Ignore my playtime, it initially said 19.2 hours but reset because I was playing this game offline. I then had to idle the game in online mode just to be able to write a review. This game is not short, though it's also not super long, it's just a fine amount of length. It was worth it when I bought it discounted and I can assure you had I bought it full price it would still have been worth it.

There is a saying about diamonds in the rough, but diamonds are something seen as perfect. I would not say that this is a perfect game, but if you search the rough looking only for perfection, you'll miss out on all kinds of gems, flawed, uncut, fractured or fragmented, but gems nonetheless. Paws for Adventure is one of these gems. Seek not the diamond in the rough for you'll miss the joys provided by gems like this.

Paws for Adventure is a 3D game with 2D art. It is an adventure game along the lines of The Legend of Zelda. It feels like a condensed version of the Young Link content of Ocarina of Time, if you want an idea of how long the game is. There are plenty of optional puzzles to do to get rewards and the game goes in several directions you wouldn't expect a game like this to go in. There are some issues, some bugs and glitches or some pains with the combat or platforming, but they are issues I was able to get used to and eventually felt second nature to work around. What used to be precise platforming perils became easy platforming. What used to be combat of attacking once and backflipping turned into a far more aggressive attack - dodge roll - attack pattern. The game is inspired by Zelda but instead of new items, you get new traversal moves that aid in moving around the various parts of the game world. The visuals are lovely and a standout point was when I was on the cliffs and could see the entire world map below, laid out like a Mode 7 SNES game world map. It was truly awe-inspiring.

This game is also clearly inspired by the Warriors Cats book series, to some degree, but I cannot personally say how much as I am not familiar with the series. A friend who is very familiar has said that this takes inspiration from them but that it is definitely doing its own thing with the ideas of the multiple cat colony tribes and the like. If you are looking for a game that is more akin to Warriors Cats, my friend says that Cattails is closer. You should still try this game though, because it's good.

To cut all the hoity toity talk, let me sum it up like this. Do you like cats? Do you like cheap games that are worth way more than their asking price? Do you like competent Zelda clones? Do you like very pretty uses of 2D sprites in a 3D world? You will like this game. I highly recommend it. Unless Grindalf releases 10 sequels to this game before the end of the year, this game will definitely be going onto my top 10 games I've played this year list. This is clearly a labor of love and passion, as well as a touching tribute to those creatures who spend their shorter lives making large impacts on our own lives. This is just an overall pleasant and lovely game and I will certainly be following the developer's future work. A game like this is what terms like underrated were made to describe and I hope I can bring more people to discovering and enjoying this game.

Alright, so right out the gate I just want to make this clear. I greatly enjoy this developer's work and I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone looking for a unique and unforgettable experience. That being said, there are a lot of flaws with this game, some even gamebreaking, but I would still recommend this despite those flaws. I will list the problems I ran into below, in no particular order.

- Levels generally have an end goal of collecting a set amount of treats or defeating a bunch of enemies. However, several levels were able to be partially skipped because the end level trigger still existed before I finished the objectives. This would skip me ahead to the next level.
- Both Hoverkitty and Hoverflea rotate at the same time regardless of who you are controlling, making it difficult to use their powers in tandem to defeat the enemies.
- Several game over screens had a large pink box obscuring the game.
- Switching between Hoverkitty and Hoverflea sometimes leaves you stuck in place, having to press their respective swap button again to get control of them. Additionally, sometimes the controlled character changes but the camera doesn't.
- The controls for keyboard are awkward. Every level requires that you press B to get rid of the text displaying your controls. Movement is WASD but turning requires pressing R to turn left and L to turn right (Yes, R for left & L for right), and Hoverflea's beam is fired with P.
- The game at one point froze up and crashed at the same point repeatedly. There's a cutscene and level load that for some reason locked the game up. I was able to play through on a better computer (my computer is not good at all) and while the game progressed as normal, the other computer was getting uncomfortably hot while running the game.
- There is a level trigger near the end of the game that puts you into a cutscene from the game's midpoint, effectively sequence breaking backwards.

I need you to understand that these are undeniable flaws and problems, things that are definitely not good. With all that said, however, I still really enjoyed this game. Why? Because this is one of many games made by a passionate developer who does all of the art, all of the music, all of the voice acting, all of the writing, everything on her own. This isn't a cynical cash grab or something like that, this is a work of art and I mean that sincerely. The developer has, through the medium of video game development, created memorable pieces of art that astound and inspire me. It would be great if the major glitches were fixed and it would be great for the controls to be rebindable, but the product she has made that exists here on this page is still a fantastic piece in a series of pieces that show what someone is capable of doing if they have the willpower and drive to complete a project. Countless times I myself have tried to start projects, only for them to fizzle out when I hit a brick wall. When I see stuff like Hoverkitty In The Hoververse, I feel inspired to keep trying. Finishing and delivering a work that isn't just chasing some current trend, all while continuing to grow as an artist, writer, and (especially with this new game) musician, it all just gives me hope that I can maybe do something some day.

People may look at this and thing I'm being ironic, or that I am insincere. I have no means of proving the sincerity of this review. I can only hope that those who read this will take it at face value that I enjoyed this game and I hope others will check out this developer's games and experience the enjoyment I felt.

Edit: This is my steam nominee for game of the year. I played several games this year but this one stuck with me the most.