Super Puzzled Cat Review | Super Puzzling But Fun

68
Story
5
Gameplay
9
Visuals
7
Audio
6
Value for Money
7
Price:
$ 17
Clear Time:
15 Hours
Super Puzzled Cat is a challenging puzzle-platformer behind its bright, pastel-colored aesthetic, and provides hours upon hours of platforming fun coupled with smooth gameplay mechanics and a unique infinite save state feature that elevates the experience into more than just your run-of-the-mill indie platformer. The lack of a solid narrative doesn’t detract from the overall experience as well, but in order to delve deeper into the game, it may require an above average platforming skillset to grab the bits of lore hidden away in secret areas. Puzzle-platforming veterans will feel right at home with Super Puzzled Cat, but the high difficulty ceiling may prove a bit much for more casual gamers.

Super Puzzled Cat is an indie puzzle-platformer in a bright, pastel world where a young cat girl strives to reach enlightenment. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

Super Puzzled Cat Review Overview

What is Super Puzzled Cat?

Super Puzzled Cat is an indie puzzle-platformer where you control the protagonist named Puzzled Cat on their journey through time and space to attain the enlightenment they’ve been striving for. With over 150 stages to clear, it’s one long and treacherous journey ahead with tons of puzzles to solve and hazards to avoid. Luckily, you’ve got the power of time on your side—play sections over and over again with the ability of infinite save states, which will help you clear these stages with ease without having to start from scratch. Will you be able to reach the stars and achieve your goal?

Super Puzzled Cat is indie game studio Penguin Mug Games’ debut title, and was released on Steam on January 13th, 2025. As of writing, there are no concrete plans as to whether or not the game will be ported to other consoles.

Super Puzzled Cat features:
 ⚫︎ Bright Pixel Art
 ⚫︎ Challenging Puzzles
 ⚫︎ A Test of Platforming Skills
 ⚫︎ Unlimited Save States
 ⚫︎ Cute Cat Girl!

Digital Storefronts
Steam IconSteam
$16.99

Super Puzzled Cat Pros & Cons

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Pros Cons
Checkmark Challenging Gameplay
Checkmark Tons of Content for Hours of Gameplay
Checkmark Adorable Pixel Art
Checkmark High Difficulty Curve
Checkmark Collectibles Locked Behind Difficult Areas

Super Puzzled Cat Overall Score - 68/100

Super Puzzled Cat is a challenging puzzle-platformer behind its bright, pastel-colored aesthetic, and provides hours upon hours of platforming fun coupled with smooth gameplay mechanics and a unique infinite save state feature that elevates the experience into more than just your run-of-the-mill indie platformer. The lack of a solid narrative doesn’t detract from the overall experience as well, but in order to delve deeper into the game, it may require an above average platforming skillset to grab the bits of lore hidden away in secret areas. Puzzle-platforming veterans will feel right at home with Super Puzzled Cat, but the high difficulty ceiling may prove a bit much for more casual gamers.

Super Puzzled Cat Story - 5/10

There doesn’t seem to be any semblance of a strong plot, apart from supposedly going through time and space to "reach enlightenment." Any bites of lore isn’t very evident while playing through the levels normally, and may be locked behind hidden collectibles which do take an extra step to get. However, its lack of a solid narrative doesn’t detract from the overall experience.

Super Puzzled Cat Gameplay - 9/10

The gameplay is definitely where the game shines the most—it’s fun, innovative, and not at all boring. There is a wide variety of items to utilize, as well as hidden collectibles scattered throughout different levels that challenge your ability to think outside the box. The platforming aspect relies on accuracy and perfect execution, hence the saving grace of its unique infinite save state function. Admittedly it can be quite difficult for the average consumer, but puzzle-platformer fans will definitely enjoy what Super Puzzled Cat has to offer.

