1 CatLine from Publisher Eastasiasoft Limited and Developer Nerd Games
Simple but fun puzzle platformer. Good progression on new mechanics and difficulty.
1 CatLine is a one screen per level puzzle platformer. There are a total of 50 levels where new game mechanics get introduced every few levels. This was a nice progression as the game gives a few levels to learn and use each new mechanic or power before the puzzles become a little harder. Most of the puzzles consist of moving from one side of the screen to the other. Each level has a gem that needs to be collected to “solve” the puzzle.
The game starts out with just your human character. It takes a few levels before the game’s titular character, Theo the two-dimensional “Cat”, shows up. Theo is a magical creature that freezes time when being controlled. It can also fly and move around the level. You will use the cat to create platforms, steps, move boxes, and trigger switches. Theo does have an interesting movement pattern as Theo can only move forward and can’t go over itself. Think of the old Snake game and you’ll have a good picture of how Theo moves.
Most of the mechanics are pretty basic; stepping on a switch to make boxes appear/disappear, standing on a switch to open areas, moving boxes with Theo and your character, and single jumps. Towards the later half of the game portals are introduced. This is when the game finally feels like a real puzzle platformer.
The controls are pretty simple with a thumbstick to move around and 3 different buttons to use; 1 button to jump, 1 button to restart the level, and 1 button to toggle back and forth between controlling Theo and your human character. We wish we could have remapped the restart button to a different button or that there was a rewind option. A few times when taking control of Theo we hit the reset button by mistake and had to start the level over. Luckily, the game is pretty short so redoing a level or 2 wasn’t bad. You will also need to restart if you get Theo stuck in a corner or against a wall.
The artstyle is retro pixel inspired from the characters to the colorful yet simple color palette of the levels. We did notice that there is only 1 song that plays during the menu and gameplay which is only 30-45 seconds long before it fades and restarts.
Due to the game mechanics with the Cat freezing time when you control the Cat you are able to exploit it and create your own solution to the levels. Jump and switch to Theo freezes time which allows you to turn Theo into a flying ladder or stairs bypassing the intended solution.
Overall the puzzles were pretty simple and being able to exploit the mechanics made some of the puzzles easier and a lot faster to complete. We would love to see new levels added or a timed option in case you wanted to replay the levels. Sadly once you complete the 50 levels there isn’t a reason to replay them.
With the simple controls and rather easy puzzles this game might be more intended for younger gamers.
