If you are looking for a cozy adorable game that involves working together with friends, look no further. Indie developer Polymer has exactly what you’re looking for with their new game Paddle Cats.
This action adventure has you and a friend play as two cats on a wooden boat, rowing along a stream in search of fish. Rather than taking the natural route of diving into the water or pawing at fish from the safety of a dry area, you will cast your lines and actually fish as humans do.
As cozy as it sounds, there is more to it than a simple fishing simulator. Traversing the water will call for cooperation of both parties, the narrow areas of the landscape can easily cause your boat to crash against the rocks. The fishing aspect is also something that players will need to give more thought to, aiming your rod and casting your line is an oversimplification of the game. Getting a fish on your line is only the beginning, there are different species of fish that possess their own behaviors. Some fish are stronger than others, meaning they are more than capable of fighting back, pulling your boat through the water and dragging you and your friend into dangerous territory.
This isn’t the only thing that can damage your boat, however. Land and obstacles can also harm it, so paying attention to your surroundings is necessary.
When you and your friend manage to catch a fish, there is another challenge that you will have to face. Each fish takes up spaced in your shared cooler, meaning you two will have to communicate and decide which fish to keep or toss.
Polymer describes their own game as:
A game about two cats in a boat.
They row around.
The water is nice.
Fish are tasty.
Sometimes they catch one.
Some fish are hard to catch.
Some fish are too strong.
Maybe one cat can reel while the other rows.
…
That usually helps.
Paddle Cats is available to wishlist on Steam now and is expected to release sometime this year.