LadiesGamers Astro Aqua Kitty

Astro Aqua Kitty Review (Nintendo Switch)

Game: Astro Aqua Kitty
Genre: Action, Arcade, RPG
System: Nintendo Switch (also coming to PS4, PS Vita, PC and Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: Tikipod
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone
Price: US $14.99 | UK £11.99 | EU € 14,99
Release Date: April 8th, 2021

Review code provided with many thanks to Tikipod

Tikipod Return

It has been far too long but Tikipod the retro-inspired masters have finally returned with a new project. Astro Aqua Kitty is a sort of sequel to one of the developers first projects, Aqua Kitty, which was a game inspired by space shooter greats like Defender – only you played as a cat in a cool little underwater ship. The title still holds up well today and is well worth checking out if you missed out on it but you don’t need to be familiar with it to enjoy Astro Aqua Kitty.

LadiesGamers Astro Aqua Kitty
Sounds like my last attempt at DIY

To Space and Water

You jump into the game by picking a cat pilot and animal engineer to assist you. There are four different characters in each class and each one offers a range of stats and perks to suit your play style. But if you fancy being a little braver you can choose to randomize your choices and see how you fare. Whatever your choice this gives plenty of incentive to boot the game up again experimenting with different characters.

As part of the Aqua Kitty crew, it’s your job to explore the water-filled asteroids and complete various objectives. Yes, this is a game set in space but you spend most of the experience underwater. These objectives are usually simple fetch quests like finding batteries or mechanics to open doors. There are also small puzzles to solve like finding codes for doors or escorting a glowing orb to its destination. The highlight of the experience is the shooting mechanics and arcade-style gameplay.

LadiesGamers Astro Aqua Kitty
Pick your crew

Pirate Bunnies

Most of the game is spent shooting a nice variety of robotic baddies and pirate bunnies. At times the screen can fill with enemies and bullets and it becomes a satisfying time of manoeuvring and shooting through all the carnage. When you defeat enemies you gain exp points, which can be used to upgrade your stats as well as unlock new abilities.

This can only be performed at docks dotted around the levels which also act as the save hubs. Upping your stats doesn’t happen naturally; you need to spend gems that are also dropped by enemies or found in rocks, these are then spent to increase health, armour or weapon energy. You can also use gems to buy new weapons or ship perks at the shop.

LadiesGamers Astro Aqua Kitty
Pirate Bunnies, the most vegetarian of pirates

The Right Tools for the job

You can equip two weapons which vary from laser pistols and wave style weapons to explosive weapons. All have their uses and some are more effective against certain enemies than others. If you feel you don’t have the right tools for the job you can jump into your menu and equip different weapons. However, you only have a limited amount of space so you need to watch what you have. You can discard old items by recycling them for gems.

You often need to swap out weapons regularly as when you level up new more powerful gear becomes available. You can also equip four-ship perks which will add extra stats or additional perks such as having the enemies drop more gems or increasing your critical hit chance. If you’re a gamer that likes your stat sheets you’ll have a lot of fun looking at all the percentage counters in these menus. But if you are here to just shoot robots and have some fun then the game doesn’t require you to be too invested in this.

At the end of each level is a boss fight which is quite challenging. Once again requiring a combination of shooting and manoeuvring at the right time. Some boss fights also need you to think a little outside the box to conquer. They are quite long but felt like a satisfying way to complete each level. 

LadiesGamers Astro Aqua Kitty
Eye see you

Attention to Detail

The graphics are quite a delight. There’s a casual and cute charm to the cat designs but I really enjoyed the small little details in the game. I like how there is this little trail of bubbles behind your ship as you explore the cave system.

You can also see other Cat NPCs working away in the levels and ones that are controlling turrets will actually attack enemies that come near them. I also loved the attention to detail with the plants and foliage, they wave in motion with the water and some illuminate the darkened areas. 

LadiesGamers Astro Aqua Kitty
Need to find the right code

Length and Niggles

The game features eight massive levels (shame it could not be 9). There is a range of difficulty options to suit various playstyles and the game even features an optional permadeath mode (across all difficulty settings too) for those gamers that like to live dangerously. The main incentive to replay is to experiment with different pilots and engineers. However, with a simple and fun gameplay loop, I can easily see myself jumping back into this now and then just for the fun space shooting gameplay. 

As far as niggles, the enemies can sometimes feel a little grindy to defeat. Sometimes you’re just not levelled up enough or don’t have a strong enough weapon, so fights can feel a bit like attack and retreat in repetition until the waves of enemies are dispersed. Enemies also respawn in areas that can cause some distraction when trying to figure out certain puzzles. Finally the game just kind of ends when you finish nothing new to unlock or little surprises like a ZX Spectrum filter seen in Tikipods previous title Rock Boshers. But for all these small gripes, they don’t ruin what is a great package.

LadiesGamers Astro Aqua Kitty
Think I get this reference

Conclusion

Astro Aqua Kitty is another brilliant game from developer Tikipod. An excellent blend of space shooter and RPG mechanics mixed together creating an experience that will surely not sour with time.

If you’re looking for a fresh take on the space shooter formula or you’re just looking for something a little different to dip into now and then Astro Aqua Kitty is the Purrfect addition to your Nintendo Switch.

Final Verdict: I Like it a lot

I like it a lot

 

It’s also worth noting Astro Aqua Kitty is coming to the Playstation Vita. An admirable effort from the developer. If you still love your Vita I highly recommend downloading this game while you have the chance before the inevitable store shut down coming this year. Tikipod has always been a huge supporter of the Vita and this is one hell of a game to see the Vita off with.

Update: Turns out the PS3 and PS Vita stores are no longer shutting down. Sadly the PSP store still is.

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