Catfusion is a Korean mobile game developed by Boochoo Lab and released in February of this year. The gameplay claims to be “simple, addictive, and cute,” according to the game’s GooglePlay page (where it currently sits at 4.7 stars). But is it?
Claim 1: Simple
Gameplay is all about luring cute cats with food, then fusing like cats to get a new, upgraded cat, which you fuse with a like cat to get an even newer, even more upgraded cat. The goal: collect all the cats, including mutant cats, which have a random low chance of appearing during a fusion.
You start with a set amount of food you can place. Food refreshes every few seconds. After a few seconds, each piece of food poofs into a new cat. Each type of cat gives you a certain amount of “paws per second,” which you can use to purchase upgrades in the item shop. The better the cat (ie, the more cats you have fused to create that cat), the more paws per second you get and the faster you can purchase upgrades.
You can only fuse the same type of cat together. Crossfit Cat can only fuse with Crossfit Cat, not Spy Cat. You can upgrade the types of food you place so that you get higher-level cats to start with, reducing the amount of fusion required to reach top-tier cats like Marie Cattoinette. There is also a small chance of producing a mutant cat, such as Barista Cat or Tracer, who provides various small gameplay bonuses. (Did Blizzard approve this?)
What happens when you unlock all the cats? Well, I guess you win the game: your album is fully filled out and your completionist heart can rest in peace. But all you do is place food and fuse cats, and all it takes is time.
You can upgrade almost every aspect of the game to take less time using paws as currency, and there is also a premium diamond currency which the game doles out to you as rewards for voluntarily watching ads or meeting various goals. I do have to say the gameplay is very simple and the upgrades don’t complicate it at all.
Claim 2: Addictive
This game is fiendishly addictive. Thank God there’s no need to spend real money and no gambling-like loot box mechanic. There is something so zen, so pleasing, so peaceful about fusing cats to get more and better cats. All of the upgrades are useful too, and the more paws per second you get, the higher the amount of paws required for upgrades, so you find yourself with a hilarious screen full of cats fusing as many as you can while your food recharges.
It’s the perfect casual game for a commute because it doesn’t require you to be online to play, either. I have an hour-long commute to my office by subway, and Catfusion keeps me fully enthralled.
Claim 3: Cute
The cats are so cute, y’all.
Conclusion:
The anticipation of getting two high-level cats and learning what they form when combined is really fun. The process of fusing them is fun no matter how many times you do it, especially when your screen is overrun with cats and you’re matching them up as quickly as possible.
Watching your paws counter increase is fun for literally no reason (why are we so fascinated by watching random numbers tick upwards?). The ads are non-intrusive and ask you if you’d like to watch an ad in return for some diamonds or paws, rather than forcing you to watch simply to play. The cats are inventive, silly and adorable.
Progress is saved automatically, with the exception of a recent update in September that wiped the progress of many users. All the same, it’s a casual game with the simplest gameplay ever, how hard can it really be to get your cats back?
Catfusion is available on iOS here and GooglePlay here. If you’re looking for a new casual game to take up your commute or doctor’s office waiting time, you might want to check it out. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
