Cat Mail Co. - PC Review

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Cat Mail Co. is a Simulation game from Maracas Studios. Their third game since starting out in 2024. It’s a cozy game that has you slightly understand what it means to own a post office that has a lot of traffic. But, I’m getting a head of myself. Let’s place the address to this review and see what stamp it’ll get.

Stick it, Stamp and play Tetris in your head when putting the mail on the ship!

Box wrapped with ropes on a counter in a blue-toned room with a map on the wall and a typed note saying, "Hello, I've brought something to ship." — My fellow feline…HOW DID YOU BRING THAT IN AND SLAMMED IT ON MY COUNTER!?

Gameplay

We come into our first day of running a nice post office that looks clean…until the first box gets pulled. Finding piles upon piles of mail someone thought they were slick to put away. However, you can clean the mess of forgotten mail over time and arrange it in your order. Spending about 20 minutes understanding how the storage system of this game works. Which after you understand how each shelf works for what size of mail fits.

Now, I hope you got all the different ways and terms for each and every size for mail. Because if you don’t, you’re going to learn today! You will have people coming in that gives you enough information to go off of. While others will give little to no clue who they are or what their name is! Luckily, we have the option to decline their request because who else are they going to get theirs from? The bank or another post office?! On which island!?

You will have incorporated into the gameplay scanners, specific rooms and devices. With the clearing the stacks upon stacks of mail, you’ll get to ship out the mail by ship! During the day and night cycle, you’ll be sending mail by way of the sea. However, you’ll be stuck with what the captain’s route is and that’s it. You’ll get more routes and rooms unlocked the more levels you unlock from sending the correct mail on the ship.

Alt text: Cartoon boat docked in a wooden pier with a cat captain visible inside, boxes and crates on deck, and a speech box with destination info. — I feel like a parcel company playing Tetris in my head.

Graphics and Audio

Everything minus the stamps and the map are completely in 3-d. The look of the polygons seem simple, but that is what makes this game as cozy as it is. Not a lot of information needed besides having a clean way to read the name on the package. I do love the fact that all the characters are cats. If you look around the office, you’ll find little things sprawled around the place like cat toys and balls of yarn. Even the paintings and images I found when sifting through all the loose mail.

The animation for the boat docking into the post office is actually pretty clean. Even the little details like falling into the water with the package gives the package some damage. And no, we didn’t need to use flex tape, just swap out the cardboard for a new one at the repair station. Eventually you love looking at the symbols for the different towns you’ll be sent mail out to and even the stamps you unlock and get to use.

Now the audio for the game is mostly characters saying Meow in different tones. However, what you’ll hear a lot in the game is boxes and the OST. The music for both day and night is so calming that I don’t feel stressed trying to find a place for all this mail! Weirdly enough, I found the sound of the cardboard being placed down like a nice bit of ASMR. Now I want to chew on some cardboard.

A cat character in a sweater stands behind a counter with a bell and a note about special catnip seeds needing refrigeration. — Sir…you’re lucky it’s legal to ship these greens!

Longevity

If you’re the kind of person who is trying to rush and complete the game, it’ll take a good 18 to 19 hours to just unlock everything. However, even when you reach that point, you can continue to play the game. Sure the process becomes second nature for you, but it’s just a nice chill game. I did play the entire game during my shift on my Steam Deck. Sure there were a few issues, but I was able to resolve it with the shortcuts to get to the keyboard.

Interior of a cozy room with wooden shelves and stacked boxes, illuminated by a hanging lamp, featuring packaged items and labels. — Look at my organized chaotic mess.

Final Thoughts

Cat Mail Co. was actually an unexpected game I felt like really needed at the time. It helps calm all the noise in my head to just help fellow cats send mail over to family and friends. Sure there are times that some of them made me want to put a laser pointer towards the door. However, it made it feel like I was part of a community on an island all over again. This game is a great addition to my cozy/brain off collection.

I give Cat Mail Co. the Thumb Culture Platinum Award

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

About Author

Ruddy Celestial

I’m a whimsical wizard of the arts, sprinkling creativity like confetti wherever they go. Known for their quirky concoctions of cosmic cats, fantastical feasts, and mischievous mermaids, My imagination knows no bounds.

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Cat Mail Co. – PC Review