Super Puzzled Cat Visuals - 7/10

Its cute pixel art and pastel color scheme are endearing, stimulating, and fun, and are bright enough to not be blinding. The background environments perfectly showcase the area you’re in and while not excessively detailed or have a lot of variety while usually sticking to one entire background for a set of stages, it works. And please, you’re playing as an adorable cat person—what’s not to love?

Super Puzzled Cat Audio - 6/10

Super Puzzled Cat’s soundtrack is fun and punchy, which ties in with the graphics well. The sound effects also bring in more depth to the game, with jump sounds and that heartbreaking death cry when you (inevitably) take some damage. However, while the audio does contribute to the game’s overall atmosphere, it’s nothing special.

Super Puzzled Cat Value for Money - 7/10

For over 150 levels to explore, tons of collectibles to discover, and multiple endings to strive for, you’re getting your $16.99 for what it's worth. While the levels can be rather short, the overall volume of content will easily get you upwards of 15 hours at least. However, it can still be steep, with a price that can rival other more popular games.

Super Puzzled Cat Review: Super Puzzling But Fun

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Super Puzzled Cat looks adorable and fun on the outside, but it’s anything but that. Don’t let its sweet and pastel color palette fool you like it did me—there’s a reason it’s called SUPER Puzzled Cat. While I’m no stranger to puzzle games and I’m always on the hunt for something that will get my brain working, platforming is another story. My platforming skills admittedly need some work, but nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the hours I poured into Super Puzzled Cat.

Super Frustratingly Fun Gameplay

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Let’s cut to the chase—its bread and butter is its innovative and frustratingly fun gameplay. It’s a puzzle-platformer with levels upon levels of differently designed stages that challenge your ability to get from point A to point B using the variety of items that help you get to your goal. There are jet packs to propel you upwards, parachutes to help you slowly descend onto a safe platform, magic bubblegum that turns you into a bouncy bubblegum ball that renders you immune to the pain of those pesky metal spikes, and an item that even turns you into a ghost that can pass through normal walls—those are only a fraction of the items you’ll be using to get to and fro platforms.

And that’s not all; more often than not, you’re encouraged to think outside of the box. Early on, you get the Binoculars item, a handy-dandy tool that lets you view the entire stage. Usually, there’s a hidden area either in the left, the right, the bottom, or even all the way up that you wouldn't even be able to see with a naked eye. How are you going to get to the start point to the hidden area to the golden cat coin and finally to the goal? It gets your brain cogs going, and it’s very fun to see how it all plays out. The game keeps you guessing and experimenting with the tools available at your disposal—even the jump height can make or break your plan. Shot the wrong block? Try again. Missed the pink yarn ball while free falling? Try again. Miscalculated the bomb’s explosion radius? And that’s another attempt.

Frustratingly fun is the right mix of words because while you’re at the cusp of tearing your hair out from certain sections, there’s a sense of accomplishment poking through every nook and cranny of the level, trying over and over again with different approaches, and then finally clearing it at the end. It’s an exhilarating feeling. Sometimes, I even replay the entire level without save states just to see how my plan went through, which is another accomplishment in itself (for me at least.)

Unique Mechanics And Smooth, Buttery Controls

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Because of its focus on accuracy, all mechanics blend together seamlessly in one smooth gameplay loop. Load into the level, check out the stage design, plan out how to grab all of the items and how to integrate them into your overall course of action, and then execute your plan. This would be exceedingly frustrating and not fun if the controls sucked—on a PLATFORMING game of all games. Luckily enough, controls are very responsive and buttery smooth. I encountered no lags or game-breaking glitches caused by the game whatsoever.

In connection to that, it plays very well with its unique infinite save state mechanic. You can literally save at any point in time during your run—whether you’re standing still on a platform or free-falling from the top of the level, the save state has got you covered. These save states made in Puzzled Cat’s image are easily denoted with their sheer marker on the position you pressed Save, making it easy to know exactly where you put them last. It saves you from repeating an entire level from the beginning, and provides a nice middle-ground if you’re still exploring the stage. Heck, you can probably even save every time you take a step forward.

