Copycat review — A heartbreaking story sure to make all animal owners hug their pets a little tighter

Copycat is a game dead set on breaking your heart. By manipulating our love for our pets against us, Spoonful of Wonder forces us to take an uncomfortable look at how often our actions affect our pet’s lives. Think Toy Story, but with a cat, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect. As a narrative-driven gameplay experience, Copycat skillfully accomplishes telling its story in a contemplative, albeit somewhat heavy-handed way, reiterating its central message that taking on ownership of an animal is a lifelong commitment, despite any hardships which may ultimately come.

Copycat is a game you experience, more than play, and is closer to a walking sim than similar cat-starring games like Stray or Little Kitty, Big City. There are a few sections which break from the walking-sim feeling, including a fun stealth section, a dog chase, and some typical cat hijinks and destruction, but overall, you’ll spend more time walking and contemplating the situation you’ve been thrust into rather than tackling any real challenges. While I am a fan of these more contemplative experiences, others may not be so I want to be upfront about what Copycat truly is.

That said, I think Copycat may feature the most realistic cat yet in gaming and is clearly made by individuals who adore cats and have extensively studied how they interact with the world around them. You’ll knock items off tables, steal food from your owner, dig in the trash, play with toilet paper rolls, spread paint all over the house, sleep, hiss, meow, and get easily scared. I think this attention to detail is what really endears us to Dawn, our cat protagonist, and her struggles to understand the situation she is adopted into.

The game begins with Olive, a kind and elderly lady who is obviously in poor health, perusing an animal shelter in hopes of finding a cat to fill the void left in her heart after her previous cat, also named Dawn (see a pattern here?), ran away. As the player, you are allowed to select from six distinct cats, which was a welcome surprise, despite each cat playing the same and the difference merely being cosmetic. After choosing your cat, Olive signs the papers affirming to provide Dawn with a safe space to live and welcoming her into the family. With the paperwork complete, Dawn is off to Olive’s house, though due to poor experiences with her previous owners, Dawn is scared and distrusts Olive, wary of her real intentions.

As the days progress, Dawn finds herself coming out of her shell, slowly allowing Olive in, but unfortunately her whole world is uprooted in an instant due to a medical emergency and Olive’s daughter, who is obviously not a cat person. Thus begins Dawn’s life as a stray and our journey to help Dawn find a way back into Olive’s life and to cope with her understandably conflicted feelings of abandonment and love.

Nearly all of Copycat’s story is told through the thoughts of Dawn as she learns to cope as a stray. She goes through the stages of grief, ranging from hate for her situation to love for her owner despite her current hardship, and how these conflicting feelings can weigh on an animal which already has unresolved trauma from a previous family. Not street smart at all, Dawn has to quickly learn how to hunt for food and defend herself, leading to tense moments with other strays and a few lighthearted moments, which is appreciated and helps to break up the often-overwhelming sadness which permeates much of Copycat’s story.

Copycat not only allows us to get a glimpse into the thoughts of an abandoned animal but also does a great job of pointing a finger at humans' ridiculous preconceived notions, including how we automatically assume stray animals may be dangerous or dirty. In Dawn’s case, she has barely been a stray for a day and is already being shooed away from houses and children as frightened parents act like she is an unhinged animal ready to kill. It’s all quite disheartening and, potentially, upsetting as you realize you may also harbor some of the same ill-conceived thoughts despite having no reason to do so.