Review + mini guide

[Milktastrophe]

Let me start off by saying that I got a code for the game in exchange for a review (thank you very much @Leesider). While I'm of course very appreciative of this, I like to think it has not swayed my opinion on the game, but you should know that from the outset.

 

Verdict: Recommended!

 

Price: edit: just pay full price! It's been pointed out to me that people don't like it when deals are shared with them.

 

Trophy list pros:

• No missable trophies (actually, one might be missable, but there's no way you wouldn't adopt the cat)
• Trophy list requires fully completing everything in the game
• Cats! A whole building full of them!

 

Trophy list cons:

• No platinum
• Edit: who cares about price! Guess this is no longer a con then!

 

 

Review:

A building full of cats tasks you with finding all of the cats within the building. But is this game the cat's pajamas or will this purrchase lie on your face trying to smother you in your sleep? (he,y we can't all be Cornshaq).

 

Think Artifex Mundi, but instead of searching for a skull in a pile of trash, you get to search for hundreds of adorable cats in more natural environments, which I quite liked. Each floor typically has 50 cats out in the open and 10 hidden cats, where you need to interact with the environment to reveal them, as well as one cat who will run away a few times. Although many of the cats are out in the open, that doesn't mean they're easy to find--many blend in very well with the environment, so you will need to go over the area with a fine tooth comb. There's actually a really good mix of very obvious cats and cats that are seemingly part of the wallpaper. If you get stuck there's even a hint function, which is done pretty well since it highlights the general area of the cat without outright telling you where it is (hey, I had to use the hint so I could talk about it here, I totally would've beaten the game without using it), although the hint doesn't work for finding the hidden cats.

 

I really enjoyed hunting for the cats in each level and found this game to be a pretty relaxing experience. It was also really cool finding my first hidden cat, looking at the drawer and thinking they should've made it so you could open the drawer and there's a cat inside... and then I clicked on it and that's exactly what they did! (Sorry you guys will now have a dampened experience since you know interacting with the environment is a thing). The game is quite short though, without a guide you can probably beat it in under an hour, with a guide it'll just be a matter of minutes to cross reference with solved images. This is perhaps a good thing because every level is kind of the same thing, the short length just means it doesn't overstay it's welcome.

 

The artwork is pretty simple (not to say it's bad, it's just not overly complex), but that works well here. Like with my Artifex Mundi comparison, this game doesn't need a ton of junk and distracting colors in order to present a room with cats blended into it. Every level is basically monochrome that gets populated with an accent color upon finding each cat, which does look nice. And the music is nice and fitting for the chill experience of finding these cats.

 

On the technical side of things, I did find one bug, but it involved allow me to find one of the cats multiple times so I was able to get a trophy without finding all of the cats (though I did find them all anyway). No crashes or anything like that.

 

Overall, I enjoyed this game and I wouldn't mind doing the other stack. To be honest, edit: this sentence is now redacted to spare your feelings on the price you may've decided this game is worth. But I do recommend it, you just need to "edit: redacted" for an hour with this relaxing game and go ahead and "edit: redacted".

 

 

Solutions to every level:

Note: I didn't know which cats were going to run away, so those are just marked with numbers on the images (since you need to find the cat multiple times) instead of actually captured in the screenshots

 

Main menu, settings, and credits

Spoiler

Secret cat in the bushes to the left of the front door

 

Secret cat under the wet floor sign

 

Secret cat in the "o" of Giovani

 

Floor 1

Spoiler

 

Floor 2

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/DK09Bzw.jpg[/img]

 

Floor 3

Spoiler

 

Floor 4

(This is the floor with the bug, you can enter/exit the bathroom and then click on the hidden cat by the bathroom door in order to keep finding the same one over and over)

Spoiler

Note: the hidden cat in the light is accessed by flipping the light switch on the left wall

 

Floor 5

Spoiler

 

Roof

Spoiler

The super obvious cat on the railing is the runaway cat and appears after finding the runaway cat in every floor. You only need him once on this floor. Make sure to adopt him!

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Milktastrophe

[Leesider]

Hey Milktastrophe, thanks for that.

Nice job!

 

Regards

Leesider

[RustyZero]

My feedback/mini-review of the game:

 

First of all, thanks @Leesider for allowing some of us to test it.

 

I had no idea what to expect from this title. In fact, it's very simple: it's the videogame (and feline) version of where's Waldo (/Wally /Charlie, ...depending on where you are).

 

When I started the game, and figured out what it was all about, I told myself "ok, let's wait for my -5 years old- daugher to play it with her". She loves such books, especially the unicorns version. She will obvioulsy fall in love with this game. And... well, then I said "Mmm, I'll only do the first floor", then "ok maybe the second one also, then I stop"... and I finished the game in one sitting

 

So this is short (roughly one hour), but quite addictive.
I've nothing against short games, if the price is right. And it is.
too bad it is not cross-buy PS4/PS5.

 

Regarding trophies:
- It doesn't need a trophy guide. this would kill the whole fun of the game. the difficulty is well balanced, and there is some in-game help if needed
- I may have an old fashioned point of view on this: that's fine when such short games don't have platinum. (I just see the sequel has one)

 

in conclusion, it's a fun little game. Congrats @Leesider!

[Teh_DDgamez]

I'll add my mini review too! I was granted a key too so i'll add my thanks to the developer too.

