Cats are Liquid: A Light in the Shadows Review

June 19, 2021
Cats are Liquid: A Light in the Shadows

Grade: B

Minimalistic 2D platformer with a meditative vibe.

Cats are Liquid has you platform through levels as a glowing liquid/blob cat that can jump and roll and flatten. Flattening and sliding like a puddle was my favorite movement style and got me through all the tiny spaces. The colors shift from level to level, and there are words painted into the background that describes this cat’s inner monologue. As you go through the levels, you gain different powers and abilities.

Cats are Liquid has 90 levels and is a short-ish game. It only will take you a 2-3 hours to play through the whole thing. It has a meditative soundtrack and a reflective ending that makes you slow down and think a bit. There’s also some bonus levels you can unlock when you finish the base game. (30 from the second companion pack, and 10 from the final reset pack.)

Not safe indeed, my cat friend!

Simple Platforming

The actual gameplay in Cats are Liquid is relatively simple. You experience some slow-burn evolution where the complexity builds step-by-step. At first, you are just jumping, but by the end-game, you can float like a balloon, obtain a square friend you can send on co-op adventures, and you can drop little cat turds that explode.

The obstacles gain in dimension as well, with various mechanics introduced like acceleration squares, size-shifting squares, and timed explosions. Anything orange in the levels hurts your cat, and avoid all orange anything at all costs!

The cat finds a new thing to try out.

Overall, the platforming wasn’t particularly hard. A few levels required multiple attempts, but in general, it’s a low bar to entry and requires only a low-skill level to complete. If you were patient, you did much better in the platforming than if you tried to rush it.

More ongoing commentary as things continue to shift and change in the world.

Story puts you in a meditative headspace

The cat has an inner monologue that’s written on the walls, and you get to read through the journal of this creature’s private thoughts. The story reminds you to enjoy the journey and not just focus on the end goal.

Cats are Liquid Story Ending Spoilers
Eventually, as your cat hero gets to the end of the levels, you one by one lose the power-ups that you worked so hard to gain. Then, the vibrant colors of the earlier levels are replaced by grey nothingness.

Finally, you escape the endless puzzle boxes, but you are left in the void after you escape. You realize you were happier doing the puzzle than being left in the void, and that’s the revelation/metaphorical lesson you’re left with. After this point, many advanced and community content levels get unlocked for you to head right back into the maze.

The cat starts to realize something as they get into the end-game.

Overall Impression

Cats are Liquid: Light in the Shadows was a completely random experience for me. I picked it out of the bundle just by doing a chance sort, and I was pleasantly surprised to have a bit of meditation and relaxation playing this game. The platforming itself became a bit repetitive, and there could have been some editing of the 90 levels to pare some things down a bit. After getting past the game’s ending, you realize the repetitive levels were wrapped into the point the game was trying to make.

I felt the same as the cat at this point in the game.

Want to see more? Explore all itch.io bundle for racial justice and equality game reviews.

Edit: Thanks to “Spike the Smol TaK Follower” on Last Quarter Studios discord to find and correct a game name typo and point out some of the additional content that goes with the game in the bonus packs.