If you like cats and quilts and towns where everyone wants to impress the cats, Quilts & Cats of Calico from Monster Couch looks to be the perfect game! Based on the board game Calico published by Flatout Games, players are immersed in a warm, cozy world full of cuddly cats. Here the quilt bends under the weight of their paws and loud purring can be heard. It’s a world full of patterns and designs awaiting the master quilt maker! The new demo is out on the 8th as part of Steam Next Fest and gives us a closer look at the mechanics and storyline!
Though short, the demo lets players learn how the quilt making process works and meet some of the characters in a world inspired by Studio Ghibli where cats have power and influence over people’s lives. As an itinerant quilter, you must climb to the top of the city hierarchy and fight a villain who wants to dominate the world of humans and cats. Plus, there’s a war happening? This war means that one of the first people you make a quilt for is a soldier at war. I’m really intrigued in the story from what little we see, but more on that later!
The demo for Quilts & Cats of Calico runs you through a tutorial for how making quilts work. Cats are active during your games so they’ll walk over, fall asleep, do whatever they want, and you can pet them! Whether you quilt solo (against the game) or with others, you’re given a quilt in progress with edge pieces and a few full pieces. Gameplay is simple.
On the left, three cat’s photos show prompts for extra points (so you can win against your opponent). On the bottom, you pick three other prompts for points. While on the right are three fabric pieces in various colors and patterns. You can place one and take one from the bag each turn.
When you place pieces based on their color and pattern to match the prompts from the cats or on the quilt itself, you receive points (and buttons). When you fill the cat’s prompt, a cat will be sewn onto the quilt! Which is super cute. Whoever has the most points wins, so you definitely want to try to meet as many prompts as possible.
Story mode works the same way, except that before you actually head to make a quilt, you’re provided more of the larger story and universe. People worship cats in this world! Quilts have power! And as the only quilter around, you’ve got a lot to tackle.
In the full version of Quilts & Cats of Calico, you can create your own cat, making your game even more wholesome! You can give it a name, choose the color of its fur, and put on different outfits. You’ll also get to choose a different player’s portrait and background, plus different fabric patterns.
Again, the demo is short but I’m really interested to see the full version of the game when it releases later this year. The story part of the demo introduces a few of the (what I assume) are many characters that the player must help by making quilts to their specifications, but I also want to know about the ongoing war and who the villain is that’s trying to take the cats’ power! And who doesn’t love adorable cats???
You can try the extended demo starting the 8th and wishlist on Steam!
Images and demo courtesy of Monster Couch
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