Life and game improvement are stuffed with merciless struggles, however canine make the whole lot higher. Kato will sadly by no means be a completed game, however builders Cliffside (college students from the Institution Of Game Design at Uppsala University) have launched a prototype model for us to get pleasure from. Players management Kato, a canine, bringing happiness to a cliff-side village just lately beset by tragedy. You do that by barking, digging stuff up, serving to people with chores, plus some literal fetch quests – be a great canine, actually. Take a have a look at the trailer for the game beneath, or obtain the free prototype here on Itch.
If there’s one factor I might grumble about, it’s that the canine’s animations are a bit stiff, however additionally they remind me of The Dog Of Wisdom, which cancels it out. Beyond that, it’s only a enjoyable, candy little game about assembly folks, serving to them and ideally cheering them up a bit. The underpinnings of tragedy, loss and stress make your responsibility as Good Dog all of the extra vital. While the controls are easy (I used a gamepad), I did just like the tactile simplicity of digging by alternating the analogue triggers. Thankfully, no one appeared to thoughts the holes dug of their gardens.
I’m curious what Cliffside would have achieved to construct on this prototype in the event that they’d continued. Some of the interactions already are a bit un-doglike, together with chopping down timber with axes. Personally, I might have appreciated extra critters to chase round and maybe have folks react to my barking extra typically – y’know, canine issues. Rescuing Timmy (who’s clearly fallen down a nicely) could be a given. Who wants canine lumberjacking expertise whenever you’ve obtained an countless library of Lassie to crib from. Ah, what might have been. I do want Cliffside and its folks luck in no matter initiatives they find yourself on subsequent.
The Kato prototype is here on Itch, free. Sadly, Cliffside have ceased improvement, however thanks for sharing this model with us anyway.
