Review: Neko Odyssey is a slow-paced cat photography game

Not every game holds your hand and tells you exactly what to do. It also may not help you breeze through the game. Neko OdysseySecret Character’s new cat photography game, is one such title. It’s about appreciating cute animals and spending time while on vacation in a small town, and that means players need to be willing to take it easy and slow down while playing.

Neko Odyssey begins with the furthest thing from cat photography, as it sets things up by explaining a legend about a hero who dispatched a demon from Cat Island and sealed them away, leaving only a few spirits behind. The soul escapes and perhaps becomes a cat. Fast forward, Miki is a young girl visiting and staying with her aunt on Cat Island. She wants to pet and take pictures of all the cute kittens. In the process, she will also help people with problems, play mini-games, make animals happy, and learn more about the island.

When it comes to taking photos of cats, many of them are quite sympathetic to this idea. I find that for most of them, I can walk up, take a photo, and be done with it. In some of these cases, I also need to pet them. There are some that are a bit more challenging and may require something like food or an additional step to attract. However, in those cases, sometimes you get a hint (like a clear picture of a food box) or find a solution by being patient. The photo will then automatically upload to a fake social media site, attracting your likes and followers.

The only downside to cat photos is that they don’t have much variety. In general, cats will always be in the same positions. When I started reviewing your feeds, I also noticed many of them had similar colors and designs. Neko Odyssey is not a cat photography game like Neko Atsume mobile and VR lineswhere each cat is distinctly unique or can appear in really interesting poses depending on where they are photographed. There are a few cats that feel a bit more special, especially if you end up in brief mini-games interacting with them, but I found most to feel generic.

I will say that although there is no unique element it makes me feel like every cat in general is a joy and a surprise Neko Odyssey is a game that looks great. Secret Characters used a full pixel art approach with stylish characters and environmental sprites. The backgrounds and locations in particular look great, although unfortunately there’s no map to help you get around the island and figure out where you’ve been or haven’t been.

However, it seems like it was intentional. While Neko Odyssey is a cat photography game, it can also feel like a slow life simulation game at times. You have a town to explore, full of places and things to see depending on the time of day you travel and whether you take the time to talk to people. You need to focus on your hunger and eat occasionally if you want to look around. After spending a few days in the game, I really felt like I should take my time and wander, instead of trying to rush to find and photograph all the kittens. I wish I could have done more while walking around, as I feel like there could have been more side quests. To be fair, though, it’s possible I missed a few things.

In addition, it is worth noting that Neko Odyssey doesn’t seem to fully support controller play when I play it. In most cases, I’m completely fine on Legion Lenovo Go. However, when talking to people and walking through stores, I really needed to use the touchscreen to continue a conversation or make a purchase. The secret character is very active on the Steam Discussion board for the game, so it’s possible that that’s been fixed or may have been fixed by the time you read this.

Neko Odyssey is a leisurely type of photography game that lets you spend your time hunting, placating, and photographing cats. Some people may feel a little disappointed by the lack of variety, the large town has no maps and directions. I think it’s totally worth the time invested, especially if you want to sit back and relax with cute characters and a charming town for an hour or two.

Neko Odyssey available for PC via Steam.

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