With over 40,000 reviews and an impressive ★4.9 rating on the Quest Store, ‘I Am Cat’ has created a global cat craze. Related videos on TikTok have garnered tens of millions of views, with the “#IamCatVR” hashtag viewed over 47.2 million times.
It’s not just about “becoming a cat” - the brilliant design optimizes the Gorilla Tag-style movement system for feline motion and combines it with sandbox elements.
Let’s thoroughly analyze why this game has become so popular worldwide, including insights into its development background.
What Kind of Game is ‘I Am Cat’?
‘I Am Cat’ is literally a VR game where you become a cat and wreak havoc. Developed by Cyprus-based startup studio “New Folder Games”, this small team of just 15 people released an early access version on Quest App Lab in May 2024, which quickly became a sensation.
The orange cat you control. Despite this adorable appearance, its actions are destructive!
Basic Game Information
Quest 2/3/3S, PC VR (SteamVR), PSVR2 & Apple Vision Pro coming soon
New Folder Games (Cyprus, founded 2019, 15 members)
The setting is a kind grandmother’s (Granny’s) house. Players become a mischievous cat, freely exploring the house while completing various missions.
The kitchen where Granny cooks. The counter feels high from a cat's viewpoint!
The “missions” aren’t rigid tasks but rather typical cat mischief like knocking all books off shelves, breaking vases, or interfering with Granny’s cooking! A smartwatch on your left paw delivers messages from another cat with new missions.
Checking Archie's quest card in the kitchen. What's the next mission?
Actual Gameplay Experience and the Essence of the Movement System
The Shock of First Experiencing a Cat’s Perspective
While many VR games manipulate scale, what makes ‘I Am Cat’ clever is that it doesn’t just shrink you down, but recreates a cat’s specific viewpoint and movements.
Table height, sofa approach angles, jump trajectories - all faithfully recreate a real cat’s physical constraints. This creates a subjective small animal experience different from the bird’s-eye view of games like ‘Moss’.
The Innovation of Arm-Swing Movement and Fun Created by Constraints
The game’s true innovation lies in its “Gorilla Tag-style” arm-swing movement system. This seemingly simple mechanism of placing both hands on the floor and pushing alternately to move forward actually holds deep meaning.
The Essential Fun of the Movement System
Creativity born from constraints is the heart of this game.
Physical constraints include not being able to move without both hands on the floor. There are also stamina constraints since you can’t run infinitely due to actually swinging your arms. Spatial constraints requiring creative movement in tight spaces add depth to gameplay.
Those familiar with ‘Gorilla Tag’ will immediately understand, but ‘I Am Cat’ intentionally limits movement speed to recreate the balance between a cat’s burst speed and endurance.
For example, when wanting to jump onto a high shelf. In normal games, you’d just press a “jump button”, but in ‘I Am Cat’:
- Back up for a running start (swing arms repeatedly)
- Build momentum moving forward (rhythmically swing arms)
- Time both hands forward for the jump
- Roll spectacularly if you fail the landing
This sequence of actions recreates exactly how cats actually move. Play for 30 minutes and muscle soreness the next day is guaranteed, but that’s how much physical immersion you get.
Climbing the sofa with front paws (hands). Real cat-like movements are recreated!
The Drama Created by Battles with Granny
The game’s highlight is undoubtedly the interactions with Granny.
While Granny watches kindly at first, if your mischief goes too far… she’ll chase you with a frying pan! Her approaching figure shouting “Bad kitty!” is comical yet surprisingly thrilling.
My favorite is the mission to secretly steal ingredients while Granny cooks in the kitchen. When caught, a chase begins, but you can escape using cat agility.
Crawl under furniture (you really need to crawl!), hide behind curtains, climb to the top of the refrigerator to escape. As a last resort, you can even jump on Granny’s head!
It feels like entering the world of ‘Tom and Jerry’!
After wreaking havoc in the dining room... Granny's angry gaze!
Fun Chaos from Unexpected Physics
One charm of ‘I Am Cat’ is its exaggerated physics.
For example, intending to knock one book off a shelf but accidentally toppling the whole thing, or rolling spectacularly after failing a jump landing… Things often don’t go as planned, but that’s what creates laughter.
Curious about the water flow! Cat curiosity realistically recreated
The physics behavior recalls ‘Job Simulator’ and ‘Boneworks’, but with a lighter, more exaggerated design. Developers intentionally balanced “predictability and unpredictability” with YouTube and TikTok virality in mind.
Diving into the aquarium to catch fish! A moment when cat instincts explode
Development Team’s Strategy - Why Cats?
