Preen those whiskers and put on your shades, because it’s time for some butt-sumo, Nyanvy style. Grab power-ups, dodge bombs, and watch out for flying projectiles as you fight for dominance in a series of wild and whacky environments. Jump, dash, and flail that wiggly body to knock your enemies off the stage, and become the Cat of Cats!
Nyaaaanvy is a charming indie title, created by the three-person team at DigitalMind. It embraces a simple concept: be the last cat standing, but does so in a way that anyone can understand. The tutorial is lightning-fast and offers the basics so you can get stuck into the action. The controls are straightforward, thus being able to be played by seasoned veterans and newcomers alike. Battles are fun and quick, you can hop into a game and have a blast without having to overthink, and there are difficulty modes that allow you to tune the game to whichever challenge suits you best.
One of the most entertaining things about Nyaaaanvy is creating your avatar. The developers added a lot of customization options so you can create whatever strange thought that pops into your head. For me, that would be creating a Wooper-themed Nyanvy, who has just the perfect amount of goofiness. And this is truly where the game shines. The cats, whether serious or ridiculous, simply radiate personality. Equip your cat with wheels, or proclaim them as royalty with a golden crown, save your ideas as presets and create your own army of whacky warriors. Nyaaaanvy doesn’t take itself seriously, and so every minute I spent with a smile on my face.
Though it is very short, the story mode came as a pleasant surprise. This is a great place to start before getting into the arcade mode and online challenges, as it eases you into the basics without holding your hand too much. This particular tale is a bizarre one, featuring a Nyanvy tournament, strange alien bunnies and evil penguins, and yet it works surprisingly well as long as you don’t think about it too much. With a weirdly catchy cat-based soundtrack, some amusing dialogue and some simple but effective cutscenes, the story moves at a breakneck pace and never fails to amuse. There’s a message in there somewhere too, about embracing individuality in a society that enforces conformity, which was oddly profound in a game about long floppy cats. Perhaps that’s why it worked so well, it certainly got me thinking. One thing to note that makes the story even better is making sure to customize your cat before engaging in the story. Seeing Wooper-Nyanvy battling on an escaping bus while being chased down by a giant maniacal penguin was a sight to behold!
This isn’t to say that Nyaaaanvy is perfect, however. I had some issues with the calibration of the mouse while the game was in window mode, yet this could be rectified simply by using the keyboard to navigate or by fiddling around in the settings. In addition, sometimes if you skip a cutscene in the story mode, the enemies don’t spawn, causing you to have to restart the mission. The arcade and sub-games offer a nice extra challenge, but Nyaaaanvy could certainly do with having some more stage variety, and perhaps some new power-ups to spice up the gameplay a little. On a final note, I tried to play the online multiplayer, yet couldn’t find any competitors. Perhaps it was because I was on a North American server, but I can’t be sure.
There was one idea during the story that I found myself enjoying quite a lot but could do with a little more development. Most of the story focuses on the sumo-battles between the player and other fighters, yet halfway, there’s a section set in a secret base with lots of puzzles and tricky jumps to make. There’s a slight resemblance to the levels in the Mystery Dungeon format there, with the grid-based map format and enemy encounters, which could definitely do with a little more focus and screen time. More adventure-style gameplay, exploring different parts of the world and unlocking new abilities with your Nyanvy, could really flesh out the story a bit more and add a welcome new dimension to the formula.
Not to say that any of these points mentioned detract from the game, there’s still a lot of fun to be had. While the story may be a little short, and the menus somewhat basic, the style is simple but very effective. Though it may not be a game that you play forever, it’s a great way to spend half an hour if you need a little competitive action. If you’re looking for a cheap party game to play with a couple of friends then look no further, Nyaaaanvy is the perfect pick.
