The Lost Paws is a heartfelt open world adventure about memories, loss, kindness and moving forward with hope. Plus you can choose to play as a cat or a dog!
The Backstory of The Lost Paws
The game begins in my original world which is bright and colorful. After some exploring, I unlocked a trapped mystery spirit who appreciated my kindness. He recruits me to help in his world which has lost it’s color and kindness. As I slowly restore kindness and help heal the world, I restore it’s color.
The Look and Feel of The Lost Paws
I participated in a playtest of The Lost Paws. In it, I was only able to play a portion of the game, but I played enough to know that I’m going to like it a lot. First, I was given the choice of playing as a cat or a dog, and then there were multiple breeds to choose from. I chose to be a cat and started exploring. There were lots of wonderful small details, like an inchworm making his way across the path, a frog hopping by, a bird perched on a tree stump singing a beautiful song, as well as butterflies all over.
I was able to wander anywhere I wanted, although there was a clear path for me to follow too. As I panned the camera, the action was smooth and gave me 360-degree views. I made some small discoveries as I wandered; more will be added to the full game. In the background was a peaceful piano soundtrack composed by a piano artist. Very nice!
The Lost Paws also has some amusing cat behaviours. At one point my cat jumped into some water and when he emerged, he shook himself off. And he occasionally stops to pee as he wanders around. Those little details made me smile and added a touch of realism.
Last, I can’t help but mention the wonderful narrator in The Lost Paws. She had a fantastic accent, which I loved to listen to. She reminded me a lot of the narrator in The Last Campfire. In fact, the game itself reminds me of it, not like it’s a copy of it, but kind of a continuation in a way. I played The Last Campfire twice; the dev tells me he’s played it multiple times, and it definitely inspired the development of this game.
The Gameplay of The Lost Paws
The tutorial for The Lost Paws was clear and easy to understand; the controls were intuitive. I had no trouble figuring out what to do. When I began, I wandered all over the place. I didn’t want to miss out on any surprises. (Hint: try to find the three blind mice and the treasure chest.)
After I felt that I’d been everywhere, I completed a quest which gave me access to a new area, a water area. There was a puzzle there which I felt was too difficult for me. It involved some tricky platforming, and I could not complete it. I related this to the dev, and he told me I was not alone with this concern, so he created an easy mode for this level. That’s why I love playtesting! If the game had been released as it was, a lot of players who do not enjoy platforming may be unenthused about The Lost Paws. But now the dev has updated the game and introduced a switch, which is really easy to find, to make this level easier. So I can highly recommend the game to all my buddies, the ones who don’t like platforming as well as those who like a bit of a challenge.
The playtest of the game was really cozy with the platforming modified. It has no energy levels to worry about and no need to eat either. There is a day/night cycle, but my cat does not have to sleep. It’s just to add some ambience to the area. There are lamps that light up at night, and I heard an owl hooting. When I followed the sound, I found him perched on top of one of the lamps. As I wandered about more, I found an entire family of owls on a bench. There was one adult and some youngsters. I love that level of detail in a game. The fireflies came out at night too and flew all around in groups. Lovely!
After Entering the Cave in The Lost Paws
Once I completed the water puzzle, a cave opened up. It will serve as the hub of the game. The cave is black and white in the beginning, but it will evolve as the game progresses. Inside the cave are portals to all the other areas in the game. Even being black and white, it’s a really cool place to explore. I’m very interested to see where the portals take me and what adventures await.
 The Lost Paws Will Have a Huge World
Below is a map of all the areas that the full game will have. Wow! I can’t wait to explore them all. The dev has assured me they will be filled with fun little surprises for me to uncover as I explore freely.
Final Thoughts
The Lost Paws is being developed by a husband-and-wife team, along with their six cats! I was very impressed with how seriously they took all my concerns in the playtest and how quickly they modified the game to address them. Any time I had an issue, they replied to me quickly and solved it. To me, this indicates that they are committed to developing an excellent game and want to make sure the players have the best possible experience with it. So Bravo to Tilted Brain Studios, the game devs for The Lost Paws. In fact, the devs are making even more improvements to the game, based on player feedback. They will be included in the demo, which should be released in November of 2026. If you put the game in your Steam wishlist, you’ll be notified when it is. The full game will be released sometime in 2027. I look forward to that day!
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