Death is punished by sending you back to the last save point and forcing you to click through the dialogue each time. I never found these encounters, nor the game in general, very taxing, but I usually did drop a couple of lives on each one. They’re pattern-based fights, forcing you to anticipate attacks and counter them efficiently. There’s standard suit fights, one that has you manning cannons, and another in a submarine. These are sometimes tricky fights against a recurring foe, each challenging a different subset of your repertoire.

Your typical boss battles punctuate the exploration. The only real addition to its identity comes from its feline protagonist, Kiki. Slow and atmospheric music sparsely moans in the background as you explore the interconnected world, looking for power-ups.

The monochrome pixelart may seem distinct on the surface, but all the environments carry more than a whiff of Metroid with its mix of gooey organic surfaces and sterile metal interiors. Developed by Doinksoft, Gato Roboto is a game that wears its Metroid influence on its sleeve. Okay, not really, but it does include both an adorable cat and a mighty robot suit. Gato Roboto is a game that depicts just such a nightmare scenario. The unholy union of feline and robot will surely be our doom. All they need to overthrow human dominance is, say, a high-tech, military-grade mech suit armed with a variety of weapons. Heck, it’s possible there’s one in your home right now, lurking behind you, probing for weaknesses. Sure, they may look cute, but they run the internet, an estimated 36 million American households own at least one, and your aunt owns 12. Don’t tell cats, but they’re a mere few steps away from ruling the world.

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