Goodnight Meowmie

About Goodnight Meowmie

Goodnight Meowmie opens as a virtual pet game. Your cat, Meowmie, lives with you in a small wood-panelled room, and a menu lets you talk to her, feed her, pet her and play with her while bars track her health, food and happiness. The first line you read, "Meowmie, my one true friend," sets the tone: this is a game about love for a pet.

It was made in 72 hours by DDRKirby(ISQ) and Kat Jia for round 41 of Ludum Dare, under the Cocoa Moss label. The theme was to combine two incompatible genres, so they put the virtual pet together with horror. As the nights pass the cosy room gives way to dark corridors you cross by lantern light, and the gentle care routine is interrupted by jumpscares and chase sequences.

The maker warns openly that the game carries heavy emotional content, especially for pet owners, and lists jumpscares, death that is not shown on screen, and chases among its content warnings. The dread here is as much about grief and attachment as about the frights. In the jam it placed second for Mood and fourth for Audio out of more than two thousand entries.

It runs right in the browser and takes about half an hour. It suits players who want a short, story-led horror game with feeling behind it rather than a long survival game, and who do not mind a couple of jumpscares along the way.

How to play Goodnight Meowmie

1. Click into the game frame to start.
2. Use the menu to talk to, feed, pet and play with Meowmie.
3. Keep an eye on her health, food and happiness bars as the nights pass.
4. Follow the story through the darker sequences, moving by the light of your lantern.
5. Play to the end to see where the two genres meet.

Screenshots

Tips

• Read the content warnings first if emotional pet stories are hard for you.
• Keep the sound on; the soundtrack won an award in the jam and carries the mood.
• Expect a couple of jumpscares per run and a chase or two.

Questions