cat’s Thoughts in Copycat

In parallel to these events, there is a narrator who identifies himself as a Biologist. The Biologist talks as if he were explaining how the cat should be, as if he were a voice constantly speaking in the cat’s ear, since the animal’s thoughts are expressed as texts, so when the Biologist starts narrating events, it seems more like he wants to sound like a narrator of documentary programs.

This can lead to a disconnection between the player and the character, as it inserts a line of conversation that often sounds different from what the animal is thinking. It would be more interesting to insert them as if they were the animal’s questions, which would perhaps make the bond deeper.

Shallow Gameplay with Inconsistent, Emotionally-Driven Story

But that’s not the only problem, despite the very shallow gameplay, which is all about walking around with the cat and pressing buttons at the right time in Quick Time Events, the story ends up being very shallow with a lot of inconsistencies and a lot of emotional appeal to mark out viewers and players.

Logically, right from the start you choose the type of cat you want to use in the story and the newly adopted animal’s friction with its owner only begins as soon as it arrives home. Before that, the game doesn’t show whether the animal, being an adult, has any traumas from past owners or experiences. And so the story unfolds with Dawn, the name given by Olive to refer to the cat, wanting to run away from home until things change.

Visually, the game isn’t ugly, but there seems to be a certain neglect of the quality of the models of the main characters who, when walking, talking and expressing themselves, show that this was the part where the least care was taken to develop them. The game’s camera is sometimes inconsistent, but at least it’s not a game that requires quick reactions from the player.

Forced Emotional Appeals Amid Hasty World-Building in Copycat

Returning to the experience of the game, after a while the story begins to progress and shows the problems of carelessness when building a world. I understand that it’s a small game with a short duration, but making the character change scenarios by telling small events is more of a hindrance than a help, because with the lack of time, it shows hasty decisions and an addiction of the game which is to suddenly appeal by showing a sad event to get the player’s attention.

The second moment in which this happens is triggered by a lazy event that makes no sense, especially since it’s something related to the idea behind the game’s title.

Technically speaking, Copycat doesn’t present any problems to play and anyone can check out the experience without any major challenges. It’s important to note that the game is localized into several languages.

STREAMER SCORE

Copycat (PC) - 2024

Overall

2.8

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Summary

Copycat is unfortunately shallow in its story and as the gameplay is simple, there isn’t much to save it apart from a few good ideas scattered throughout the game. Using exciting points as plot devices is also a vice of the game that makes it a forgettable experience.