Where to get it

2022 · Roost Games · Business simulation · Indie

Cat Cafe Manager

Nintendo console exclusive

In this business management sim you build and manage your own cat cafe, adopt stray cats, and befriend the locals! Collect cafe furniture and food recipes to make your customers feel at home, then use your collection of unique cats to delight them.

Released: 14 April 2022
Platforms: Nintendo Switch Windows
Genres: Business simulation Indie Rhythm Simulation Strategy
Developers: Roost Games
Publishers: Freedom Games
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Business
Engine: Godot
Country: Netherlands
Age ratings: GRAC 12+ESRB T PEGI 12
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat: 10hmain story14hcompletionist

About

Cat Cafe Manager is a 2022 simulation video game developed by Roost Games. Gameplay centers around managing a cat cafe, taking in stray cats, and catering to customers. The game received mixed reception.

›Story

You’re moving to Caterwaul village to restore granny’s old cat cafe. It’ll be up to you to turn this old ramshackle ruin into a thriving spot for cats and customers! Win the trust of the town’s stray cat population so you can adopt them into their new forever home, then nurture and train them to delight your customers (and cuddle them lots, too!) Hire and manage your staff, build your food menu, and expand and decorate your cafe in order to meet the needs of the different customer groups that live in Caterwaul.

Befriend the locals who frequent your cafe to learn more about the town in branching dialogues, and uncover the mysteries of the town’s crumbling shrine to an ancient cat god...

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Cat Cafe Manager is a simulation video game that takes place in the town of Caterwaul. The main character is given a plot of land, and builds a cat cafe. Players must cater to different types of customers by serving their favorite dishes to receive different things, such as catering to witches to unlock new recipes. Each customer has their own individual story with unique dialogue.

Additionally, players must also obtain and take care of stray cats to attract customers, with certain types of cat being more attractive to certain customer types. These cats can be also be adopted by patrons, making room to bring in new cats.

Development

The game was developed by Dutch indie game studio Roost Games. It released on April 14, 2022. A sequel, titled Cat Cafe Manager 2: Big City Bliss, is currently in development.

Reception

The PC and Nintendo Switch versions of Cat Cafe Manager both received "mixed or average" reviews from reviewers, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received weak approval, being recommended by 52% of critics. GamesRadar+'s Alyssa Mercante said that she was "hooked" by the game, praising the depth of its gameplay. The game was also praised by Annette Polis of Siliconera.

Mark Delaney of GameSpot was more critical, rating the game 5 out of 10, praising the in-game economy and art design while criticizing the game for all of the bugs in the decoration system. 5 from Destructoid's Zoey Handley, who heavily criticized the imprecise controls and large number of bugs.