I love narrative or novella-type games, and while they won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I love a gaming experience with a side of tear-jerking emotion. In saying that, by opening with the disclaimer of touching on hard topics, I knew ‘Copycat’, by Indie Australian developer, Spoonful Of Wonder, was going to be an interesting ride.

As you would expect, the story is at the forefront of this game. Without spoiling too much, you are a newly adopted cat who, with her elderly owner, Olive, rides the waves of hard-hitting topics like belonging, trauma and uncertainty. There isn’t a great deal of dialogue, but you are put into the thoughts of our protagonist and feline friend, and the narrative is nicely juxtapositioned with a panther representing the wild side living within.

The story is quite impactful and as an audience member sitting in the bleachers watching on I, myself, went through a range of emotions, particularly anger and sadness at what I saw unfolding. Nothing was too jarring or overtly in your face, but the all too real situations really tugged at the heartstrings.

As I mentioned, it is mainly narrative-driven with text responses being chosen as it progresses, though there are a few mini-games throughout, with fetch quests, quick time events and platforming and each is easy to master. It helps to break up events, sometimes for the good, and sometimes breaking the immersion at key points in the story.

The mini-games were fun enough though, and really embodied the essence of our four-footed, little fuzzball such as running down alleys manically dodging obstacles in a very feline way. I will mention the game does recommend using a controller, which definitely makes for a smoother experience definitely while doing quick-timed events.

Graphically, it’s neither here nor there. It isn’t anywhere near terrible, the fundamentals are there, Olive looks painstakingly fragile, the cat looks like a decently rendered cat and the neighbourhood is teaming with detail but nothing is overtly polished.

It is all whimsical and very daydream-like in soft pastel colours contrasting the stark reality of certain situations. I did run into a few minor graphical bugs too, such as my panther clipping through some platforms or grass making some obscure shapes, but a quick restart of that segment fixed these promptly.

The sound work is decent and the voice acting is top-notch. The Australian accents were a bit jarring at first, even as an Australian myself. I think this comes down to not being used to hearing them in games or often portrayed as so stereotypical. From the daughter to the Nature Expert, each character’s voice actor delivered their line with such soul. Even Olive, the Grandma, though I do wish they had aged up her voice more to match the character model and medical diagnosis as she sounded so young and spritely. They also nail the sound effects of a typical cat with all the mannerisms of a common house cat turned wild.

‘Copycat’ was also a ‘PAX 2023 Aus Indie Showcase Winner,’ and it tells. Being only 3 hrs long, this tale that twists and twines 2 lost souls together subtly delves into that deep sense of wanting to find your ‘place’ and to just belong. Whether you are a big tough dog or a soft pussy cat this is one game that will claw at your heart and possibly leave you purring in content.

Written by: Stacey