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AG Community Playthrough #34: The Cat Lady
Also what is this Downfall everyone keeps talking about?
I had no idea that there was a first game you should really play first.
Welcome everyone to The Cat Lady AGCP!!!
The Cat Lady is an indie adventure game created by Remigiusz Michalski on 2012 using Adventure Game Studio. It is something of a “prequel” of another Michalski game, named Downfall, that focuses on different characters in a different timeline in the same place.
Chapter 6 is named “The Legend of the Cat Widow”....new characters to meet (One of them is Joe Davis, the protagonsist in Downfall, another Michalski game, which storyline bends with The Cat Lady’s. See the introductory post for more details.
SoccerDude28 and Mikekelly, I suggest you read both my previous posts (introductory, green light to chapters 5 & 6) a bit more carefully.
I think it’s a little bit of a bummer that there was an expectation by the developer to play the first game. I’d love to play the first game, and I’m all for cameos, but it should have been subtle, and not so pronounced that you would not understand what the hell was happening if you haven’t played the prior game. It was the low point of chapter 6 (and probably the whole game so far) because it took away from my immersion.
I have to sadly, agree also.
Will not having played Downfall be a disadvantage here, or rather an advantage? And vice-versa, is this going to affect my future playthrough of Downfall???
Hmmm….perhaps there will be a moment or two here in Chapter 6 where you’ll say “WTF is going on???”, but considering the game’s metaphysic aspect is not something to be troubled with. It may even be an advantage to the effect since these are really strong moments too.
I disagree that someone has to play Downfall first to understand what is going on in The Cat Lady.
Downfall is even more surealistic than The Cat Lady and as I already mentioned, The Cat Lady has already many parts (not including any Downfall cameos) that are very surrealistic themselves and hard to understand what is going on anyway. I would go as far as saying that I consider not having any idea of Downfall an advantage, considering that the Joe Davis part is also a very tense and scary part of the game. Makes you feel EXACTLY the way Susan would.
SoccerDude28 and Mikekelly, I suggest you read both my previous posts (introductory, green light to chapters 5 & 6) a bit more carefully.
I went and re-read your posts after I asked about Downfall, and it still gave me zero idea what the hell happened in the Joe Davis side of the story. There are some other parts that are metaphysical I agree, but they did not confuse me. they all revolved around this other “death” world, and coming back to this one to exact vengence.
Anyways, I installed Downfall now, and I am going to play it to understand this more. Still feel that for me personally, it was a low point.
I went back to the Joe Davis part to test if there was possibilities for different outcomes on that storyline, so that I would not be spoiled without experiencing them by myself first (as it’s pretty likely someone would have chosen the different option) but it seems that there was no reason to try to change things. I did read the texts but that was way back they were written, it’s almost a week from the introduction to these latest chapters too, so I honestly didn’t remember a mention of a link to another game.
But I disagree with people saying that the event would stand out. To me it seemed to fit in the story quite seamlessly, only the ending of it was something different, which then is explained by the connection. The actual ending happens in another game. I felt the whole “sideplot” a nice introduction actually, it makes me want to play Downfall now. And if people were left wondering why things happened with Joe like they happened instead of the “normal” parasite scenarios, that’s exactly something people would be interested in -> google -> get Downfall.
I never picked an option in the legend where Mitzi intervened, even though I went through it twice. It just didn’t seem like a real legend with those choices, even if some of them were very funny. And btw, at least here in Finland we can call the emergency hotline even without a sim card.
Susan’s past had been rather obvious already by all the hints, at least the rough outlines of it. But the way the game told the story was still very good. At the start I was slightly confused a couple of times when the timelines first got screwed a bit, but by now all the jumps between times and realities flow pretty seamlessly.
Once again some great music and atmosphere, and scary moments. I like that there’s only a few of those jump moments (and even the few are usually pretty cool) and most of the horror focuses on psychological aspects and surreal and macabre imagery.
Currently Playing: Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
Recently Played: Red Embrace: Hollywood, Dorfromantik, Heirs & Graces, AI: The Somnium Files, PRICE, Frostpunk, The Shapeshifting Detective (CPT), Disco Elysium, Dream Daddy, Four Last Things, Jenny LeClue - Detectivu, The Signifier
We learned about Susan’s past. We defeated another parasite, simply by playing some piano music. We commited acts of vandalism in the building’s electricity system! We scared our neighbor to the verge of a heart attack!! And of course we broke into almost each and every appartment we could. But we finally made it.
The final chapter (named “Don’t Feed the Troll”) is upon us!!!
It is very, very small and you’ll have it finished in less than an hour. But I really wanted for us to finish the game around the same date. As usual, no deadlines for the last chapter. Just finish it already!!!
Remember, the ending depends of your choices within the game.
And when you do finish the game, here is a small reward for you to watch. A small video (made for the Cat Lady green light Steam release) with a scene that happens just a little after the events in the game. It has some really funny moments.
Finally, I would like to thank every one of you that contributed with your thoughts, ideas and enthusiasm into a wonderful playthrough.
Most of all, a big thank you to Rem for joining us and for creating such a great game that I personally consider a classic.
Until then, here are some memories from our soul journey in chapters 5 and 6….
The Pier Dream.
Memories of the past. As other people mentioned, the wall with the messages that reflect Susan’s thoughts was a great concept
The tragedy that changed it all. I admit that this was the part that touched me the least in the entire game. I found it too cliche for my style. Remember what many of us (me included) said in chapter 1 in Dr X’s office on the interview? Perfect childhood. Not all depressions are connected to a traumatic experience in the past. I was hoping for something better for Susan’s background. On the other hand, I found the wife-husband arguement was very realistic.
