Having recently finished my second playthrough of Lake, a relaxing narrative postal delivery simulator game, I found myself enticed by a similar game called Catto’s Post Office. It might be a bit short and simple, but the main thing is that it’s sweet. It’s one of those games you’ll like to play when you’ve got a free hour and just want to play something simple and uplifting.
Catto’s Post Office is now available on PC via Steam for $4.99.
Story – Catto the Postcat’s Birthday
Catto’s Post Office may not be a very long or complex game, but it does have a story that drives it. You play as Catto, the town’s local dedicated postcat, delivering mail to its residents. On this particular day, it is Catto’s birthday, only everyone seems to have forgotten. Catto is disappointed, but continues on with their day, delivering mail around town and helping other cats with small tasks.
It’s a simple story, and you can probably guess how it ends, but it’s also a very sweet one. It’s one of those stories that’ll have you want to keep playing to see the conclusion, even if you can already tell what’s going to happen. It doesn’t stop it from being wholesome. It’s nice to play a game now and again that isn’t overly complex and has an uplifting story.
Gameplay – Delivering Mail and Other Side Stuff
The primary goal of Catto’s Post Office is to deliver packages around town, mainly to cats who own businesses. However, if that was all you did, the game would be much shorter. Catto’s Post Office takes no longer than an hour to complete, so it isn’t a long game at all, but in fairness, this was mentioned in the game’s description on Steam. I don’t think this game was designed to be long. It was meant to be a short and sweet romp, and it’s something that both younger audiences and older players can appreciate.
The assistant at the post office gives out packages for delivery.
No Hurry to Do Work
One feature about Catto’s Post Office that I especially like is there isn’t any pressure to do the main quest of delivering packages. This is only to move the story forward and progress through the day. There are side activities you can complete that are totally optional, but do extend the game a bit.
You can talk to other cats who may have small side quests for you to do, such as locating items or clearing up empty tin cans in the street. There’s another where you can speak to a cat painting a mural, where you can choose the color. It’s fun to go around town and see if any other jobs need doing. You don’t get anything in the way of rewards. It’s just a nice extra to extend your playtime.
Your main task is delivering packages, but there’s no pressure to get on with it.
Rubber Ducks and Tin Cans
Another activity is finding rubber ducks around town. I’m not completely sure how many there are in total. Even so, it’s fun looking for them. They can be tucked away behind crates or walls or trees, even hidden in plain sight. I could never find all of them in both my playthroughs, but I still enjoyed it.
You can also kick tin cans into trash cans. This was one of those side activities you could get easily distracted by, which I did. The only thing was the cans reset after a time jump in the day, although there was an achievement for throwing away 15 cans.
Rubber ducks and tin cans provide simple distractions.
Room for Improvement?
On the whole, Catto’s Post Office is a simple yet surprisingly fun game, but the thing I liked best was how wholesome it was.
I personally would have liked rewards for completing tasks. Perhaps dressing up Catto could have been an option, and the reward would have been new clothes or accessories.
But who knows? Maybe in the future Catto’s Post Office could be expanded on, with new features, maybe extended gameplay? For now though, it’s fine as it is.
Sometimes less is more.
Graphics & Audio – Like Animal Crossing, but With Only Cats
The graphics of Catto’s Post Office matches the game’s theme perfectly, being bright, cheerful, and cutesy but managing not to feel too sickly or oversaturated. It’s very pleasing to the eye and makes roaming around town pleasurable. All the characters are also nicely distinguishable and well designed.
Regarding sound, I thought the cat’s meowing might get annoying after a while, but surprisingly they didn’t. Perhaps because the meows were slightly varied and weren’t too spammy. There were just enough meows to be cute and not grating on the ears. The soundtrack was also pleasant to listen to and fitted the game well.
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- Catto can sit in boxes around town. It’s quite cute!
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- The locals ask Catto for help.
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- There’s a map and signposts to stop you getting lost.
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- This game’s simpleness contributes to its laid-back and relaxing nature.
Catto’s Post Office was reviewed on PC with a key provided by CULT Games.