Behind ‘I Am Cat’s’ success was New Folder Games’ clever strategy. They actually released 9 VR games in rapid succession over one year, including dental simulator ‘I Am Dentist’ and security guard game ‘I Am Security’.
“A significant portion of current Quest users are young people seeking social and meme elements like VRChat and Gorilla Tag. We decided to create content that would resonate - something ‘funny and shareable’”
- From New Folder Games interview
The focus on cats surprisingly came from casual office chat. All team members were cat lovers with their own cats, so during one meeting someone joked: “What if you could become a cat in VR? What if you had paw pads instead of hands?”
Interestingly, they designed for virality from the start.
For example, a simple concept that communicates fun in 15 seconds:
- Visual impact (humans crawling on all fours)
- Universal fun independent of language
- Low price for low barrier to entry (initial $14.99)
Town area added in update. Even stairs are big obstacles for cats!
In fact, while development costs were less than 1/10th of AAA titles, review numbers overwhelmed major releases. They achieved about 7 times more reviews than ‘Asgard’s Wrath 2’.
Why Did It Go Viral? The SNS Era Phenomenon
Reason 1: SNS-Worthy Destructive Cat Behavior
Looking at TikTok and YouTube, there are mountains of ‘I Am Cat’ videos. Particularly popular are videos like:
TOP 5 Viral Video Content
- Poisoning(?) Granny - Over 2 million views
- Complete House Destruction Speedrun - 1.5 million views
- 20 Cats Pirate Ship Brawl - 3 million views
- Cat vs Dog Epic Battle - 1.8 million views
- Escaping After Putting Pot on Granny’s Head - 2.5 million views
On social media, videos of “putting a pot on Granny’s head to block her vision” exceeded 30,000 likes, showing how the game design that conveys fun just by watching contributed to its viral hit.
Reason 2: Intuitive Fun Transcending Language Barriers
Despite no Japanese support, many Japanese players enjoy it because no words are needed.
The simple concept of “become a cat and wreak havoc” is universally understood across cultures and languages. In fact, my 5-year-old nephew played for over an hour while meowing “nya-nya”.
Reason 3: Design That Draws Out Community Creativity
The development team wisely left space for player creativity.
Freedom without clear goals:
- Leaving behaviors unclear if bug or feature
- Environment where players can invent ways to play together
As a result, the community continuously creates new ways to play. For example:
- Cat Parkour: Racing through the house at top speed
- Granny Guard Challenge: Protecting Granny from other cats
- Hide and Seek Tournament: Serious hide-and-seek with 20 cats
- Cooking Competition: Who can make the best meal
Further Evolution with Latest Multiplayer Update!
On June 13, 2025, the long-awaited multiplayer mode “Multicat Madness” was implemented as a free update!
Up to 20 cats can play simultaneously. Pure chaos!
20 Cats Wreaking Havoc! New Map “Flying Pirate Ship”
The multiplayer-exclusive new map “Sky-Purr-ate” is set on a floating pirate ship.
Pirate ship interior. Full of colorful decorations and various gimmicks!
This map offers activities like:
- Snowball Fight: Heated battles on deck
- Sword Duels: Medieval sword chambara
- Giant Piano Concert: Chaotic music with 20 cats
- Cooking Battle: Who can make cake fastest
- Mouse Tag: One cat becomes the mouse and runs away
Added Customization Elements
With the multiplayer update, 15 cat skins were added.
Classic calico, black cat, Siamese:
- Special rainbow color skins
- Accessories like pirate hats and eye patches
- Gold claws (review bonus)
Thorough Comparison with Other VR Cat Games
While the concept of “becoming a cat in VR” has been attempted before, no other example matches ‘I Am Cat’s’ success. Why?
| Title | Release Year | Concept | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Am Cat | 2024 | Cat havoc sandbox | $19.99 | ★4.9 (40k reviews) |
| Catify VR | 2018 | Cat daily life simulator | About $6.50 | ★3.2 (200 reviews) |
| Konrad the Kitten | 2017 | Kitten adventure | About $10.00 | ★3.8 (500 reviews) |
Comparison with ‘Catify VR’
Released in 2018, ‘Catify VR’ offered the experience of being a cat in a Paris apartment. However, the differences are clear:
- Catify VR: Experience cat daily life (walking, sleeping, scratching)
- I Am Cat: Experience cat extraordinary life (destruction, mischief, adventure)
‘I Am Cat’ succeeded in differentiation by focusing on “causing chaos as a cat” entertainment rather than a “potentially boring daily life simulator”.
