Cat From Hell – Cat Simulator from Upscale Studios promises a quirky holiday-themed premise: cats, chaos, and a Christmas remix soundtrack. Sounds like a light, mischievous game perfect for a few laughs. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver on this premise. Learn more in our Cat from Hell – Cat Simulator review!
In this game you’re about to destroy the grandma’s house. Knock over priceless vases, shred curtains mid-nap, and bat heirlooms into oblivion! Whether it’s eating the fish from the aquarium, breaking flower pots, or throwing random items across the room, a cat simulator lets you do it all.
Cat From Hell – Cat Simulator from Upscale Studios kicks off on Christmas night as Santa accidentally drops a mischievous cat into a home already inhabited by another feline — that would be you. The visitor causes trouble, breaking a flower pot and framing you for it. Your goal is, therefore, simple: exact revenge by framing him back. Cause enough chaos and get the other cat kicked out of the house, and you’ll be good to go. Do be careful since grandma is always watching, and if you’re caught, it’s game over.
The gameplay loop revolves around sneaking up on household items, knocking them to the floor to break them, and hiding as fast as possible before Grandma arrives. Each broken object triggers a chime of Christmas bells, signaling that grandma’s on her way. If she sees you in the act, you’ll be in trouble. You want to trick her into thinking the other cat is the one to blame, which has the potential for slapstick fun. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat almost immediately.
The game is plagued by design flaws and technical issues. Grandma and the rival cat frequently get stuck on furniture, often unable to navigate even the most basic pathing scenarios. If Grandma needs to reach a spot blocked by a chair, she’ll try to endlessly walk through it, and you won’t be able to carry on with your mission, which keeps you stuck until her anger meter cools down.
Strategic play becomes guesswork, especially when setting up framing scenarios. You may carefully time your mischief while the other cat is nearby, only for the game to assign blame incorrectly or not at all for no apparent reason. In one instance, I technically “won” simply because the other cat got permanently lodged into a couch and couldn’t move anymore, which made Grandma think he was the one to blame.
The first-person perspective makes things even worse, with an awkward field of view and clunky paw animations. Visually, to be honest, the game resembles a budget title from the early PlayStation 2 era, with low-resolution models and stiff, unconvincing animations that break the whole experience. Grandma’s lines sound heavily compressed, and the rest of the audio design — aside from the main theme remix — is certainly forgettable at best.
There’s no Platinum trophy for this game, which feels twice as weird for a budget title that would certainly have benefited from a Platinum for trophy hunters to aim for. You can unlock some trophies for breaking objects and successfully framing the rival cat. There’s also a Sandbox Mode, which removes the rival cat entirely, leaving you alone with Grandma to explore the location. If you need some extra help to speed up your trophy run, you can check out this Cat from Hell Trophy Guide.
I went into Cat From Hell expecting a silly, chaotic holiday distraction, but what I got was a game that was barely held together by string. From broken AI pathing to unreliable core gameplay mechanics, it’s an experience that barely functions on PlayStation 5. And when the main premise of the game — that would be framing the cat — fails more often than not, it becomes clear this title is more of a chore than a fun gaming experience. Even at $4.99, this one is hard to recommend on Sony’s current-gen console.
Disclaimer
This Cat from Hell – Cat Simulator review is based on a PlayStation copy provided by Upscale Studios.
