The Cat Lady

About The Cat Lady

The Cat Lady is a psychological horror adventure written by Remigiusz Michalski under the name Harvester Games and published by Screen 7. It first came out in 2012 and reached Steam in December 2013. It is part of a series with Downfall and Lorelai, which the store page points to.

The story follows Susan Ashworth, a lonely 40-year-old with no family, no friends and no hope for a better future, who is on the verge of suicide. One day she learns that five strangers will come along and change everything. Where it goes from there is best left for the game to show.

You play with a simple keyboard control scheme, the store says: Susan walks left and right through each scene, items and people she can use are labelled as you pass them, and the things she picks up sit in an inventory bar at the bottom of the screen. Much of the play is working out what to use where to move the story on, with full English voice acting.

The look is its own: dark, stylised scenes that mix painted and photographic textures, often in black and white with splashes of colour and blood. A 70-minute soundtrack by micAmic and guest artists comes with the game. The store states it contains occasional graphic violence and gore, strong language and infrequent frontal nudity, and recommends it only for players over 18.

It suits players who liked Harvester or Fran Bow: slow, story-first horror about a damaged mind, with real adult themes and sudden bursts of violence.

How to play The Cat Lady

1. Start a new game and follow Susan into the opening scene.
2. Walk her left and right with the keyboard; the names of things you can interact with appear as you pass them.
3. Talk to people and examine what is labelled to learn what you need.
4. Pick up items, then use them from the inventory bar at the bottom of the screen on people and objects.
5. Keep working out what each scene needs to move the story forward.

Tips

• Walk through each room fully; the labels for things Susan can use appear as she moves past them.
• When you are stuck, check every item in your inventory against every labelled object in the room.
• Listen to what characters say closely; the dialogue often hints at what to do next.
• The soundtrack comes with the game in your Steam library's Music section if you want to hear it on its own.

Questions