Inside Cat Quest 3's Pi-Rat Adventure (2024)

Sailing the high seas in search of plunder is a gaming classic. From Sid Meyer’s Pirates to Skull and Bones, the golden age of piracy is a rich vein for games to explore, even Assassin’s Creed has its pirate game. The latest game to throw its tricorn hat into the ring is Purribean catventure Cat Quest 3. Desmond Wong, CEO of developer The Gentlebros, spoke with Game Rant mere hours before Cat Quest 3 was released on International Cat Day to delve into the riches of the Purribean Sea and explore the new direction for the acclaimed cozy franchise.

Pirates Aren’t That Different from Fantasy Warriors

The key to what makes Cat Quest 3’s pivot to the piratical work is how small of a pivot it actually is. Playing the latest installment, fans of the series will find plenty familiar. Indeed, rather than a revolution on the concept, the high seas of the Purribean are an evolution of what makes the now cozily familiar Cat Quest formula, Wong explained.

"Surprisingly, the pirate fantasy doesn’t stray too far from the medieval warrior fantasy! Both are in search of treasure and loot; both go on grand adventures, and both engage in swashbuckling action (just that pirates also battle on the high seas). This was also how we realized that the pirate theme would be a great fit for Cat Quest. All we had to do was evolve the gameplay with the addition of a pirate ship!"

This time around, as the cats head west from Felingard, rumors speak of a fallen star waiting to be found, and other riches galore should the player purrivateer seek them out, and deal with the threats the seas of the golden age of piracy have to offer. With some new twists and turns, this adventure should be immediately welcoming to longtime fans and pose few barriers to entry for those starting out with the swashbuckling adventure.

That was one reason the age of piracy felt like the 'purrfect' background to Cat Quest 3. But, Wong said, the true inspiration for the game started where, for Gentlebros, it practically had to: with a pun. From there, the game opened up new avenues for gameplay. It was such a great adventure, the team went on it with the player.

"After adding dogs in Cat Quest 2, we knew rats would be next. As everyone knows, the Cat Quest games are huge with puns, and ‘pi-rats (pirates)' was just such a perfect fit for this! This was how we knew that the third game just had to be pirate-themed."Cat Quest 3 Hoists the Mainsail

A pirate game without a ship is hardly a pirate game at all. Pirate ships are part home, part weapon, part crewmate, and are so beloved for their iconic status by gamers–some even building them in games like Palworld. One’s ship is the main source of expression in Sea of Thieves, and the sheer volume of mods adding pirate ships to Skyrim can’t be succinctly recounted. Not only is it a functional necessity, but almost a character unto itself.

So, of course, Cat Quest 3 needed a ship. But Gentlebros wasn’t content with the typical looming titan of a frigate or even a barque. Conventional wisdom—and reality—tend to make the age of sail ships feel slow, turning in wide arcs, presenting broadsides for the exchange of cannon fire, and filling the deck with smoke and water. Even comparatively small ships, like a clipper or sloop, have the physics of sea and sail to contend with.

Wong wanted something a little zippier and a bit more catlike. This approach fits well with the cozy, colorful, somewhat cartoony approach often taken by the Cat Quest games.

Snappy and responsive sailing isn’t the only thing Cat Quest 3 does to remix its own formula. While the game’s traditional dungeons, matching its overworld style, do reappear in Cat Quest 3, a new type of dungeon joins the fray. These new side-scrolling dungeons, despite being two-dimensional, add a new dimension to the dungeon delve.

While not present in the game yet, Wong also looks forward to the return of a key feature from previous titles, Mew Game, where players will have access to “meowdifiers” that will change the game’s difficulty. He also hopes to again partner with RGB keyboard manufacturers to bring back Cat Quest 2’s interesting interactivity with the popular peripheral.

Cat Quest III

RPG

Adventure

Systems

Franchise

Cat Quest

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch

Released

August 8, 2024

Developer(s)

The Gentlebros

Publisher(s)

Kepler Interactive

Engine

Unity

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence