First Impressions: Copy Kitty

Copy Kitty
Developer: Nuclear Strawberry
Publisher: Degica

DISCLAIMER: This game is still in Early Access. All thoughts and opinions therein are related to the game during its development state. Features/content are subject to change and not a final representation of the game.

Let's be brutally honest here games like Mega Man have a magic that is very difficult to capture. Mighty No 9 proved this as it was panned by most critics and was an utter disaster from Kickstarter to release. I personally know fans who still worship the ground that Mega Man X walks on. Praising the music, gameplay, game structure and so on and so forth. If you are looking for a fan base that is rabidly passionate and dedicated I would put Mega Man fans up near the top ten.

Well I am more then happy to say that Copy Kitty is FAR from better then nothing.(See what I did there?) This game hits all the right cords when it comes to a side scroller action title. Now if you're paying attention you will note that the game is in Early Access but to be honest I forgot that it was by the time I decided to do this first impression piece. The game is exceptionally well put together for an EA title. The game has two playable characters with drastically different combat styles. Over a hundred levels, an endless mode, bosses, hard modes, custom levels and that is just Early Access. It's rather impressive and there is more to come which is exciting.

The game play itself is an homage to Mega Man but it plays with the formula a bit. You have all that buster cannon shooting, weapon stealing/combining action that you know and love however, the levels are all bite sized. Most levels can be completed in less then two minutes with boss fights taking up to four at the max. This leads to very fast, very chaotic gameplay that can become very overwhelming at the beginning. Once you settle in though the action becomes a fluid dance of explosions and mixing and matching.

Kitty our hero, can take up to three weapons/buffs from her enemies, then combine them into a super weapon of sorts. This leads to an endless variety of weapons that all have spectacular use and visuals to match. 
Sadly, you lose the combo of weapons you have at the end of the every level and start over again in most cases. Sometimes you are allowed to bring one weapon of your choosing but getting familiar with everything is going to take a while as more weapons are added. I found myself just spamming the combine weapon attack and not really caring about whats around. This will do the trick most of the time but future bosses and levels will prove difficult with this strategy. I think dedicated levels to certain weapons would be an excellent idea. This is present in the game but isn't very in depth currently.

Copy Kitty has its ducks in a row graphically and musically. There are times where I wish the colors were more vibrant and areas more detailed like the cut scenes  but the level design is suffice and explosions a plenty for me to not really notice.

Of course there is a cadre of robots ranging from  self destructing, bunny tossing, shield bearing, the robots can get pretty crazy and the bosses even more so. Enemy design is exceptionally well done here and I never got tired of blasting robot enemies to bits. Now one thing I did feel was the levels were very short, perhaps too short. The length at which some of them can be designed seems almost limited in space. Lack of longevity could be due to the ability to create your own custom levels but those who enjoyed long robust levels in classic Mega Man might find a gripe with that.

While most of the features are already in place and I could definitely go on and on about this game. There is still more to come so I will reserve my final judgement for release. Copy Kitty is an impressive title and gives a strong showing straight out of the gate. Any fan of retro-action titles is going to love Copy Kitty. The games price will be increasing once final release hits. The developer plans for more levels, polish to levels, and general upgrades.

That being the case I still feel highly confident in saying that there is already a game here. So buy it now if you like what you see as more is coming in the months ahead. If you are unsure feel free to try their free Demo.