Idle Cats Dungeon

It has a critical flaw which is particular to idle games - it stops running if its window is not "on-top". You have to have it displayed and window focused on one of your screens for it to progress, otherwise it just pauses. This means it stops being a fun idle game that runs on the side, and becomes a very boring game you have to have focused all the time. In fact it completely fails the "idle game" category for this reason IMHO. In a twist that looks suspiciously like AI product, there are no settings...which could allow for this behaviour to become a setting. Could be easily resolved with an update however I imagine.

EST Completion Time (1 Playthrough): N/A
Achievements Available: 3
EST Completion Time (100% Achievements): 12 hours (w/o auto-clicker)
Trading Cards Available: 0 (N/A)

Idle Cats Dungeon is a clicker/idle game in which you traverse through an infinite dungeon with a party of cats, slaying all who stand in your way. Starting with a warrior-type as your clicker cat, you will battle 10 enemies per level with the final enemy of each being a powerful wizard. As you gather gold from your battles, you expand your party to include an archer cat (idler) and mage cat (idler). Equipped with a full party, your goal becomes simple: defeat enemies, earn gold, upgrade your cats, & top the leaderboards.

Although marketed as an idle game, the quickest way to complete dungeon levels is to click enemies (causing them damage based on your click damage) alongside your idling cats whose damage per second (DPS) can be upgraded (including upgrades to their base damage & attack speed). Each cat upgrade increases DPS additively at fixed amounts, despite the cost of upgrades increasing with each purchase of that upgrade type. Additionally, your click damage, movement speed, and dropped gold can also be upgraded (additively, with an increased cost per purchase). Unfortunately, the enemies' health (HP) also increases as levels progress; thus, upgrades don't feel meaningful or powerful as you're simply purchasing to keep pace with the game (rather than get ahead).

Much like there is little sense of accomplishment, there is also no sense of failure. Your cats do not take damage and cannot die or be defeated, making Idle Cats Dungeon feel more casual & like less of an investment compared to similar titles. With no reason to look at the game (other than for the occasional upgrade purchase), it truly becomes a "set it & forget it" experience — which is truly unfortunate, given how adorable the cats are & how intriguing the concept of passively dungeon-crawling is. And unlike real life, when the owner is away the cats do not play (as there is no offline progression).

In summary, Idle Cats Dungeon is a conceptually cute, casual, & simple game that presently lacks the nuance & depth needed to make it a fun idler long-term; however, with a bit of TLC, has the potential to be a great one.

Idle Cats Dungeon is one of those games that looks cute at first and pulls you in with the whole “number go bigger” vibe, but that’s kind of all there is to it. The art is nice and the cats are adorable, so it’s easy on the eyes while it runs.

Gameplay-wise though, it’s really barebones. You can automate your companions, but not your main character, which gets annoying pretty fast in what’s supposed to be an idle game. It ends up feeling more like a clicker you have to babysit than something you can just let run.

It also really lacks variety. I kept hoping for new areas or different enemies to shake things up, but it never really goes anywhere. There’s no real sense of challenge or progression either, so it doesn’t feel rewarding to keep playing.

Overall, it’s cute for a moment, but it wasn't fun at all and doesn't really grab your attention. I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you just want something super simple to click on for a bit or to have hanging on your screen.