An indie recreation the place gamers share heartbeats with their pet cat, which might rework into a large kitty sufficiently big to journey on and defeat enemies, goes viral — and it’s not laborious to see why.
The sport, titled Ylem’s Cat, is the debut providing of a small, impartial studio primarily based in Guangzhou, China. It was first revealed at gamescom this yr, and it’s already sweeping throughout social media.
Per its itemizing on Steam, the sport’s official logline is as follows: “Ylem’s Cat is an action-adventure recreation pushed by the bond between a lady and her cat. Led by curiosity and data, Molly units out on a journey to seek out her lacking mom throughout a dying planet, exploring ruins and uncovering the reality buried inside the giants.”
Whereas the sport’s graphics are really beautiful and its gameplay loop appears immersive sufficient, the cat is the true promoting level right here. It could be a part of you in fight and bop enemies on the top, and you may even use the reflection out of your bow to play with it like a laser pointer. The feline’s life like habits will little doubt be a promoting level for cat lovers (however now we have to warn you that it does appear to be it falls into mortal peril at one level within the trailer).
The sport follows Molly within the wake of a horrible catastrophe after a mysterious cat saves her life. The cat — which she names Mio, after its meow — now shares a heartbeat with Molly, and it’s being hunted by robotic beings named Sentinels.
Mio helps you each in fight and in exploration, and might develop larger or smaller relying on the duty at hand. “In fight, the extra you be taught to struggle collectively, the simpler it turns into,” the sport’s Steam web page reads. “In exploration, control Mio — the little cat has its personal curiosities, and people would possibly matter greater than you suppose.”
New recreation introduced the place your cat companion has its personal temper swings
– You share the identical heartbeat
– You identify it Mio after the sound it makes
– The Sentinels are looking your cat
– It grows big and you may journey itRecreation is Ylem’s Cat pic.twitter.com/9x1FnjIiGv
— Indie Recreation Joe (@IndieGameJoe) August 29, 2026
So far, Ylem’s Cat has no launch date, however builders are reportedly heading towards an eventual 2028 launch. Gamers are already impatiently ready to get their palms on the sport, with some making comparisons to the life like animal habits of Trico from The Last Guardian.
“Simply think about a cat of that dimension getting the zoomies,” one remarked.
“Bro, take my cash now!” one other mentioned.
“Understanding my cat’s temper swings, I’d PROBABLY be murdered if it was that dimension,” yet one more joked.
Simply think about a cat of this dimension getting the zoomies 🤣 pic.twitter.com/DcgEGbDA2C
— Monastery – Wishlist on Steam (@Unseen_Domains) August 31, 2026
Identical to Toriko… So cute! pic.twitter.com/TvdPBTi6nQ
— Locke (@Locke3522) August 30, 2026
BRO TAKE MY MONEY NOW pic.twitter.com/as2JSdF2bK
— NinjaGato (@ninjagato465) August 30, 2026
That is the most recent pet-focused motion recreation to show heads after Stray Dog: nobody cares went viral earlier this month. The Souslike title follows a stray canine trying to find its captured grasp in a world overrun with hazard, utilizing a sword in its jaws to defeat foes standing in its approach.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s Information Editor. With ten years of expertise reporting on video games and leisure, she’s bought a storied background within the preventing recreation group, influencer information, and viral on-line tendencies. Discover her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.