In my world, Donut Games is now two for two when it comes to simple app games that, surprisingly, I find myself playing a lot. Traffic Rush, the first Donut Game I played, was brainless fun, but Cat Physics attempts to integrate a simple puzzle into each level for the player to solve, upping the ante significantly for this reviewer.
The puzzle, should you choose to accept it, is to attempt to get one cat to deliver a ball to a cat at another part of the level. The cat you “control” can only push the ball in one direction, one time. That means you have to rely on a number of variables contained in each level, whether they’re arrows that propel the ball into the air, or trampolines that fling the ball across the stage or even teleportation devices that bring the ball right to your second cat’s feet.
As I said, it’s a startlingly simple plot, but one that pays off by providing the player with a score not based only on completion, but on whether the player they took the best route to the second cat. Players earn one to three medals for level completion. The first medal appears to be for any sort of completion at all, and the second and third are based on a specific point total you must attain by taking the best route possible. This serves to make the game much more interesting than if you simply had to beat each level.
Visually, there isn’t a lot to look at in Cat Physics. It’s not an ugly app, but the single-screen levels aren’t exactly riveting, either. The cartoony nature of the backgrounds does suit the action.
If there’s any complaint to be levied here, it’s that difficulty doesn’t seem to be metered out very well. Of course, the first handful of levels are very simple, to allow players time to understand how the game works, but even more advanced levels sometimes jump between being weirdly frustrating to surprisingly easy. Perhaps a future update, packing more levels in, would remedy the issue.
Either way, if you’re looking for a unique time-killer, Cat Physics is a steal for a dollar. And you don’t even need a litter box.
