Andrew Newton reviews Schrodinger’s Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark…
In all my many years of playing video games I’ve seen many physics based games but never a game about physics. Schrodinger’s Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark by developer Italic Pig, is perhaps the first game that concentrates on this weird and wonderful science.
I’ve read up on Schrodinger’s cat and as far as I can tell it is about a cat in a box being alive and dead at the same time or something. In the game you play our titular hero, Schrodinger’s Cat (or Cat for short), the live version of the cat anyway who must take up a job at the Particle Zoo capturing the various subatomic particles that have escaped due to some catastrophe and are causing mischief and mayhem all over.
The game is a very clever platformer where the levels are randomly generated. This means that no 2 playthroughs are quite the same. It’s also clever in that it has some very brilliant physics based jokes and there are probably loads more little science jokes for those with an understanding. A couple of them even made my 13-year-old son chuckle so the understanding of physics isn’t too high a requirement. Humour aside, one of the key features any platformer needs is a likeable character, one that makes you want to complete the game just for him and ‘Cat fits the bill perfectly. He’s cute, funny and has about as much idea about quantum physics as what I do. He’s also very good at fighting when the need arises.
Throughout all the levels are quarks which you do battle with and collect and use them in combinations to create means to help you and this is another clever thing about the game as there are often more than one way to solve a puzzle depending on what quarks you have at your disposal. Among the combinations are missiles, shields and temporary platforms but there are a good few more. Remembering combinations isn’t a problem either as they are listed in the pause menu. Another nice touch is that more often than not there are plenty of quarks available meaning that travelling back along the level to collect isn’t necessary.
There’s plenty of dialogue in the game to keep the story going with ‘Cat conversing with NPC’s and it’s not bad writing either. The storyline is pretty consistent and the gags add a nice touch. (Screenshot below is a good example of the humour as until you opened this review you didn’t know whether that screenshot would say alive or dead)
I always love a good platformer and Italic Pig have hit the nail on the head with this one. The levels are interestingly designed and never the same twice, the game is colourful and both ‘Cat and the Quarks are quite adorable. The sound effects and music do their job and are nice enough but they don’t particularly stand out.
There are plenty of chuckles to be gained not only the physics jokes but also through the antics of ‘Cat himself. Schrodinger’s Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark is a fun game and extra points must be given to Italic Pig for making physics enjoyable.
Schrodinger’s cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark is available now.
https://youtu.be/yIuEu1m0p2M?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published June 13, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