Comparison with ‘Gorilla Tag’
Compared to ‘Gorilla Tag’, the originator of the movement system:
- Gorilla Tag: Competition-focused, clear rules
- I Am Cat: Freedom-focused, ruleless sandbox
This high degree of freedom allows various ways to enjoy - solo play, cooperation, competition, meme video creation - becoming a strength that captures a broader user base.
Comparison with Flat Game ‘Stray’
Also compared to the 2022 sensation PS5/PC cat adventure ‘Stray’, both take completely different approaches:
- Stray: Beautiful visuals and touching story
- I Am Cat: VR-unique physicality and free destruction
‘I Am Cat’ realizes a VR-unique cat experience through physical interactions like “knocking over, grabbing, throwing objects yourself” that aren’t possible in Stray.
Mixed Reviews from User Feedback
Analyzing over 40,000 reviews reveals interesting trends.
Praise (85% of total)
“Some criticize this as an incomplete expensive demo, but it’s ridiculously fun. Kids play laughing out loud”
— Quest user (★5)
“Becoming a cat in VR is a perfect idea. I got bored in 5 minutes, but my 14-year-old son played for 2 hours”
— Parent review (★4)
“Exercised until my arms fell off but couldn’t stop laughing. Even I, who gets VR sick easily, was fine”
— Japanese user (★5)
Critical Voices (15% of total)
“Exhausted content in 60 minutes. The rest is repetitive. $20 is too expensive”
— Steam user (★2)
“Buying the $20 base game then everything after tutorial is paid DLC is fraud”
— Misunderstanding user (★1)
What Review Analysis Reveals
- Quest users (casual): Overwhelmingly positive
- Steam users (core gamers): Mixed opinions
- Young/family users: Especially popular
- Price complaints: Mainly comparing to content amount
Interestingly, even critical reviews don’t say “boring” but rather “want to play more but not enough content”. This conversely proves the basic gameplay is highly valued.
Outdoor Areas and Hidden Elements
The outdoor area added in updates offers battles with new NPCs like the Butcher and bulldogs.
Battle with the Butcher. Steal sausages and get chased with a frying pan!
Also, the community reports daily discoveries of secret rooms and hidden passages.
Who Should Play? Pre-Play Precautions Too
Especially a Must-Buy for These People!
- VR Beginners: Simple controls, enjoyable even in short sessions
- Families wanting VR fun: Kids and adults laugh together
- Stress relief seekers: Go wild and feel refreshed!
- Streamers/Content creators: Treasure trove of content, great viewer reception
- Exercise-deprived people: Full-body workout while having fun
- Cat lovers: No explanation needed!
Things to Know Before Playing
- VR Sickness: Arm-swing movement is considered less nauseating, but some get sick from sudden direction changes. Start with 15 minutes and gradually acclimate
- Muscle Soreness: Crawling movement uses more stamina than imagined. Prepare for arm, shoulder, and back pain the next day! Warm-up essential
- Play Space: Minimum 2m×2m needed. Be careful of surrounding furniture and walls when swinging arms vigorously
- Content Amount: Main single-player content exhausted in 2-3 hours. Lifespan extends with multiplayer and hidden element hunting, but not a 100-hour game
- Floor Protection: Yoga mat recommended for comfort since you’ll often be on your knees
Tips for Comfortable Play
- Wear gloves: For hand protection and grip
- Set up fan: High exercise means good ventilation needed
- Hydrate: Take breaks every 30 minutes
- Take turns with friends: Fun to watch too!
Conclusion: Deep Game Design Hidden in Simplicity
‘I Am Cat’ is decidedly not cutting-edge technically. Graphics don’t match ‘Half-Life: Alyx’, physics aren’t as precise as ‘Boneworks’.
However, it’s an extremely important work in capturing the essence of “experiences only possible in VR”. It brilliantly integrates physicality, scale, and interaction freedom through the theme of cats.
What this game analysis reveals is the cleverness of Constraint-Driven Design. The physical constraints of arm-swing movement and spatial constraints of cat size creating emergent gameplay is a textbook example of indie VR development.
Playing with friends and family guarantees laughter, and it’s great stress relief alone. Streaming engages viewers too. This work, which demonstrated VR’s possibilities in the simplest form of “fun”, truly pioneered new possibilities for VR games.
For $19.99, if you can laugh this much, get exercise, and have fun with everyone, it’s excellent value. If you have a VR headset, definitely try it once. You’ll surely get hooked on the fun of wreaking havoc as a cat!
And finally… please be kind to Granny (impossible).