Gato Roboto Introduction:

Gato Roboto, a 2D Metroidvania video game, was developed by the American studio Doinksoft and published by Devolver Digital on May 30, 2019. The game's narrative revolves around Kiki, a cat, who endeavors to rescue her owner after a crash landing on an alien planet. To achieve this, Kiki dons a mechanical suit and embarks on an exploration of the planet's depths.

In the game, players assume control of Kiki the cat. Initially, Kiki possesses the ability to scale walls, leap from surfaces, navigate through water, and squeeze through narrow openings. However, she lacks the capability to harm adversaries or utilize other skills, and she can be defeated with a single blow. When Kiki enters a mech suit (attainable at designated save points), her durability increases with additional hit points, and she gains access to a projectile attack and various enhancements found throughout the game, including a double jump and dashing ability. Various other mech types, like a submarine and turret, are also discoverable during gameplay.

Gameplay:

The player's primary objective involves infiltrating the alien planet's laboratory to locate a means of rescuing Kiki's owner, Gary. Progressing to the laboratory demands clearing the planet's aqueducts, heating system, and ventilation system. Only then can players advance to the final section of the game, the lab. As players traverse the game's environment, numerous upgrades are available, encompassing movement enhancements, health boosts, and cassette tapes that unlock optional color palettes for the game's 1-bit visuals.

In a distant future setting, Gary and his cat, Kiki, navigate their spaceship toward an alien planet in response to a distress signal. An inadvertent key press by Kiki leads to the ship's crash landing. While Gary becomes trapped within the wreckage, Kiki is left outside the ship. Gary dispatches Kiki to locate a mech suit, explore the planet, and find a way off of it. Along Kiki's journey, voice logs reveal details about a deranged scientist obsessed with preserving the life of his ailing dog, Barkley. As Kiki advances through the planet's systems to access the laboratory, encounters with a talking rat become recurrent. Eventually, it's revealed that the rat is the mad scientist, who has transferred his consciousness into a different body. His scheme involves luring Gary's ship to the planet to seize Gary's body and then transferring his mind into Kiki's body.

Final Words:

After disabling Kiki's mech suit, he uses the passcode (MEOW) to free Barkley from containment. Barkley, however, turns against the scientist, incapacitates him, and guides Kiki to an escape via a spaceship. They leave the planet behind, abandoning the scientist. In the post-game scenario, it is implied that Gary managed to escape in the scientist's former rat body.

Review aggregator Metacritic reports that the PC version of the game garnered generally positive feedback from critics, while the Switch version received mixed or average reviews. Hardcore Gamer's Kyle LeClair described it as an "enjoyably insane concept" and "deceptively simple yet immensely enjoyable." IGN Japan mentioned that despite its cute cat protagonist donning mech armor, the game presents a higher level of difficulty than expected, offering a rewarding experience for those willing to take on the challenge.