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Kamotachi’s “KinnikuNeko” is a 2D run-and-gun platformer (with some very nice parallax scrolling), in the mould of “Midnight Resistance” and the like (think “Metal slug” or “Gunstar Heroes“), except instead of playing a muscular soldier, you play a muscular cat called KinnikuNeko.

“KinnikuNeko” is what happens when you mix cats, aliens and anime together with classic run-and-gun action games like “Metal Slug” and “GunstarHeroes”.

Gameplay wise, “KinnikuNeko” is very nice indeed, as everything is very nicely animated (although sparsely voiced,) and the parallax scrolling is great as well.

The idea is to move right until the end of a level is reached, although at times you will be stopped from continuing for a while…

kinnikuneko a battle with some alien scum

“KinnikuNeko” is a very visually stunning game with no doubt, as it offers some truly impressive graphics and animations.

And whilst nothing is mentioned, it seems to be until a certain number of the invading aliens have been killed that you can continue to the next level.

So, yeah, it would be nice to see some sort of progress (or something similar) to know when you can continue (that’s something that Kamotachi should keep in mind for the full version of the game with no doubt).

You will encounter quite a few crazy situations, characters and dialogs in the demo of “KinnikuNeko” (just the game’s wacky enemies is in a league of its own).

Other than that, the default keyboard controls aren’t particularly good… But fortunately enough, they can be changed. However, all controls are responsive though.

The main problem at the moment is jumping to higher platforms. Because currently, a high enough jump can only be performed when you’re killing an alien whilst in the air, which is very annoying.

kinnikuneko say hello to my little friend

Lemon (the girl to the right in the picture) works as a side-kick of sorts for KinnikuNeko (the hero of the game). For example, Lemon can give you weapons and whatnot throughout the game (in this case, throughout the demo).

In addition to that, you can only do that when you’re unarmed, so if you are armed, then you need to use up all the ammo in your weapon before you’re able to attack the aliens in order to gain height.

kinnikuneko there will be no sexy time moments for you

You will actually be able to play as two players in “KinnikuNeko”, and that should make the game twice as fun with no doubt.

There are also a few bugs to be found in the game’s demo. For example, some of the aliens keep falling through upper platforms.

Furthermore, the enemy count doesn’t seem to be accurate (unless that’s for multi-kills) and the game thought I had lost all my lives when I had one left…

Pitaya (she’s the main villain of the game) is with no doubt THE coolest, cutest and sexiest character that I’ve seen from “KinnikuNeko” so far.

It’s also worth pointing out that you can’t kill anything that is directly next to you. So that means that you will have to move a bit first before you can slay anything that’s next to you.

Nevertheless, the attention to detail is so good (with a nice bit of background animation and various crazy things happening too) that it isn’t a huge problem as per say.

Lemon may be a rather strange girl, but she’s a really cute, nice and helpful side-kick nevertheless. Furthermore, she’s a catgirl :3

As for music and whatnot. Well, KinnikuNeko’s music is nice, if somewhat repetitive, whilst sound effects do their job. So in, overall, the demo of “KinnikuNeko” a nice preview of what could be a very interesting platform game.

KinnikuNeko is the main character and hero of “KinnikuNeko”, and his background story is a pretty crazy but funny one (as seen in the picture right in front of you).

So only time will tell if “KinnikuNeko” will become a hit or miss on the 2D run-and-gun/platform front.

Especially so since “KinnikuNeko” needs to collect 12,000 USD via Kickstarter in-order to become a reality (we wish Kamotachi the best of luck with that!).

Nevertheless, if you like 2D run-and-gun/platform games, then you should give the demo of “KinnikuNeko” a try for sure. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

Pros:
+ Lovely graphics with great animation and animated backgrounds
+ The game is very funny
+ Music is good, whilst the game’s sound effects are just “okay”
+ There are plenty of crazy and entertaining characters and dialogs

Cons:
– Jumping to a higher level is a real pain
– Hit something and you move as well
– Initial keyboard layout could do with being changed
– Too much in the foreground impedes your view

Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound and music: 4/5
Controls: 3/5
Replay value: 3/5
Story: 3/5

tgg grade 4 out of 5

Verdict: 4/5
KinnikuNeko is an interesting and funny 2D run-and-gun platformer that certainly shows a lot of promise, with some very nice graphics. The demo is currently marred by some technical problems, but that should be easy enough to fix, especially as this is just a preview of what could be coming.

Title: Kinniku Neko
Developer: Kamotachi
Format: PC (download)
Genre: Platformer
Resolution: User-defined
Release date: N/A
Difficulty: User-defined
Spent time: +1 hour
Average grade internationally: N/A Gamerankings.com
PEGI age rating: 12+
Price: Kickstarter backed