 

Recently i've started to try to broaden my horizon by playing genres that i don't usually play, so i was really happy to be able to play a hidden game and i wasn't sure what i was getting into. I was pleasently surprised how relaxing it was. I would say this is a perfect game after a long and exausting day but you still want to play something for de-stressing. No guides, no colletibles and a soulslike is out of the question, just start this game and have fun. Also i really fund myself burst out laughing more than one time when searching and noticing that the hidden cat was there just under my nose the whole time and i thought "how did i not noticed that?!". For the cons i think it's important to point out (especially considering that we are in a trophy site) that for some reason the game doesn't have a platinum (i mean we are flooded with fake garbage for +1 plat and thousands stacks but a real game about helping animals does not?), also i think that crossbuy should always be mandatory ("Gamers should never be forced to purchase the same game twice or pay for upgrades"). If you read till here thank you for your time and i hope you enjoyed the read!

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Teh_DDgamez

[Leesider]

Hi there, I provided 10 codes and only 3 opinions popped out...

I have to say this a bit discouraging, especially because I'm planning on making it a repeating event with our other games.

 

Hey guys - c'mon!

 

Leesider

[Aceterix]

I too was provided a code to provide a mini review for this very charming game, thank you to Leesider.

 

As described above it is a hidden object game (I won't spoil whether it is buildings or cats that are hidden, but there is a small clue in the title). For the majority of the time you are searching for undisclosed cute furry objects in neatly designed doodle drawing style rooms of an apartment block (it wasn't until the second time I played I realised it was a full apartment and not just one room per floor).

 

The art style is cosy and playful and perfect for this style of game, the colour palettes change for each style of room and the hidden objects (once found) have their own palettes per floor too which is a very nice touch.

 

There is a hint system which helps you hone in one missing thing (which may or may not have four legs and a tail) per floor, my advice is save this until very late on each floor as one or two of the items (which may or may not make sounds like a small cement mixer) are very very well hidden (but I should say still fair and perceptible within resorting to clicking without looking).

 

There are some nice touches like moveable parts within the rooms which can reveal even more hidden mouse banes. Each floor has a nip enthusiast that will run away 3 times to add some more variation.

 

Finally my favourite thing about the game is the music, it's light and airy and walks the line of being delicate and not over complicated but doesn't become annoying when you inevitably think you have looked absolutely everywhere for a miniature king of the jungle but have 1 or 2 left to find and the music is enjoyable enough to sooth these woes.

 

It's easy immediately to see a lot of love went into this game, it is not requesting an enormous amount of your time but neither is it demanding excessively of your wallet, if you are interested at all in this game i recommend trying it.

 

Worst case scenario you will have a new 100% and have spent a little bit of time being charmed, best case scenario you will be looking forward to the next efforts from the team that made your day.

 

Controversial perhaps, but this may be the definitive cat game on ps4... Maybe, it's very close.

[Nauticus87]

25 minutes ago, Aceterix said:

Controversial perhaps, but this may be the definitive cat game on ps4... Maybe, it's very close.

To me, Cat Quest I and II would be tough to beat but nice review.

 

I already played Hidden Paws Mystery earlier this year, which is another hidden cat finder game, so think I've had my fill for now! But I won't say never on a future desire to find more cats.

[Leesider]

On 8/23/2023 at 12:57 PM, Aceterix said:

Controversial perhaps, but this may be the definitive cat game on ps4... Maybe, it's very close.

Cool line ;))

Cheers

[Helyx]

A Review

 

The relaxing hand-drawn aesthetic of A Building Full of Cats makes it a unique title amongst other hidden object games.

 

With a five-story apartment complex filled with cats to explore, these cats have hidden themselves amongst the layout of everyday homes. Each floor is filled with dozens of cute cats to find; some playfully taunting you in the open, while some are elusive and hide behind interactive objects in the room.

 

Finding a cat will cause it to change its color to contrast with the beautiful artwork saturated in pinks, purples and blues. If these felines seem too well hidden, you can use a hint, but there's only one so use it sparingly on your way to finding all the cats (and Fofiño) to move on to the next floor.

 

Through five floors, the roof, and a few kitties hiding in the menus, you'll have a soothing soundtrack while taking care of the cats through on your path through the trophy list. If you need help with anything, @Milktastrophe has written up a guide along with his review to make sure there's no cat left behind.

 

PROS

• Relaxing gameplay
• Cute hand-drawn art
• Trophy stacks

CONS

• No lasting replayability
• No cross-buy
• No platinum

 

Verdict - Recommended

 

Thanks to @Leesider for the review code. Respect to Devcats, the ending was me considering adopting another cat to accompany my 13-year old rescue. We look forward to your other projects. Here's links to the PlayStation Store for both of their Full of Cats games.

• A Building Full of Cats PS4
• A Building Full of Cats PS5
• A Castle Full of Cats PS4
• A Castle Full of Cats PS5

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Helyx

[Leesider]

46 minutes ago, Helyx said:

the ending was me considering adopting another cat to accompany my 13-year old rescue. We look forward to your other projects. Here's links to the PlayStation Store for both of their Full of Cats games.

Thank's for that!

[Rejim]

Got the one in London by curiosity and loved it! So had to go for this one as well. Such a lovely treat, finding cats  

 

Really recommend it (for all ages and people), a nice little game for a chill afternoon and take a break from grindy games, perfect.