Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out Review: Killer Driller!

Drilling onto PC, developed and published by Zaltick comes Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out. A 2D indie-puzzle-stealth game where you must lead Carton through a series of fiendishly well-guarded facilities in search of mysterious hidden elements. However, it all goes to pot when Carton falls prey to a sinister trap. Can he escape to victory? Or has this cat run out of his nine lives? Well, this is the second part in a larger series so who can say?

This particular title is a strange mash-up. It’s this odd mix of Mr Driller and Splinter Cell (or indeed almost any stealth game for that matter). You must avoid spotlights and a variety of other traps and the like so you aren’t detected and swiftly blasted to bits. With a pleasant art style and a unique core concept, it makes for a curious gaming prospect. Even if there are a couple of areas I feel it needs a little refining on.

Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out is available now, and can be downloaded on Itch.io as a “Pay what you want” deal. It can also be played there in your browser.

Story – You Ain’t Kitten!

In Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out you play a cat called Carton, a professional thief, who, with his sister’s help, must break into a derelict milk factory to search for a hidden element. However, before too long, it becomes clear that the factory isn’t as abandoned as it first seemed. The story is told via these short comic book-like sequences. Similar to Tunche a title I previewed and reviewed a couple of years back. It is a neat creative choice. And is brimming with personality. Similarly, there are short interactions you’ll get before certain levels which are decently written for what they are. And feature the speaking character emoting along with it.

Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out’s story is told in charming comic book sequences.

I will admit that when I was playing this one for the review I wondered if it had multiple endings. As given the way the story of this one wraps up I wondered if my achievements (or lack thereof) in the final level resulted in me getting a different ending than I was supposed to. As far as I’m aware however there isn’t. Having played that final level a good few times now I got the same ending. This isn’t so bad given how much I enjoyed it but I do feel that the fact it can seemingly trigger on a Game Over was a tad too confusing. But still, the writing in this one is solid. The cutscenes are charming, and there is a fun quality to the in-game dialogue too. With that said let’s move on to the gameplay.

Gameplay – Killer Driller

I’ll be honest dear reader, I wasn’t sure what to expect from reviewing a game like Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out. And as I said in the intro the best way I can describe it is a combination of Mr Driller and Metal Gear. Your job is to lead Carton through a variety of challenges, avoiding traps, spotlights, sniper fire, and casually placed boxes of TNT. All the while collecting coins and completing puzzles to unlock the next section of the map before eventually escaping to the next area. The core is simple to understand. And once you have played through a couple of levels it is easy to get a grasp on it. The controls are sound enough even though this is a strictly Keyboard affair. But that may well change with time. 

The difficulty in Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out gradually builds.

For such a short title it is rather feature-complete. There is a story mode, time trial, and no death mode. Which offers a fine slice of variety which is often absent from larger and bigger budgeted titles. The game itself even in its more challenging moments never feels overly hard or complex. At worst, it just means replaying certain segments until you get the correct strategy or nail the timings of certain actions. And given there is a new twist added at almost every level it ensures that the experience is fresh. Without any of the new elements feeling like they are getting in the way of things.

Lights Out!

The big twist in Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out is that most levels are dark to some degree or another, which whilst it can make for challenging gameplay does mean the screenshots in this review can be a tad dark. But hey, the more you know! This darkness is remedied by the use of a night vision headset that you can activate. Which will give you full sight of the area for a few seconds. It will also show you hidden items, shortcuts, and the locations of safe places to hide from certain traps. It is a decent system. However, I will admit that I’d personally find the game just as challenging without the darkness. But it adds an extra layer that makes it fun.

I have a feeling some of these items shouldn’t look like that.

However, I shall say that the night vision is weirdly implemented. Sometimes it won’t properly highlight hidden items. Other times it won’t work but will still highlight things. Other times it won’t work at all but will still need a cool down. I am playing a download version, this may have been patched in a more recent build or the web version. But it is hard to tell if this is the result of a bug, or if it is the result of certain sections blocking or nerfing the usage of it for whatever reason.

Scratching Post

Whilst I have by and large enjoyed my time playing Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out for this review I have to admit that it wasn’t all smooth sailing. It is a fast-paced title. There are certain sequences where it feels that the game is either racing ahead of the player or lagging behind them; you are either waiting for certain things to trigger, or they are triggering so quickly that you are dead almost the moment you walk on screen. In fairness, this isn’t always the case. And I will admit there were moments I was moving faster than I really should have done. But given how tight the timings of some requirements can be it can make or break certain runs.

You need a good memory to get through puzzles like this.

With all of that said however I must admit that this has been a lot of fun to play. I have to say that I’m not sure if I am the target market for a game like this. But it is still a hell of a lot of fun for what it is. It is a short, exciting slice of puzzle fun that you can play on most PCs either in a download or browser form. Given its price, it is easy to pick up and play it then throw the developer a few quid their way if you like it. Of the more fast-paced indie games I have played recently this one does offer something unique. And I’m interested to see what future games in this series might have.

Graphics & Audio – Meowsic

One of the biggest issues I found in the build of Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out that I played for my review is the darkness of the visuals. I know that is kind of the point. And that the monitor I play my games on tends to be a tad darker than intended. But even with that said there are times when it can be hard to visually keep track of things. Even if I switch to other screens or change the settings. All you have to denote where your character is at any given moment is the faint green glow of their headset. Which stylistically makes sense. However, there are times when it can be hard to keep track of where they are when things get particularly fast.

The soundtrack is well-produced. And ranges from a smooth electronic near Techno style to a more high temp-dance feel in the more intense later levels. Musically it has all the thrill you could want for a game like this. One that feels like a great accompaniment and addition to the game which adds to the feel and flavour of it. Without it ever feeling overpowering. Or like it is competing for your attention. There is something about it that just feels right given the subject matter and what you are doing. Sure, it doesn’t lean into the stealth feel like Covert Critter did. But it is damn fine in itself.

Adventure Kitty Drill Buster Lights Out was reviewed on PC.