Water-filled areas might be drained, giving access to the Gato Roboto, or lava might cool and solidify, opening up new areas. What also deserves a doff of the cap is the way in which the game cleverly alters the landscape, at certain points to mix up how you get around. This actually opens up a different set of options than you’re used to in a Metroid game, in a good way, as traversal isn’t as simple as plowing through rooms in your suit, killing everything in sight.

It can also swim, whereas the Gato Roboto is not waterproof. Because whilst being vulnerable to attack, our feline hero can climb walls and into narrow corridors that a bulky robot suit cannot. The main difference to how this affects gameplay compared to what has gone before is that often you are required to leave the suit behind for certain sections.

With it, a harmless cat can take damage, and more importantly dish it out in the form of satisfying firepower. Our kitty hero locates the Gato Roboto fairly early on, which for all intents and purposes is their version of the Varia Suit. Where things are different is, well, the cat. Even the opening story is a ship answering a distress call from a strange source, which is literally Metroid 101. And it unashamedly borrows a lot of its ideas straight from Nintendo’s franchise right down to the curved doors opening upon shooting, the missile upgrade, and even a spin jump attack. A playthrough (even a first one) can be done in under three hours fairly easily. The first thing to acknowledge, and accept, is that Gato Roboto is neither as good nor as involved as any of the 2D Metroid series. Yes, I know, but bear with me, it’s actually nowhere near as bad as it sounds. Well, aside from the superfluous “vania” part as this is as close to a Metroid game as one can get without a cameo from Miss Aran herself. But placing itself firmly in this niche genre is Gato Roboto, and annoyingly, it’s hard to argue against the description. It’s one of those puns that’s so bad it causes an involuntary cringe to appear across your face.

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