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Reviewed On: PC
Price: $11.99 USD
Developer: Valhalla Cats
Publishers: Valhalla Cats / IndieArk
Release Date: December 9th, 2024
Please Note: A review code was provided for this review but does not influence the opinions stated here in any way.
Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, I grew up on 2D and 3D hand drawn animated movies, and tv shows. I also grew up on great 2D/3D animated games that were things like platformers or RPGs. This game I saw a while ago, and I knew I wanted to play this game as soon as it came out as it combines these into an art form that I have loved for a long time. Unfortunately sometimes life gets in the way for playing games which is why this review is slightly later than I would have liked. Stars in the Trash is a game that I think fans of old school movies and shows will love and should definitely play if they have a PC or Steam Deck. The game isn’t perfect, but it is well crafted from beginning to end for the two or so hours it will take you to play it.
The story of this game is pretty simplistic but offers enough to keep you invested. You play as a cat who is very spoiled in a home with a family plus a canine friend but decides to run away because they aren’t happy and want to see the outside world. Throughout the adventure, you meet another cat who you really seem to like, along with other animals and people. This reminded me of stories like Fox and the Hound or Lady and The Tramp to be honest. Some of other characters you meet are nice but then there are others who are not. Throughout your playthrough, you meet animal control that wants to take care of the stray animal problem and uses rats in order to do so. Kind of a weird plot, but it works in my book! Themes that are in the game include love, happiness, sacrifice, trust, hope, and others as well. The story and themes in the game were good as a whole and is a great case of a show not tell plot line as there are no words of dialogue spoken in the game.
You are playing as a cat and every action you do in the game feels as such. These things include things like climbing and jumping on different objects, being stealthy so you aren’t captured or killed, meow on command, hitting and attacking mice, eating catnip, knocking things off shelves, and more. There are other things on top of these, but I don’t want to spoil everything. If you can think of what a cat may do, this game probably has it. Your object is to get from point A to point B by solving simplistic puzzles, doing platforming challenges, defeating enemies, and more. It is a simple platforming adventure game but honestly it is so enjoyable with the art and nice story. I have played a bunch of other cat games recently, but this one easily cracks the top 3 for me.
The audio design and the music in the game is good all around. Nothing is really memorable for the music, and there is no dialogue for story, but the entire sound design was built nicely. While I played the game, someone I live with thought the cat sounded like our cat was trapped in the bathroom since that’s what happens when we have to lock ours away. In terms of the visuals and art in the game, it has to be my favorite part of the entire package. The backgrounds are varied from the city to the house to the forest and more. The visuals feels exactly like an old school 2D hand drawn animated movie or show, and that is what the team seemed to go for as it is inspired by animated classics.
Thankfully there were no bugs, graphical issues, or game crashes that occurred while I played the game. The more and more games I play, the less I want to see bugs and crashes, especially from the AAA titles that release. The fact this game had more quality control on it compared to other games I have played this year is very impressive and had to be mentioned. The frame rate in the game was solid throughout the whole time with no issues. It doesn’t seem to use a lot of power in a PC so a lot of different hardware can run it. I am still overall newer to the PC world (almost 2 years), but these system requirements are very low. I especially love the additional notes part in here because playing with cats around me made the experience even more terrific!
In terms of personal problems with the game, there isn’t that many, but I did have a couple of issues with the title. One of my gripes is that when replaying levels using chapter select, there is no way to skip the cutscenes. I don’t mind as much since it is a stunningly beautiful looking game, but I definitely wish I could skip them after seeing them already. The second is, while I found them pretty easily to find, being able to track collectables or trophies is something that would be beneficial for people as many games I have played and beat have someway of doing this. Other than those simple minor gripes and issues, I think it was extremely solid. For a core team of 3 people, this was a great title that shouldn’t be overlooked. Hopefully a wider release to consoles can come in order help the game succeed overtime.
After just finishing a juggernaught of an RPG earlier this month before playing this (and personal life getting in the way), having a game that is smaller but nevertheless impactful was great! The visuals and art in the game from the backgrounds, animals, locations, and cutscenes in the entire game were stunning and beautiful. The gameplay itself was also great and relaxing without any kind of stress. There are mostly moments of happiness but there are occasionally strong moments of pain and hurt that you probably will be affected by. For a small team where this is the second title from the studio and having a presumably smaller budget than others, this is a game that any pet lover should play. For $11.99, it is about the price as getting a movie ticket in theaters, but it is definitely better than some of those Hollywood “blockbusters” that have come out recently.
Review Score: 8.5/10
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