Review: CAT GIRL WITHOUT SALAD: AMUSE-BOUCHE Is Ridiculous and That's Why It's Fun

WayForward recently dropped Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche on the Nintendo Switch and then they sent me a digital copy. This game is so ridiculous, it’s perfect for the situation right now where everyone is just done with everything while being shut-in. It combines a lot of the major gaming genres into a side-scrolling arcade shooter similar to Gradius (I did notice a distinct lack of dating sim).

The game is pretty simple at first. You play Kebako who is a cat girl bounty hunter. Each level you are going after a different bounty which so happens to be someone from your past. Now, you either tend to not remember the person or not get the full picture for each of these bounties, leading to some humorous dialogue. Kebako is pretty ditzy and will probably annoy some players, but others will think she’s hilarious.

So, how does a side-scrolling shooter fit all these different gaming genres? Through the weapons. Each weapon is a different genre, and it’s brilliant and annoying at the same time. My personal favorite was the Arcade Gun which shoots a catlike Pac-Man that you can then continue to control to deal a ton of damage. My least favorite is probably the puzzle gun which has you shoot colored orbs. If you get three to stick together it clears the screen, but that can be hard and annoying. Also, sadly you lose any weapon you have if you get hit, which can really make the game feel nigh impossible at times.

One aspect that I thought was interesting was that you only take damage if your small bow gets hit. This means your hair and body can get hit, but not hurt you. This is kind of nice, but in the end it doesn’t help too much.

The game is pretty challenging since your pea shooter doesn’t deal much damage, and if you get hit, you lose your more powerful guns. The different guns definitely add a different level of challenge, but as you get used to them it becomes more and more fun. Combine the level of fun with the level of ridiculousness, beautiful art, fun dialogue, and an incredible price of only $7.99 and you’ve got a big winner. You can purchase Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche now via the Nintendo eShop.