If there is any one genre that cemented my interest in gaming on the PC, it was adventure games.  Strategy titles, sure enough, probably consumed the highest raw number of hours, but it was the familiar Sierra-On-Line franchises that I held dearest.  Having my eyes opened early to the merits of story driven experiences, I have a soft spot even to this day for interactive narratives, puzzles and pointing & clicking.

I play plenty of action games and I probably always will, but now and then I feel the need to slow things down.  Telltale’s The Walking Dead was excellent and enjoyable for many reasons, but personally, it unleashed a nostalgic streak that had lain dormant for years.  I’ve since jumped in feet first to the adventure genre once again and it should come as no surprise that many of the highlights have been indie titles like The Last Door or The Fall.  I may return to expound on the virtues of those in due course but herein my topic is a delightfully twisted game: The Cat Lady.

The term psychological horror gets bandied about quite a bit, but The Cat Lady is the genuine article.  Opening on a suicide attempt by the titular character, things start off bleak and promptly get bleaker…and decidedly supernatural.  The pacing and progression of time over the course of the game is jarring and adds to the sense that reality itself isn’t what it seems for our heroine.

Susan Ashworth, the protagonist in question, is certainly an unusual one, for this genre of game or any other.  Middle-aged but with a weariness that makes her seem even older, Susan’s solitary, deeply depressed existence closely matches the dark feel of the art style, music and story.  She’s at times unpleasant to be with, a challenging character for the player to step into the shoes of.  Nevertheless you come to sympathize with her plight, even as the reasons she has become known in her neighborhood as ‘The Cat Lady’ become clearer.

I won’t spoil the plot, but expect some disturbing elements of horror, violence and gore as things progress.  The antagonists vary from the inhumanly cruel to beings that are likely not human at all.  Susan is not the trusting type, yet she’s forced into a situation where she has little other choice but to act, despite being in a condition where she’d much rather pull away from the world altogether.  She may devalue her own life but she’s still capable of revulsion at those that treat the lives of other people with no regard.  The decisions that she makes will affect not only her future but that of several key people she encounters, reflected in some variation in the game’s ultimate ending.

Designed and written by Remigiusz Michalski (who despite his name is not in fact a Russian composer of the romantic period) The Cat Lady was created using the versatile Adventure Game Studio.  Michalski’s Harvester Games previously made another indie release, Downfall in 2009, and fans will note that several of its characters make brief appearances here as well.  I was surprised to find keyboard only controls for this game, which was certainly unexpected.  Since Space Quest 3 introduced me to rudimentary mouse control I don’t think I’d played an adventure game sans pointer in decades.  Fear not, as the limited controls are more than adequate to the task.  Admittedly, there are times when quirks with the interface make some puzzles more difficult than they need to be, but I can scarcely name a game in this genre that doesn’t have that issue.

Visually, The Cat Lady is hardly a graphical tour de force, designed to run at 800 X 600 resolution, but the art style and the colour choices make it truly unique.  I’ve played more than my fair share of dreary looking games over the years but this is one that manages to get dreary right.  The palette is almost completely black and white when things are at their worst for Susan, but they can also range to macabre levels of crimson when the violence gets ramped up.  The attention to detail is commendable whether the game play is taking place in a mundane domestic setting, or in a nightmarish corner of another plane.  If you’re not frightened at least a few times by what you witness over the course of the story, I can at the very least guarantee you’ll find it memorable.

The voice acting is uneven, to be generous.  While the main character’s morose and worried performance is pitch perfect for much of the game, the supporting cast has its highs and lows.  Several lines meant to be emotive come off as unintentionally comical.  The creator himself contributes a few of the more otherworldly “voices” and notable English animator David Firth brings two of the creepiest villains to life with his trademark dose of weird.  The music, however, is nearly faultless.  This is one of the best indie game soundtracks I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing.  Artists such as Warmer, 5iah and Tears of Mars all feature prominently and the original/incidental pieces were the work of ‘micamic’ (Michal Michalski).  From Susan’s beloved piano, to the driving, industrial music that cues in several of the most intense sequences, the sound fits the mood right up until the final credits.  I purchased the full soundtrack within hours of completing the game, and I still regularly give it a listen.

I find it hard to talk about The Cat Lady without spoiling the premise, which is worth seeing unfold for yourself without prior contamination.  It’s an original story and while it may be contained within a modest looking game with basic controls, this is truly worth your time.  The aforementioned Downfall is apparently getting a facelift and re-release by Harvester Games and publisher Screen 7 in Q3 of 2015.  It is expected to be similar in presentation to The Cat Lady with new music and voice acting as well.  The game centres on a troubled marriage and a terrifying stay at a strange hotel.  I for one will be anxiously awaiting a chance to sample more from this developer.  In the meantime, look for The Cat Lady on Steam or elsewhere, relevant links are below.  A few interesting Steam achievements may make multiple plays tempting for some; for myself, there is a great experience here I look forward to playing again.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/253110/

http://www.thecatlady.co.uk/