Taking to the sea as a pirate—or in the case of Cat Quest 3, a purrivateer—evokes a lot of clear images. Most prominently, this can stir imagery of men such as Blackbeard or colonial-era rock stars like Pirates of the Caribbean’s Jack Sparrow. Sometimes, though, people remember the commanding women of the high seas like legendary Irish pirate queen Grianne “Grace” O’Malley, the pirate who stood toe-to-toe with Queen Elizabeth.
Grace wasn’t forgotten by Cat Quest 3 developer The Gentlebros. In a recent interview with The Best War Games, the studio’s CEO Desmond Wong gave the touching reason why the lasses under the Jolly Roger are a part of the studio’s newest title.
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Sailing as Neel Catpurr
Though most captains were seemingly men during piracy's heyday, there’s actually a rich history of pirate women. In addition to the aforementioned O’Malley, there were examples like her Chinese counterpart Shi Yang, better known as Zheng Yi Sao, who commanded 24 ships and nearly 1,500 pirates. In the golden age of piracy, figures like Anne Bonny, Marie-Anne de Graff, and American pirate Flora Burn all flew the black flag. After her time as a golden age pirate, Cornelia “Neel” Cuyper opened a resort for pirates at Labadee in Haiti.
So when Wong decided to include the option to sail as a pirate queen in Cat Quest 3, there was no shortage of powerful and inspiring pirate women to draw upon. But that was not the origin of the idea for him. In true Cat Quest form, the answer is both sweeter and more wholesome than any of those historical figures.
"We received a ton of messages from fans of the Cat Quest games, and one really stood out to us; it was from a little girl in the UK who said she always wanted to play as a female cat and asked us why she couldn’t do that. This message always stuck with us, and we wanted to try our best to give the option this time. Little girl, if you’re reading this, this was for you."
It’s the pathos of Cat Quest to present the most warm, cozy, and sweet representation of the things it chooses to focus on and, in its approach to pirates, Cat Quest 3 does no different. The fact that one particularly impassioned letter from a young fan was the main driver of the decision absolutely resonates with what Gentlebros does as a studio.
It fits the way the game approaches the golden age of piracy. The central reason for the game’s theme and setting, after all, was that “pi-rat” was a great pun. From its cute visual style to sailing mechanics that ditch the stereotypical slow lumbering of a huge frigate for something zippy and agile, befitting a cat.
Sailing west of Felingard, home of the previous Cat Quest games, players will have a new way to do old things, from chasing legends of mythical treasure—rumor has it the North Star itself fell in the Purribean Sea—to traveling through dungeons which now include side-scrolling as well as traditional Cat Quest dungeon formats. But most importantly for one little girl in the United Kingdom who may dream of being Grace O’Malley herself one day, she can see herself in the game.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 85%
- Released
- August 8, 2024
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- The Gentlebros
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
- Engine
- Unity
- Franchise
- Cat Quest
WHERE TO PLAY
Get whiskered away on a hearty catventure in Cat Quest III, the third installment in the award-winning Cat Quest series!
Play as a swashbuckling purrivateer in this 2.5D open-world action RPG set in a fantastical pirate-themed world – the Purribean - an archipelago swarming with Pi-rats searching for the Northern Star - a long-lost mythical treasure. Alongside your trusty spirit companion, set sail through the Purribean in your very own ship! But beware, the seas are dangerous, and a meow-tiny is nigh as the hordes of Pi-rats under the order of the Pirate King hunt you down…
RETURN OF THE CAT: The cutest action RPG you know and love returns for a colorful adventure filled with furr-iously fun gameplay! Delve into a paw-geous new world with varied dungeons and biomes to explore, and encounter fierce battles with the newly refined combat system featuring tighter attack combos and weapon swapping. Playable in either solo or local co-op!
SAIL THROUGH THE PURRIBEAN: For the furr-st time in the series, sail the seas and battle in your very own ship! Explore the waters on your ship, seamlessly zip to shore, and traverse the land on paw to hunt booty in the paw-esome pirate world - the Purribean! There's treasures galore to be found, including new weapons, like the blunderpuss, furr-ocious spells, gla-meow-rous costumes, and more!
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One
