Kitaria Fables Review

Have you ever dreamed of being a cat person that roamed the land, defending it from a mysterious dark force with blade and magic at your command? Maybe after you dove into the deepest dungeons with an obnoxious sidekick, you come home in that dream and tend to your crops? If yes, then boy does Kitaria Fables have a game for you!

Developer: Twin Hearts
Publisher: PQube
Release Date: September 1st, 2021
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series

In Kitaria Fables you play as a silent anthropomorphic cat soldier, deployed by the Empire to the remote Paw Village. Something is causing the local monsters around the village to become more aggressive. Armed with your sword, bow, and a book of magic spells, it’s to you and your partner/mouthpiece, Macaron, to discover why and push back the encroaching darkness.

The writing isn’t much to really shake a stick at but serves its purpose in getting you to go out and explore. For a game that features an anthropomorphic protagonist, I failed to resonate with my character. It made it harder for me to get into the silent character approach and the lack of a real character creator didn’t help me much. You can customize your character to a degree but it only boils down to a skin and some other minor accessories.

Kitaria Fables is first and foremost, a game about adventuring. You’ll constantly be venturing out to explore dungeons, defeat enemies, gather materials, and crafting loot. Combat is easy to pick up and isn’t very deep, sadly. Enemies will fire off telegraphed attacks that are easy to dodge and a wide variety of abilities can be equipped that players can easily access in the heat of battle. One thing I did like about the game is that it’s perfect for younger audiences. It’s easy to pick up and the way enemies attack makes it easier to handle for your younglings.

When you’re not exploring the lands around Paw Village, you can come home, grow crops and make use of the materials you’ve picked up during your adventures. There’s a decent variety of weapons and equipment to craft so adventuring out and hoarding your loot is certainly encouraged. Farming is pretty basic too. You’ll clear out the land you use then, plant and grow crops. It’s another system that isn’t very deep but there are some upgrades that can be made or fixed up to expand your farm but it still feels small in comparison to other games.

What hurts Kitaria Fables most is its segmented areas. They’re linear, small and you may even feel like you spend as much time in the loading screens as you do playing. Thankfully, the game does include a fast travel system which alleviates the issue in some manner. Inventory management is another issue with Kitaria Fables. You start the game off with very little inventory space and once you’re introduced to farming, you fill up slots quickly. Even with your inventory upgrades, it still leaves you wanting for more space, especially since swapping tools in and out feels very cumbersome.

If you’re looking forward to a deep farming sim experience, you probably won’t find it with Kitaria Fables. What saves the game, however, is its style and charm. Despite the game’s many issues, the combat is decent and simple enough that it’s the perfect game for a younger audience. If you’re simply wishing to relax, beat up some critters, and grow a few crops; then you’ll probably enjoy what the game has to offer.