As Nekoman stood at the altar with his beloved kitten-t0-be, his home was suddenly invaded by the dastardly Space Dog Pirates. With his friends and loved ones being abducted, Nekoman has no choice but to take himself (and his ghost?!) on a 2D/3D quest to rescue all of cat kind!
Neko Ghost, Jump! is a cute but challenging puzzle-platformer where you not only switch between 2D & 3D camera perspectives but also between your physical & ghost forms to solves puzzles, combat enemies, and clear levels faster!
Take control of Nekoman as he runs, jumps, and fights his way through various environments to find his friends and loved ones that have been taken away by the Space Dog Pirates.
The demo is available right now over on Steam and offers a couple of playable stages. The stages offer a tutorial on the controls and how to play, easing you into switching from 2D to 3D, performing long jumps, and other catastic tasks in order to try and fruitlessly reach the anchor that’ll, presumably, take you aboard the pirate pup ship.
You also get to see that your (insert cat pun) hero is customizable, and I for one look forward to reaching the point where I have a crescent moon kitty as my protagonist.
For those who are familiar with the likes of Super Paper Mario, you’ll recognize this style of gameplay immediately. Our hero is able to go from a 2D playing field to a 3D one with just the press of a button. This often reveals a different way to navigate through the level and can even uncover hidden secrets that weren’t visible before. I found it especially interesting to switch from 2D to 3D when it came to combat, as 3D gives you more maneuverability, but 2D can be very useful when there are multiple enemies that you want to line up and take out with one ghostly swipe.
Speaking of ghosts, that word is in the title for a reason. The only way to fight off random plant monsters and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, BAD dogs (ugh, that hurt to type) is by releasing your cat spirit and leaving your body behind. The music gets spookier and you’re able to beat up on whatever opponent stands in the way of you reaching that anchor. Your body stays wherever you went ghost mode which presents two major challenges: 1) you have to beat the level in your body so you can’t just play the whole stage as a ghost and call it a day, and 2) your body can still be attacked by enemies, so you have to make sure you protect it or leave it somewhere where there aren’t any enemies to hurt it.
I really enjoyed Neko Ghost, Jump! The gameplay is fun and has a major sense of exploration since everything changes depending on whether or not you’re playing in 2D or 3D. It’s almost worth checking out all the areas in both modes just to make sure you get everything since there are collectibles throughout the game. There’s some strategy involved when it comes to fighting enemies as you get to decide if you want a 2D or 3D battle. You also have to keep your body safe while fighting, which can be difficult if there are multiple enemies to battle and one wanders over to your unconscious form.
Honestly? I was sold as soon as I saw the trailer. The cute art style and the kitty meows whenever Nekoman jumps. The demo solidified my need for this game and I’m looking forward to traversing the rest of the worlds it has to offer.
Except for the ice world, which will, no doubt, be slippery for my toe beans, and I’m not looking forward to trying to get past that giant cat-eating fish, either.
Neko Ghost, Jump! will launch on a number of platforms, including Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, XBOX One, and more! You can check out more details over on the official website.
UPDATE: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated… that Neko Ghost, Jump! was the E3 Indie Showcase Winner. That was incorrect. The Indie Showcase Winner was Falling Frontier. We apologize for the error.
(Image: Burgos Games)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
