Blade Kitten : Simple and fun

I came accross Blade Kitten when it was released on Steam, and I really liked the look of the game. As I was near the end of Final Fantasy XII and I had setup my characters in an auto leveling strategy, I figured I could give the game a go.

It turns out I enjoyed myself.

Story
The game itself doesn't really feature an extensive story. The main character is led from one place to another either trying to catch someone or running from another. It mostly seems like an excuse to go from one stage to another and I actually had a hard time connecting one event to another.

By the end of the game, however, there seems to be some sort of plot going on, but by the time I finally had some sort of information about what the story might be, I encountered  a To be continued in episode 2 message. I guess there is a story to this game, but it's not really featured in the first episode.

Character
The main character in the game is Kit, sometimes also called Ballard. The tutorials in the game refer to her as Kit, so I guess it's supposed to be the way to talk about her. She's basically a pink haired catgirl with a giant levitating blade.

As the game does not really feature a story, there isn't really some room for character development. Kit still has several witty lines throughout the storyline, along with references to well known memes here and there.

Gameplay
The game is a 2D platformer, automatically bringing you to the next stage when one is completed. It's mostly like anything you could expect from a game like Mario or Sonic, with the following key features and exceptions:

• The levels do not feature holes as a way to die instantly.
• Kit can climb on most walls and ceilings.
• The main dangers are enemies, which must be defeated  using the blade. (Or by sliding :3)
• The levels are almost never linear, and can be explored deeply to discover treasures.
• Some stages feature a reptile like ostrich as a mount.
• Some "puzzles" require the use of the skiff, a familiar that can access areas too small for Kit.

Content

The game has quite a lot of content for a basic platformer. It's possible to collect money while exploring the levels, and money can be used to buy stat upgrades, new blades and costumes.

As it was stated in the gameplay part, each stage contains several treasure chests, and sometimes some data disks and skiffs. Treasures usually contain money, and there is an achievement for finding all treasure. I have no idea what the data disks and skiff are fore. Maybe they will be useful in the next episodes.

Fun Factor

The game is not that original, and it's really simple. At first, I was not really sure I enjoyed the game. I usually like to go fast in 2D platformers (Sonic :D), and the game actually features a best time for each stage, but it's not really possible to explore for chests while going fast.

After I while, I got used to the controls, I learned how try to find all chests while going as fast as possible. And I had fun. I really enjoyed going around in each level, trying to find secrets areas, climbing all around, jumping, grabbing stuff. 

If you really want to achieve everything, you will need to go through each level several times, to find all treasures and to try the time attack. As fun as the game can be, it's not really interesting to go through a level several times.

Presentation
I like the style of the game, featuring 3D graphics with a 2D navigation. The characters had intersting designs, and I'm sure anyone can find a favorite in Kit costume's selection.

The game's music is very good. I particularly enjoyed the main menu theme, and I was really impressed with the music during some of the stages.

Overall
Blade Kitten is a game with a very simple design, but it is well done. It takes some time to get used to some of the controls, but after a while, the game is really a lot of fun.