To start with: In all my life I have never encountered a game which conveyed feelings of depression and despair so true like in the Cat Lady. It is so well done in fact that I think of it as a piece of art. However I didn’t get depressed myself from playing it. Quite the opposite. As a person who has dealt with severe depression and suicide in the close family I felt understood by the creator of the game. Playing this game felt like homecoming, but in a good way.
It brought me back to a time of utter misery and triggered some feelings that are apparently still burning deep inside and that I never show to the outside world, but it also showed me how much I’ve grown away from that and just how much stronger I’ve become.

The Cat Lady is telling a tale about Susan Asworth. A lonely and deeply depressed middle-aged woman with suicidal tendencies and is ready to give up everything.
However, this path it not the path that seems laid out for her. By a supernatural force Susan is given the chance to possibly find some happiness by completing certain tasks.

The story intrigues and your journey will be gory, disturbing and surrealistic at times.
You’ll want to continue to the end to see where it leads to. Along your journey you are going to have to make some tough decisions. And those decisions matter. Your actions can lead to different outcomes. There are multiple endings to explore depending on your decisions.

The dialogues are really well written and are interesting to follow while Susan interacts with diverse characters.
Susan’s feelings of misanthropy are also apparent and is executed in a perfect way often with dark humor when she talks gloomy to and about other people.

The artistic direction is adult in style and the visuals can seem somewhat basic at first and contain little color. In my experience once you get used to them it grows on you and you’ll quickly learn to really appreciate it. Colors are being used in the right scenes and in the right moments to accentuate.

This is not a game with a high budget. It’s not about that. It’s all about the experience and therein it succeeds with flying colors (no phun inte…. .. well, maybe just a little **crickets**).

The sound effects of the game are very raw and add to the overall gritty experience. The voice acting and quality can sound subpar at times, but again they add to the rawness.
The music of the game is brilliant at times. When the piano kicks in in just the right moment it really helps to trigger emotions.

I realize this game is not for everybody. I believe a lot of people who dealt (or are dealing) with depressions can identify with this game. Also play it if you are interested in somewhat experiencing and understanding depression instead of only hearing about it. I’ve played so many games and also forgotten about many. The Cat Lady however made a lasting impression on me and even years later I still think back on it regularly. One of my top favorite games and one of the best experiences because it reached me on a personal level. For that I want to give a shout-out to the creator of the game: Remigiusz Michalski.

To sum it all up “The Cady Lady: It’s a punch in the gut you'll be happy to receive.”