Everyone talks about how easy it must be to be a cat—lazing around in the sun, hacking up hairballs, and eating unlimited amounts of food. For free! But what about the cats that aren’t that lucky? In Copycat, developed by Spoonful Of Wonder and published by Neverland Entertainment and Nuuvem Inc., you play as Dawn, a shelter kitty who loses her home just as she gets used to being there.
Copycat starts off in the POV of Olive, an older lady looking to adopt an older cat, and it’s clear that Olive isn’t as healthy as she used to be. Still, she wants herself a kitty, so a kitty is what she’ll get. You get to choose from six with the only difference being their breeds. I ended up going with my personal favorite: cat.
Once you choose which cat you want and sign the papers agreeing that you’ll love and nurture her until the end of time, you relinquish control of Olive and will now play as Dawn. Seeing the world through Dawn’s eyes is a scary experience. Copycat easily illustrates how scary it might be to be a cat in a new home. There’s tense music, glitchy visuals, and a hiding spot that never fails to make things feel just a bit safer.
As you knock down items, scratch furniture, and steal steaks, you start to think that maybe Olive isn’t so bad after all, and your strong want to leave dwindles with each passing day. Perhaps you can give this family thing a chance. When a medical incident leads to Olive leaving the house for a while, Dawn is by herself for a few days. But when a stray cat who looks exactly like Dawn takes her place, Dawn must do everything she can to go home—to go to Olive. Her family.
While Copycat is heavily narrative-driven, there are still some things for you to do as you explore the world as Dawn. Not everything is interactive, but you can knock a good chunk of items off Olive’s counters, and there are a few, simple minigames to do. For example, swiping at feathers on the left, middle, and right side of the screen with its corresponding buttons. Or scratching the couch or the toilet paper by rapidly pressing two other buttons. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s something quick to do if you’re in the mood.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Copycat fully voice-acted. The actors did a wonderful job conveying their emotions. There’s one voice that will follow you throughout the game, and that’s the Nature Expert. He plays as the narrator, starting inside the television and reciting interesting facts about cats, but he eventually shifts into Dawn’s head. Sometimes he’s encouraging, and sometimes he’s condescending. He’s happy to tell Dawn she’s doing a great job, but he’s also the first to challenge her inner thoughts in a way that pushes her forward. He was a great addition to Copycat overall, and the game wouldn’t have been as emotional if it weren’t for his performance.
Copycat is a stunning 3D game with pretty visuals and lighting that left me in awe. It made the world vibrant and the atmosphere pop. Even during tenser moments, when things were dull, the atmosphere was never boring. The soundtrack perfectly accompanied each scene, with some light and airy music during playful moments, and tense, almost disturbing music during spookier moments.
Maybe it’s because I have two cats myself, but there were times I found myself getting a bit emotional. Copycat isn’t a lighthearted game. It’s light at times, yes, but there are also quite a few darker themes that pop up throughout the story. It was able to make me feel an array of emotions; some anger and annoyance, a lot of sadness, and, thankfully, relief.
There were times near the end of Copycat when things started to get a bit repetitive. There’s one minigame akin to Subway Surfers that kept making appearances. There’s also a sequence game, where you have to click the corresponding keys before time runs out. At one point the sequence gets impossibly long for how little time you’re given. Thankfully, after you fail a couple of times, the timer disappears. Sometimes, though, the game would skip over a key I definitely clicked, and I’d have to start the sequence over again. I did often wonder what the point of some of the mini-games were if the outcome doesn’t change no matter how well or poorly you do.
While Copycat isn’t extraordinary, it’s certainly a sweet and memorable narrative. This isn’t just Dawn’s story. It’s Olive’s story; her deteriorating health, her stubbornness, and her crumbling relationship with her daughter. It’s their story as they come to learn of love, loss, survival, and then love all over again.
Inanna played Copycat on PC with a review code.
