We’ve never been a pet to a cat, but we’ve visited quite a few homes and seen just how devoted our friends are to serving their furry overlords. That doesn’t mean we don’t find cats adorable, especially when they start purring and look at us as if they aren’t planning to scratch our eyes out, or when they spend the entire day sleeping. The cats in Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest, however, have considerably bigger ambitions. They have territories to defend, enemies to fight and, with just a bit of luck, prophecies to fulfil. Based on the popular fantasy book series by Erin Hunter, this unusual RPG from Bamtang Games lets us create our own feline warrior and experience life in a world where cats take their responsibilities very seriously. Get yourselves comfortable, and let’s talk after the trailer about whether this charming idea is well executed or leaves quite a bit to be desired.
Game at a Glance
| Reviewed on | PS5 |
| Developer | Bamtang Games |
| Publisher | Trailmark Games |
| Genre | Adventure RPG · Turn-based combat |
| Modes | Single-player adventure; asynchronous online Skirmish |
A Cat with a Destiny
Our journey begins by creating a cat and choosing one of four Clans. Each Clan has its own territory, traditions and storyline, giving us some choice over where to begin our adventure. The character creator will impress you with its numerous options for fur colours, patterns, markings and other physical features. It’s quite extensive, and we’re pretty sure cat lovers will have a wonderful time designing their new furry hero.
Once we were happy with our creation, we began life as an apprentice, gradually working our way up through the Clan hierarchy by completing quests, helping other cats and proving ourselves in battle. We got to know our fellow warriors, developed relationships with them and made decisions that could influence certain encounters, at least to an extent. There’s also a progression system that rewards our efforts with new abilities and opportunities.
In terms of story, the game features four original stories written for the project by Erin Hunter, with familiar characters and locations from the books making appearances. Fans of the novels will undoubtedly appreciate these connections. As newcomers to the franchise who had never read any of the books, we didn’t feel like we were missing out on anything important. Still, we can imagine how much fun it must be to encounter characters you’ve known since childhood. Even without any previous knowledge of the franchise, we were perfectly able to follow the basic premise.
Unfortunately, the storytelling didn’t leave much of an impression on us. Progression through the Clan ranks can feel rushed, and the relationships between characters aren’t explored as deeply as we’d have liked. There’s undoubtedly an interesting world here, and we could see that even if our childhood never revolved around the books, or cats for that matter. We weren’t immune to the potential of a world full of rivalries, traditions and complicated friendships. Sadly, the conversations and quests rarely take full advantage of it. We welcomed the four campaigns, but their similar structure made subsequent adventures feel all too familiar.
Claws and Teeth in Turn-Based Battles
Whenever we encounter a hostile animal or a rival warrior, the game switches to turn-based battles involving parties of up to three cats on each side. There are 75 moves to discover and unlock. It’s insanely cool to develop different fighting styles as our warrior becomes more experienced and unlocks more and more moves. Certain attacks leave our cat in an aggressive, defensive, tricky or sneaky stance, and our effectiveness depends on the stance of our opponent. A defensive approach might reduce the damage from a straightforward attack, for example, but leave us vulnerable to a different technique. We also have access to moves that improve our abilities, weaken enemies or provide support to our companions.
We like the thinking behind this system. It introduces a little tactical depth without overwhelming players who aren’t particularly familiar with turn-based RPGs. We’re usually not big fans of turn-based battles handled in this way, but here they worked quite well, and we enjoyed lining up attacks. Unfortunately, we quickly grew tired of seeing the same animations play out over and over again. Another problem is that the encounters don’t always demand much strategic thinking. Once we found a reliable combination of attacks, many battles became predictable, and the relatively forgiving difficulty didn’t encourage much experimentation. Considering how frequently we have to fight, more varied animations and enemies, along with a stronger challenge, would have helped enormously.
Foresty Exploration
Outside of combat, we can explore woodland territories, climb trees, jump across obstacles, hunt animals and gather materials. There are birds, rabbits and squirrels to track down, hidden areas to discover and various activities that contribute to the well-being of our Clan. Speaking of which, tracking prey and bringing food back to our Clan helps establish the daily responsibilities of our character. We can also collect resources, craft decorations and customise our den. It’s a pleasant addition that managed to make us feel like we had some control over our own little corner of the game world.
But we couldn’t help wondering how much fun we could squeeze out of a world where so many objectives revolve around collecting resources, hunting particular animals, delivering items or defeating enemies. These activities are enjoyable enough in small doses, but repeating them throughout several campaigns can become tiresome. Travelling between objectives can also be inconvenient, particularly because fast travel relies on discovering and using specific tunnels.
The colourful art direction suits the game’s relatively lighthearted atmosphere, and the character customisation adds plenty of personality. Unfortunately, we found a few shortcomings here as well, as the environments aren’t particularly detailed and some animations look rather stiff. As a result, the overall presentation lacks consistency.
Beyond the main adventure, Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest offers two additional modes. Defender Mode challenges us to survive increasingly difficult battles, while Skirmish Mode introduces asynchronous online encounters against other players.
A Few Scratches, or Plenty of Charm?
Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest has a lovely premise and some interesting ideas that we feel will be mostly appreciated by fans of the novels and younger players looking for an accessible RPG. Our nephews certainly liked it. They spent days meowing around the house and hissing at us whenever they got the chance. For everyone else, however, it’s a pleasant adventure that could have benefited from more ambitious storytelling and greater variety in its activities. We enjoyed our time enough that we wouldn’t mind returning to this forest someday, hopefully with less hissing and more purring from our little rascals.
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