Infinite save states may sound like it’ll make the game much easier than it is because you can make your own checkpoints, but on the contrary, it doesn’t reduce the game’s difficulty to a walk in the park. It doesn’t magically make everything easy, but instead enhances the game and enables players to look about it in different perspectives.

Content, Content, And More Content

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With over 150 stages to clear and many secrets and collectibles to seek out, players can find themselves pouring hours and hours into this game. A lot of the collectibles are kept away in hidden areas across the levels, or require a prerequisite condition to be met before unlocking such as the tools Puzzled Cat can purchase from the Cat Shop. Buying items from the Cat Shop also requires these golden cat coins, which are either in a hard-to-reach area or in a hidden area entirely.

As you progress through and get a thorough understanding of its mechanics as well as unlocking items from the shop that will help you better clear stages, you’ll definitely go back and try to fully complete the earlier areas, with secrets and collectibles acquired.

Might Just Be Frustrating For Casuals

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However, I would like to emphasize as early as now that not all players might find this gameplay loop to their liking. Super Puzzled Cat definitely caters to gamers who already have some kind of experience or interest in puzzle-platforming, as the areas do get complex fast. The difficulty spike kicks in very quickly and is clearly evident, each level getting more complicated than the last. It strongly relies on precision and well-timed actions, with perfect executions being rewarded handsomely. While there is the infinite save state function which provides relief from starting from the beginning, it may not be enough. Hence, those who are not as well-versed in these types of games may not stay for long.

While the stages can certainly be cleared normally if you only aim for the pink ball of yarn signifying the end of the level, the juicy secrets and collectibles are well-kept away, hidden in a secret area or takes some extra steps to collect.

Secrets Locked Behind A Difficulty Ceiling

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And that brings me to my next point—as mentioned before, several secrets and collectibles are not easy to get to at all and require extra brain power and platforming skills to get. Admittedly, there are several coins that I haven’t been able to get yet since my poor brain needed to take a break. However, one collectible that stood out to me was a mail envelope, which I believe is referred to as a Postcard in game. It stands out as an item that appears to be rather random, since there seems to be no indication of a mailbox or a post office or anything that is remotely related to letters. It got me thinking…it must be a lore item! Well, maybe.

So to even get an inkling of the plot, you may need to grab all the secrets and collectibles from certain levels (not all levels have a special hidden item), making them not as accessible to the average consumer. While understanding the plot isn’t central to playing the game, lore being slightly inaccessible gives an incomplete experience to more casual gamers.

Is Super Puzzled Cat Worth It?

Fun And Engaging For Gamers, May Be Difficult For Casuals

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Super Puzzled Cat is chock-full of super puzzling fun, with fun and innovative gameplay coupled with smooth controls that make for a wonderful experience. With several hours worth of content to collect and discover, this cute but mind-boggling puzzle-platformer will be sure to keep you entertained. However, its focus on precision and accurately-timed actions as well as having many of its collectibles locked behind a higher difficulty ceiling may put off more casual consumers. It’s not the best starting point for those who would want to get into puzzle-platformers, but it provides a solid challenge for veterans looking for a new game to conquer.

Digital Storefronts
Steam IconSteam
$16.99

Super Puzzled Cat FAQ

Where can you play Super Puzzled Cat?

Super Puzzled Cat is only available on PC via Steam as of writing, and the developers have not shared if it will be available on other platforms in the future.

What’s the name of Super Puzzled Cat’s protagonist?

Super Puzzled Cat’s protagonist is Puzzled Cat, a cat person on their journey to attain enlightenment.

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Super Puzzled Cat Product Information

Super Puzzled Cat Cover
Title Super Puzzled Cat
Release Date January 13, 2025
Developer Penguin Mug Games
Publisher Penguin Mug Games
Supported Platforms PC (Steam)
Genre Action, Adventure, Indie, Platformer
Number of Players 1
ESRB Rating RP
Official Website Super Puzzled Cat Official Website

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