Co-Optimus: Cat Quest II‘s big addition over the original game was 2-player local co-op. Does Cat Quest III bring any big new features to the table?
Desmond: The biggest new addition in Cat Quest III is a pirate ship that players can use to sail around and do battle in the Purribean! The pirate ship is smooth and easy to control, making it feel different from ships in other games. In addition to that, we’ve revamped almost every mechanic and system in Cat Quest III, so everything feels tighter and fresh again.
Co-Optimus: RPGs typically feature vast worlds to explore. How has the map changed in the new game?
Desmond: With the addition of a ship, the world in Cat Quest III had to be much bigger to accommodate something that could cover such big distances so easily. We also had to take a slightly different approach to designing the world; instead of a single large landmass like in previous games, the Purribean is made up of smaller landmasses tied together by the ocean.
Additionally, one of the new design goals was to make exploration much more open so the entire world is available to players right from the beginning. This necessitated a rethink of how we spaced out our quests and the visual feedback we needed to give players on the difficulty of specific regions in the world.
Co-Optimus: What is combat like in Cat Quest III?
Desmond: Cat Quest III is a real-time action game where combat is tight and responsive. Players have a single attack button, and four hotkeys for the many spells in the game. In addition, Cat Quest III allows players to swap between a melee and long ranged weapon at any time for greater options in battle.
Another new addition is how we’ve approached designing equipment this time; almost every weapon does something unique, and although the general controls remain simple, the things players can do change quite drastically depending on the gear equipped. This allows us to add a huge amount of depth while still keeping the game simple to understand.
Co-Optimus: What is co-op like in Cat Quest III, and has anything about the cooperative experience changed in this installment?
Desmond: Cat Quest III offers a completely seamless drop-in drop-out experience. At any time, players can enable co-op mode at any save point (which we call Rest Beakons), and a second cat will instantly drop in.
This differs from Cat Quest II because the second cat is no longer controlled by an AI if players choose to play the single-player mode. We had a lot of feedback from fans that they wanted a true single-player experience, and we’re happy to be able to offer that this time!
Co-Optimus: Speaking of co-op, both players share the same ship as they navigate the seas. How did you decide on this approach to sailing in co-op?
Desmond: Both players can control the ship equally, and the game will accept the input from both players to hilarious effect. This was completely intentional as we were inspired by Overcooked and how every player could control the van as it roamed the overworld.
Ultimately, we realized it was more fun to allow players to organically assign roles to themselves (one player is the ‘Captain’ while the other is the ‘Furst Mate’) rather than the game forcing it.
Co-Optimus: Cat Quest III is coming to all the major consoles as well as Steam. In fact, the Steam version is already verified for Steam Deck, Valve’s portable gaming device. Did you have to do anything special to get the game (or previous installments) running well on Steam Deck?
Desmond: Besides making sure the game runs well and looks great on the Steam Deck (the text is big enough to read, etc.), there was nothing special we had to do. Valve has a great system already going with very little extra development needed.
Co-Optimus: Finally, is there anything you’re proud of about Cat Quest III that we haven’t already touched on?
Desmond: I think the team is very proud of the level of variety and openness in Cat Quest III. In terms of sheer depth and things to do, this is the biggest and deepest game we’ve ever created. There are also many secrets tucked away for players to find, and some are so hidden we don’t think a regular player will ever find them!
We’re super excited for people to experience the full game come August 8th!
Cat Quest III will arrive on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam on Thursday, August 8, which is National Cat Day. The digital version will sell for $19.99. Physical versions for PlayStation 5 and Switch are available to preorder for $29.99 on Amazon. We’ll have a full co-op review soon!