Cats vs Zombies

Milk for the cats, bullets for the undead : the crossover you didn’t know you needed

Thank you to the devs for the free game key!
But rest assured, this is still an impartial review written as if I had bought the game myself. 😁

So, I’ve learned something new playing Hidden Cats vs Zombies: I can spot every hidden kitty and bottle of milk in record time, but when it comes to zombies? Yeah…I’d be the first one eaten. Despite being very visible. Like, right there. 🤦

This game’s a quirky mashup, part hidden object, part light “shooter”, and somehow, it works. There are 3 maps to explore, each filled with cats, zombies, and milk bottles to find. The devs have clearly taken feedback from their previous title, Hidden Cats: Zombie Hunter: bullets are smaller now (no more half-screen gunfire), zombies are distinct from cats, and you no longer risk accidentally blasting a poor feline. Progress! (and who doesn't LOVE a responsive dev?)

The game’s a fun oddity. It's cozy at heart but sprinkled with action. There’s no penalty for misclicks, and both cat and zombie placement feel balanced and intentional. But for players like me who lean toward cozy vibes, it’s hard to fully relax with constant gunfire and no option to mute just the shooting sounds. It’s also quite short at around 10–15 minutes to 100%, which makes the price tag feel a bit steep, but its unique concept gives it enough charm to recommend, especially for hidden object fans looking for something fresh and weird in a good way. Plus, Sons of Welder artstyle is always an adorable treat at the end of the day!

So this one's overall a playful experiment that bridges cozy and chaos. It’s great for curious HOG fans who want something different or for action driven players who want to dip a toe into the world of cozy gaming without giving up their zombie apocalypse ambiance.

For more reviews like this one, please check out Ele's Little Recommendation Corner!

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Hidden Cats vs. Zombies is a funny little hidden cats game where you try to rescue wayward kitties (plus their miraculously un-expired milk cans) in the apocalypse while also collecting ammunition and shooting zombies. There are three levels and roughly 10-15 minutes of playtime.

Nothing is particularly well-hidden, but it's a fun little coffee break; for me, the biggest challenge was remembering to gather ammo before gunning down the undead. The built-in hint function guides you to an area yet doesn’t highlight anything, but using it will deprive you of an achievement. I quite liked the pencil lines visible in the levels, though I wish there were more clutter and fewer duplicates.

Sons of Welder was kind enough to send a review key despite my less-than-favorable review of a previous title, and I'm honestly glad I gave this dev another shot. I'd recommend this if you enjoy Project Zomboid and need a quick brain reset, but I'm admittedly torn on the price-tag. If you're equally frugal, check out Eleanora's much more detailed review.

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Must save the kitties from the zombies... :o

Introduction

Hidden Cats vs Zombies is a cat-themed, hidden object game developed and published by Sons of Welder and FM Simple Games Studio. It's a sort-of spiritual successor to Hidden Cats: Zombie Hunter, and I've written a review of it here. There's a zombie apocalypse, and your mission is to find all of the cats while eliminating zombies.

The gameplay is fairly basic. There are three areas in which both cats and zombies are present, with only one area initially unlocked. Locked areas become accessible after completing the unlocked area. Controls are pretty simple. You can zoom in and out of scenes by scrolling the mouse wheel, and you use the left mouse button click on cats and milk bottles. As for zombies, you have to first click on ammunition boxes, which give you a limited number of bullets, and then you click on the zombies to shoot them. When you run out of bullets, you'll need to find more ammunition boxes to refill them. Plenty of Steam achievements are available, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game".

Review

Having played Hidden Cats: Zombie Hunter, I had my reservations about this latest release. Thankfully, the developers have heeded the reviews from the previous game. However, I'm jumping ahead. XD

The gameplay controls feel very smooth, and I encountered no technical problems. With finding the various objects, I'm glad that I didn't have to shoot any zombie cats this time. You only have to shoot zombies, just like if you were actually in a zombie apocalypse. lol All of the objects are fairly easy to find, especially since the zoom function is available, and all Steam achievements are obtainable in one playthrough. If I have to make any criticism, it's that in regards to the switching between full screen and windowed modes, windowed mode still forced me to manually resize the game screen to my liking. I would have preferred if there had been options to resize the game screen.

I will say, though, that I'm glad that this latest release has the same art style as in the previous games. The backgrounds and sprites are hand-drawn, and I like how the cats, zombies, and milk bottles are colored in slimy green, which feels quite appropriate for an apocalypse. lol

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3603117000

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3603116860

As for the music, there's a bit of variety with the tracks. Listening to them makes you feel like you're fighting off zombies while saving the kitties. I especially liked the touch of sound effects, such as the bullets firing off towards the zombies. If I were to make a bit of criticism, it's that the default music and sound effects volumes are a little on the loud side, so I had to lower them a bit.

Conclusion

Would I recommend Hidden Cats vs Zombies? If you're looking for a fun, cat-themed hidden object game in which you're the hero who saves cats while hunting down zombies and/or you want to get pretty easy Steam achievements, then this is worth checking out. It is a bit on the short side, though, as it took me around 15 minutes to complete all of the areas, find all of the objects, and obtain all of the achievements. Of course, you can wait to get it on sale, and it's in a few Steam bundles. However, I can say it's worth getting and overall, a great improvement.

Finally, I'd like to thank Sons of Welder and FM Simple Games Studio for the review copy. It was quite a delight to have the chance to play this fun, cat-themed HOG that has that right touch of humor. I can't wait to discover the next adventure these cats will embark. ^^

For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow The Introverted Gamer, prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^