The people at WayForward have delivered quite a few distinctive experiences all through the corporate’s 30-year historical past. Titles like Shantae, Vitamin Connection, and The Mummy Demastered have given MethodForward a fame for quirky titles. In phrases of quirkiness, nonetheless, Catgirl Without Salad: Amuse Bouche simply may high all of them. The game started life as an April Fool’s Day prank again in 2013, however when followers of the developer began to request an actual launch, MethodForward determined to really develop the title. Thus, Catgirl Without Salad: Amuse Bouche was born, and now finds itself on Nintendo Switch. The game might need began life as a prank, nevertheless it’s undoubtedly no joke.
In Catgirl Without Salad, gamers discover themselves within the position of junk food-loving Kebako. With her trusty sidekick Squiddie, Kebako hunts bounties throughout a trio of vertical taking pictures ranges whereas avoiding salad floating by means of area. Kebako’s default weapon is a Pea Shooter, which does not do a complete lot of injury. As she progresses by means of every stage, although, she’ll discover a handful of power-ups primarily based on totally different video game genres. These weapons are (usually) simpler, however the true spotlight is watching how they work.
The game options six weapons along with the Pea Shooter. The Sports Gun fires golf-ball like objects that bounce across the display screen. The Puzzle Gun fires blocks that may deal heavy injury if Kebako can line up three of the identical coloration. The Dance Gun initially has the identical effectiveness of the Pea Shooter, nevertheless it turns into extra highly effective as gamers fireplace when the directional arrows line up. The Arcade Gun sends a personality that appears like Ms. Pac-Man to assault. The Platformer Gun sends a personality that undoubtedly is not Mario to leap on foes. Finally, the RPG Gun provides gamers varied selections just like a turn-based game, together with the power to heal.
These six weapons are extraordinarily intelligent, however their general effectiveness is a little bit of a combined bag. For instance, getting three like colours to line up when utilizing the Puzzle Gun is basically troublesome outdoors of a boss battle. As such, typically the Pea Shooter finally ends up being a greater choice. It’s enjoyable determining how the varied weapons work, however as soon as the cleverness wears off, gamers will remorse selecting up a few of them once they seem. Once the three ranges have been accomplished, gamers can select a mode the place the varied weapons could be chosen at will, and that is a way more pleasurable strategy to expertise them.
If there’s one space through which the game actually shines brightest, it is within the humor. Catgirl Without Salad is absolutely voiced, and Kebako talks all through the whole game, with out taking any type of a break. Her rambling is usually nonsensical, however the biggest problem the game may supply is taking part in by means of with out laughing out loud a number of occasions. Voiced by Cristina Vee, Kebako’s strains by no means repeat throughout a playthrough, so gamers will not have to fret about sitting by means of the identical jokes over and over. If something, typically the gags come so shortly that it is price taking part in the game a second or third time simply to get a greater really feel for among the humor. Unfortunately, there aren’t many different causes to revisit the game as soon as it has been accomplished, notably since Catgirl Without Salad could be crushed in underneath an hour.
While the title is a pleasure to have a look at, gamers might expertise the occasional hiccup. Notably, there are some moments the place gamers will expertise slowdown, reminiscent of when there are plenty of enemies on-screen on the similar time, or when utilizing gadgets just like the Sports Gun, due to the variety of objects bouncing across the display screen. These moments are rare, however price mentioning. It can be attention-grabbing to see if MethodForward releases a patch, as they did with among the extra irritating components in The Mummy Demastered.
Catgirl Without Salad: Amuse Bouche is a pleasant, sugar rush of a game that is over far too shortly. It’s a wildly humorous game with beautiful visuals and terrific voice-acting. Unfortunately, the game is over far too quickly and as soon as the three ranges have been cleared, there simply is not a lot else to do. The game would not overstay its welcome, and that helps the joke land in a means that few different games may pull off. As such, many gamers will discover that the game’s humor and elegance are effectively well worth the $7.99 price of admission, however others may wish to look ahead to Shantae and the Seven Sirens, as a substitute.
Rating: three out of 5
Catgirl Without Salad: Amuse Bouche is presently out there on Nintendo Switch. A retail code was offered by the writer for the aim of this overview, and it was reviewed on a base mannequin Nintendo Switch.
