Mildly Addictive Cat Tapper
Constantly tapping the screen of an iPhone or iPad may not sound like a good time, but once you involve excited cats and strange exploding fuzzballs, Nekotouch becomes much more compelling. This title, by Tomokazu Akiduki, is a relatively simple one that plays like a touchscreen whack-a-mole, but instead of whacking, the player high-fives eager cats as they appear. Doing this is simple enough, but trying to keep up with the increasing speed and avoiding the exploding creatures does add some challenge to the game.
The game offers some customization for the cats that appear, which can push a player to keep earning points. The fun of the game distracted me from paying attention to that part, however. The flashing that comes from successfully tapping the cats was a bit disorienting, but keeping the screen brightness down may help with that. There is something satisfying about earning a high score without accidentally tapping the exploding fuzzballs too soon.
Reading Roughness
While NekoTouch is an addictive experience, there doesn’t seem to be a way to change the language from the app itself. Getting to the main game is simple enough, but trying to navigate the main menu without an understanding of the game’s original programmed language of Japanese will be more difficult than tapping cats. With some research, a player should be able to find the customization screen and the game itself, but it seems a tad much to expect for international players. Adding some language options would make the game more easily accessible and bring in some excited players.
The language barrier aside, NekoTouch is entertaining enough to download. I found myself playing for an hour without paying attention to the time just due to the cat-tapping action. There is a good combination of fun gameplay and satisfying art to be found here that makes the game a great choice for kids and adults alike. Since this game is currently the developer’s only title, you can find the game here if you would like to keep up with any potential future releases.
