Cute Cats, Vast Fantasy World—When these two elements combine, it’s hard to resist the charm that has always made the "Cat Quest" series so highly praised. As a small but well-crafted lightweight game, the series is about to release its latest installment, "Cat Quest 3," on August 8th. This time, we leave the land and take on the role of a cat pirate, exploring the mysterious Meowribbean Sea.

In "Cat Quest 3," the overall gameplay mechanics haven't changed much. The basic gameplay remains easy to pick up, with melee and magic seamlessly integrated into real-time combat, along with a rolling dodge for evading and countering attacks.

On this foundation, the new game introduces different action models for swords, claws, and shields, while also adding two ranged weapons: the musket and the staff. The musket has limited ammo but offers high speed and damage, while the staff can be used infinitely and comes with different elemental effects.

These new attack methods can be chained into any action, allowing players to use melee for close combat, magic for support, dodge when attacked, and switch to ranged weapons when unable to get close to enemies. The game’s pace is faster, and the combat feels more exhilarating.

The previously simple equipment system, which only provided attribute boosts, now features unique mechanics. The three equipment slots—headgear, clothing, and accessories—each come with special effects. Combined with your choice of weapons and magic, this allows players to create their own build system.

For instance, if I prefer lightning spells that paralyze enemies, I can equip the "Sirius Knight’s Hat" and "Sirius Armor" to increase lightning damage by 20%. The accessory "Circuit" can be equipped to add a chance of releasing a shock with each final hit, and I would choose the "Meowtallica Axe" to further increase the probability of triggering the shock on the final blow.

Besides stacking attributes, players can also explore different combinations, such as a healing counter build, a naval battle build, or a shield block build, adding a lot of variety to the gameplay.

A well-constructed build can allow you to fight enemies 10 levels higher, but since this is still an RPG, a level gap of more than 10 levels will still result in being outmatched in terms of stats.

Aside from leveling up, players can enhance their equipment to boost their stats, making it possible to focus all resources on a single set of gear. However, this could lead to situations where new build equipment is obtained but not upgraded due to resource constraints, causing the late-game battles to become repetitive and dull—this is likely the game’s biggest drawback.

Leaving the dungeon, you’ll step into the vast ocean, which is the main exploration area of this game. Our cat protagonist now has their own pirate ship, allowing them to sail the seas, discover secret islands, and engage in thrilling cannon battles with evil pirate fleets.

Each island in the game is packed with content, whether it’s combat or puzzles. The gold, equipment, and blueprints you gain from exploration help to strengthen both yourself and your ship. As you grow stronger, you can venture into more dangerous waters and take down higher-bounty pirates...

The game’s progression is relatively short, taking about 7-8 hours, but it feels very fulfilling due to the dense content. Even though the elements may not seem very innovative, they are fun and balanced just right. For players who can’t get enough, the game also offers a New Game+ mode, where your attributes are higher, enemies are more challenging, and you can even break the usual play order for a more free-form exploration.

Conclusion:"Cat Quest 3" remains that charming cat adventure story, perfectly inheriting the strengths of its predecessors while making mechanical improvements to its combat, exploration, and equipment systems. Although there are still some issues with the equipment system and enemy design, the game's concise yet rich content makes it a must-play indie gem.

Score: 8.5

Pros:

• Faster-paced combat mechanics

• Rich build variety in equipment

• Dense exploration elements

• Well-balanced playable content

Cons:

• Enhancement system restricts build variety

• Late-game combat can become repetitive