Cut cats' balls

Casual playthrough ~1 hour
@MatureContent
For some reason this game reminded me a lot of Papers Please, but instead of checking peoples papers, you castrate cats.

My wife used to be a vet and has done hundreds of surgeries like these, so she was backseating me a lot. Apparently the correct way is to first sedate, then shave, then spray, then cover, then cut, pinch, cut, pinch.

This game is obviously a joke and beside castrating cats and a few shop elements and upgrades, there isn’t much to it. The price is fair though and that is really what is important here. I received a review copy so I didn’t pay, but I would still buy this as a joke for friends at this price.
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Help me out by following my Curator, I’d really appreciate it!!

The main procedure requires you to follow a few steps. First, you press a button to spawn a cat, drag it to the operating table, and knock it out with anesthesia. Then, you need to click on a tool on the table and click on the cat. There’s a shaver, a spray bottle, and a blanket, but the order doesn’t matter. However, you need to complete this preparation before performing the cut with a blade. If you start cutting without completing all the steps, you will lose points.

Once the preparation stage is complete, you can select the blade, then the tongs to extract the part, and then click on the blade again to perform the cut. Since there are two targets, you need to do this stage twice. Again, if you don’t extract both parts, you lose points.

Points are important. Each day starts with a requirement that involves the number of cats that need to be neutered and a points threshold. The task must be completed within a time limit, but any extra cats processed after meeting the requirement will earn you additional points. If you do a good job and have enough points at the end of the day, you’ll earn a badge.

Badges come into play between shifts. Before the start of a day, you’ll see a table with you and your coworkers. Since you’re new, you’re limited to neutering cats, but if you use a badge, you can steal a task from others and add it to your own. The tricky part is that each task adds more responsibilities and procedures to your day.

For example, the scan task requires you to use a detector for hidden diseases, meaning a cat can’t be neutered until the scan is complete. The anti-bleed task requires you to stop bleeding using tongs and thread. There are over ten additional tasks in total.

Each task can be failed, which lowers your points even further. The bad news is that you must regularly take on new tasks, because holding too many badges will penalize you by lowering your points. The most problematic part is that remembering all the different tasks and procedures is difficult. Although there’s a manual, time doesn’t stop when you open it.

You earn money that can be used between shifts to buy upgrades. However, the biggest portion of the upgrades consists of keyboard shortcuts, allowing you to use a key instead of moving the mouse and selecting tools from the bottom of the screen. Each tool has a separate key that must be purchased, but if you manage to unlock them all, you’ll greatly speed up the process—especially the main procedure. Additionally, you can buy more time, lower the failure threshold when you don’t have enough points, purchase extra surgical beds, and a few other extras.

In the end, the game is fun for about an hour. The final goal is to take on so many tasks that you get other colleagues fired and eventually reach a manager position. However, after a while, you have to manage so many tools and procedures that the game becomes frustrating to complete in a single day. Keyboard shortcuts don’t help much at that point, since you need to memorize over ten buttons, and it becomes easier to simply select tools from the table.

On the other hand, not having enough points at the end of the day doesn’t lead to a game over. You simply start a new day without any penalty, which allows you to grind for money. You don’t even have to worry about extra procedures and can focus solely on the main one, since you earn money for each neutered cat. Because the day doesn’t end when you hit zero points, you can keep processing cats until the shift is over.

Cut cats’ balls is an intentionally provocative and oddball indie title that fully embraces absurdity as its core identity, presenting itself as a casual management game wrapped in dark humor and deliberately blunt presentation. From the moment it begins, it makes no effort to soften its theme or disguise its irreverent tone, instead leaning hard into a cartoonish, exaggerated take on workplace simulation. Visually, the game uses simple 2D graphics with a flat, utilitarian style that feels almost intentionally crude, reinforcing the idea that this is a satirical experience rather than a realistic or emotionally grounded one. The low-detail art and straightforward interface keep distractions to a minimum, making it clear that the developer’s focus is on fast, repeatable gameplay loops rather than spectacle.

At its core, the game places the player in the role of a worker at a pet clinic where daily tasks revolve around processing cats through a series of sterilization procedures. Each in-game day sets clear goals, such as reaching a certain score or completing a quota of work, and success depends on executing each step correctly and efficiently. The gameplay is structured around short, repetitive actions that reward accuracy and timing, with penalties applied for mistakes or sloppy execution. This creates a light pressure system that pushes the player to improve their routine and learn the most efficient order of operations. While the premise may sound crude on paper, the actual mechanics function much like a streamlined time-management or job-simulator game, where mastery comes from repetition and optimization rather than complexity.

What adds an extra layer of interest is the competitive element built into the workplace setting. You are not alone in the clinic, and other employees act as both background flavor and mechanical obstacles. By performing well, you earn badges that allow you to take over tasks assigned to coworkers, increasing your workload but also boosting your potential score. This system introduces meaningful decision-making, as overextending yourself can easily lead to mistakes, while playing too safely may prevent you from hitting the required performance thresholds. The balance between ambition and control becomes the game’s primary challenge, giving it more strategic weight than its simplistic visuals initially suggest.

The tone of Cut cats’ balls is unapologetically niche, relying heavily on shock value and dark comedy to stand out in the crowded indie marketplace. The humor is blunt, occasionally crude, and very much a matter of personal taste. Players who are uncomfortable with themes involving animals, medical procedures, or exaggerated violence will likely find the experience off-putting, even though the game presents everything in an abstract, cartoonish manner rather than with realistic detail. For those who can look past the title and subject matter, the game functions more as a parody of mundane labor and competitive work culture than as a serious commentary on its setting.

From a technical standpoint, the game is lightweight and accessible, running smoothly on modest hardware and offering a quick pick-up-and-play experience. Features like Steam achievements and cloud saves add a layer of long-term engagement for completionists, encouraging players to refine their performance and replay days more efficiently. The audio design is minimal, with simple sound effects and background music that serve to reinforce the game’s strange, off-kilter atmosphere without becoming intrusive. While not particularly memorable on its own, the soundscape does its job of maintaining momentum during repeated play sessions.

Overall, Cut cats’ balls is a small, unconventional game that knows exactly what kind of experience it wants to deliver. It doesn’t aim for depth, emotional storytelling, or realism, instead offering a compact management loop built around dark humor, repetition, and score optimization. Its appeal lies squarely in its willingness to be weird and unapologetic, making it a divisive but memorable title. For players who enjoy odd, satirical simulations and aren’t put off by controversial themes, it can provide a surprisingly engaging short-form experience, even if it’s unlikely to resonate beyond its specific niche.

Rating: 6/10