Cat Me If You Can turns hidden cat games into a 3D storybook adventure

Hidden object games are not a new concept. If you really think about it, we've all played I Spy at least once in our lives, usually on a particularly long or boring car ride. Do you know what else is beloved worldwide? Cats. I know that seems like a weird and sudden tangent until you consider one thing: hidden cat games.

Among the huge number of hidden object games available to play, there is an entire subgenre that tasks players with finding felines. These games are usually 2D and feature hundreds of drawn cats to find, and Cat Me If You Can by Cosmic Stag Games is no different.  

Except it's entirely different, because it's 3D. 

A surprise revelation

I've said before that I try to go into playing a demo as blind as I can. Not only does it make the process of playing 10 demos in a row more interesting, but it also helps me to avoid forming preconceived ideas about what to expect. So when I saw Cat Me If You Can on Steam, I purposefully avoided most of the game's page, downloaded the demo, and then promptly left while waiting for it to install. 

And I am so glad I did it that way. 

Hidden cat games are something of a secret pastime for me. I don't often talk about them, but I've got Devcats' entire back catalogue and all the DLC, plus some other cat-seeking games thrown in for good measure. I wasn't expecting Cat Me If You Can to even be a hidden cat game, much less for it to be my new favorite game within the genre.

Storybook brought to life

Origin story of my newfound obsession aside, Cat Me If You Can is indeed a hidden cat game that does something I've personally not seen another hidden cat game do: it turns the world 3D, sticks you in the middle of the scene, and arms you with a camera. 

Outside of the whole 3D thing, the mechanics are pretty much the same as any other hidden cat game. The entire scene is monochromatic, including the cats, but color is added to the feline friends when you find them and take their photos. That's all pretty familiar for the genre, but it's the sense of being inside a world that really wins you over. 

Every scene in the Cat Me If You Can demo is like a storybook brought to life, and I can only assume that further levels in the full game will be the same. It kind of feels like stepping into a coloring book, thanks to the monochrome art style, and having the ability to explore from every angle is a stunning development in the hidden cat genre. 

Here, kitty!

After the tutorial, which is adorable in its own right, you enter Tabbyshire, and you're tasked with finding 32 ordinary cats and three quest-locked cats across three different areas of town. Each area has a hovering, futuristic pinboard that keeps track of the cats you've found, and it also acts as a fast travel point if you're feeling too lazy to walk to the other side of the small town.  

I have to admit, though I'm usually pretty good at hidden cat games, even I had a tough time tracking down some of the cats in Cat Me If You Can, but that's not a bad thing. I usually fly through similar 2D games, finishing well within half an hour. This finally feels like a hidden cat game that I can play for hours without redoing the same scene, and that makes me really happy. 

In each level, there are quests to complete to unlock additional special cats. These quests involve taking photos of specific non-cat items, or otherwise interacting with objects in the world around you. The quest-locked cats are always extra cute, and the demo features a wizard cat stirring a cauldron, a fisher cat waiting for a catch, and a particularly chunky cat knight. 

A new family favorite?

It didn't take long for the entire family to get involved while I was playing the demo. My daughter, who until this point had been coloring, only needed to hear one “meow” before she came running over to help with the search. My fiancé, who was watching me play on stream, also dropped everything to help me find some particularly elusive cats. 

I know hidden cat games might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm among the many players who find them especially relaxing, and apparently my entire family agrees with me. Cat Me If You Can is a particularly cute and well-executed new take on the genre, and I can't wait to play more levels when the full game is released. 

Speaking of which, we don't have long to wait! Cat Me If You Can releases in full on September 8, 2026. In the meantime, you can also go and explore Tabbyshire in the demo on Steam.