There are some things children grow out of when they reach adulthood. Cartoons, toys, and snacks that let you make your own mini pizza may be among them. I am, (unfortunately,) not a child anymore, but my mind refuses to believe that. While I may not snack on Jell-O while watching Barbie movies anymore, there are some things I still enjoy that are labeled as "for kids."
The Warriors series by Erin Hunter is one of those things and I'm not afraid to let the world know that I still read those books. (I need to read the Power of Three series next!) They're my go-to when I want something more laidback and relaxing to read. Don't get me wrong. I love big and complicated books as much as the next bookworm, but a casual, easy read is a nice change of pace from time to time. They engage me like they always have, to be honest.
It's a popular series, but to sum it up, Warriors is a series of children's books that is based on the lives of cats as they survive in the wilderness. For being a children's series, it has a lot of violence, deaths, betrayals, and politics. There are four clans made up of warriors, apprentices, and a leader and medicine cat each. As they hunt and establish their boundaries, they often come head to head with each other in conflicting ways. While they build friendships and enemies with one another, they face other problems with humans, sicknesses, and changes in time and weather.
You get to meet so many characters in these journeys, and watch them grow older, build relationships, and even get killed. Yep, it doesn't matter if they're young, old, leaders, kits, favorited, or hated, anything can happen to these cats in sight of the reader. With such an established ladder in the ranks of the clans and all the unique characters, it would be hard not to imagine how you would do in their world. Would you be good at hunting or swimming? Which clan would you belong to? Can you become a leader, or would you rather be a medicine cat?
As popular as the series is, and how much the fans wanted to place themselves in the clans, there is no official game where we can live as a warrior cat. That didn't stop the fans from trying their hardest to create something similar though.
As I was browsing on the eshop on my switch, I found something rather interesting. Cattails is an indie game where you live as a pixelated cat trying to survive in the wilderness among colonies. You choose which colony you belong to, get your own den to decorate, and make friends with the other cats. You can hunt for food, collect herbs with different properties, and join in events and games between the colonies. As the seasons pass, colonies will expand their territories and battles take place on the borders. You can level up your fighting skills and learn new ways to fight for your allies. I recently unlocked the ability to throw pinecones as an attack. It's as cool as it sounds.
Over time you can even build your own colony to your liking, but I haven't done that yet. Every character is unique and gives you unique interactions and gifts as you befriend and woo them. Yes, you can get married and have kittens in this game! Living in particular colonies doesn't exclude you from certain cats either as you can build your reputations with the colonies and walk among them if they like you. With the lack of any warrior code, none of your colony would think a thing against hunting in other territory and making friends away from home.
It's not a perfect game and I still long for a proper Warriors title, but it's the best we have until an official one is, (hopefully,) announced. For what Cattails is though, it's fun, casual, and the music is so relaxing. There are hundreds of pelts and accessories you can unlock and wear on your cat. Pelts include natural shades seen in cats, or you could be any color of the rainbow if you want to stand out from the crowd. I decided to be a chocolate Bengal this playthrough. I picked a color I thought I would be if I was a cat.
Even though the game isn't from Warriors, I still have my warrior name, Kestrelsong! I made several friends in all the different colonies and had no idea which cat would be my feline boyfriend until I met Lyrus. He was in my colony too. I knew I was interested after he called me a little rose shortly after meeting him.
After an in-game year, a cat told me I could decorate my den anyway I like and the items would stay there. I already expanded my den to include a storage room and a garden. I bought some of the decorations for sale at the festivals, but I didn't know normal items would stay in the den as well. Since then, I dropped many seashells, butterfly wings, and flowers around my den. They haven't disappeared yet so I guess it's true. If I would have known I could do that, I would have had an easier time storing food when my inventory was so full! At least I have plenty of room with the storage room.
I love the garden feature that lets you plant anything you want to. I want to see if I can grow catnip there as it's so rare and valuable. I haven't been able to find enough to plant there to see yet though. It's worth a lot of money and is a great gift for nearly every cat. Not worth taking yourself, but you can do it. I accidentally took some when I was trying to give it to Lyrus. The screen changed many different colors and duplicated everything, which is quite funny, but it still cost me a rare stalk of catnip. Luckily, I had more and gave him his stalk so we could trip on it together.
I'm very skilled in hunting and swimming, but I still struggle in many fights. I don't know why because my skills show I'm adept at it. I can call for allies, poison my claws, and throw pinecones, but I still go down pretty quick when I'm surrounded. It's one of the reasons I haven't been so far down the mines. Mining is a ridiculous but very cool feature to this game. There are two mines on the map and they go very far down. I think about a hundred levels? Maybe more? Outside of cats, you can also befriend moles. They have unique shops and currency. I saw you could buy a pet firefly from one of them which is something I really want, but those darn bats in the mine can get very tough on your health and resources. I hope the little pet firefly lights up. That would be nice to have in the dark.
I do wish there were more festivals and the seasons would last longer, but if you enjoy casual simulation games and you're a fan of Warriors, I would strongly recommend it. I got the game on sale, but I would buy it again at its full price. (It's on Steam too!) I would say if you're interested and thinking about all the ways you can build yourself as a cat after reading this and watching the trailer, you would know if you already like it or not. If you do get it, tell me about your adventures! I want to hear about it! Leave a comment here or reach me on my social media platforms below and thanks for reading.
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