Parasite #4. Never thought of it as Susan’s secret admirer, but now that I do think of it, it really makes sense.
IMHO the game would have been better with more “subtle” parasites and fewer “gore-straight out of a horror film” stereotypical parasites.
Still like it though.
Creepiest. Toilet. Ever.
MISERY!!! My favorite scene in the entire game. One that I doubt you’ll forget that easy. Also, whoever hasn’t seen the 1990 movie (based on the Stephen King novel) with Kathy Bates stop here and go straight to your videostore. It is an amazing movie.
“Hello! My name is Rita Tickle!”
The floor map. I still try to find out what this 48+197 inthe bottom right corner means.
Various versions of the Cat Widow legend. Another great moment of the game, both in storytelling concept and execution.
Also, I love the giant, blood-soaked, zombie cat.
In case someone wants to know the Downfall story of Joe and Ivy Davis without playing the actual game: This is the story of Joe and his wife, Ivy. It was known that Ivy suffered from anorexia, which started when she wanted to lose some weight but it soon became an obsession. Joe had tried to stop her from starving herself, but his attempts only led to their deteriorating relationship. Joe’s mentality had also deteriorated (multiple personality disorder appeared), which led to him consulting with a psychiatrist name Dr. Frank Zellmann (also known as Dr. Z). Joe came to hate Dr. Z due to his “know-it-all” personality, which resulted in Joe killing him. Joe then kept Ivy in the basement of the apartment he lived in, feeding her smoothies made out of flesh in order to “save” her from her obsession.
Joe took Ivy on a little vacation and lodged at Quiet Haven Hotel for the night, hoping to find the doctor for her the following morning. Before they went to bed, amongst other mad outbursts, Ivy had Joe admit that their marriage was no longer the same, and she was planning on breaking it off once their vacation was over. Shortly after, he found out that the hotel was not as normal as it seemed and Ivy went missing. In all endings, Joe escaped from his apartment and fled to the apartment where Susan lives in The Cat Lady. It is still unclear whether Joe goes indeed into a killing spree or most of the stuff in Downfall happens inside his head.
Well, I for one am looking forward to this, the last chapter. I would call the plot of this game deep and thought provoking - in addition to being shocking, gory and violent.
It will be on my list of must replay games - I’m sure that more aspects of the plot and story will reveal themselves with multiple playthroughs.
So, here’s to finishing another excellent CP! Great fun!
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
Just finished the game and I’m NOT gonna miss you. 
Well I actually played the last chapter here several times, just to try out the consequence of all the different choices. Give Mitzi the gas mask or keep it yourself, blow or not blow out a candle, talk Mitzi out of shooting him or let her kill him as well as herself, kill him myself or let him live.
My first ending is however also both my cannon and by far my favourite ending.
[spoiler]Keeping the gas mask for yourself doesn’t really make any sense as we know we are immortal, standing up to the the Queen of Maggots doesn’t only fell good, but also like something that Susan would have to do, and it was pretty obvious that talking Mitzi out of shooting was the best solution. Not only because Mitzi and possibly Susan herself would die in the explosion, but also because it was very clear that it was what he wanted her to do, and he would have won if she shot. Besides I’m not really a revenge kind of guy, killing him to stop what he is doing if it is the only certain way to stop him, fine, but out of revenge, that is not really my style.[/spoiler]
Even on my original playthrough, I wasn’t one bit surprised that he was bound to a wheelchair with no other form of communicating than the computer, I kind of saw that one coming from a long distance. Okay, not that he was almost completely paralysed, but that he for some reason was limited to using a computer, instead of more actively killing his victims, that I did anticipate. I also never really believed Mitzi when she said that she just wanted to talk with him, if for no other reason than that would simply have been too “weak” or “good” compared to everything else happening in the game, so it didn’t surprise me at all when she pulled out a gun.
What else to say? The game pretty much ends the only way it could end, perhaps with the possible exception of Susan killing herself for real this time, but that would just have been too bleak and depressing an ending.
You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ
What else to say? The game pretty much ends the only way it could end, perhaps with the possible exception of Susan killing herself for real this time, but that would just have been too bleak and depressing an ending.
Did you get the “perfect” ending where Mitzi remains alive in the end?
What else to say? The game pretty much ends the only way it could end, perhaps with the possible exception of Susan killing herself for real this time, but that would just have been too bleak and depressing an ending.
Did you get the “perfect” ending where Mitzi remains alive in the end?
Well .. no 
In fact before you mentioned it, I didn’t even know it was possible. I also don’t know what you have to do to “magically” cure her of her cancer, avoid the panic attack? I did that, but not on the save file that I decided to continue with.
Either way, I’m not really a fan of Mitzi surviving, that is just too much Hollywood ending for my taste.
You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ
What else to say? The game pretty much ends the only way it could end, perhaps with the possible exception of Susan killing herself for real this time, but that would just have been too bleak and depressing an ending.
Did you get the “perfect” ending where Mitzi remains alive in the end?
Well .. no
In fact before you mentioned it, I didn’t even know it was possible. I also don’t know what you have to do to “magically” cure her of her cancer, avoid the panic attack? I did that, but not on the save file that I decided to continue with.
Either way, I’m not really a fan of Mitzi surviving, that is just too much Hollywood ending for my taste.
You have to do a number of “right” moves within the game, like rejecting The Queen of Maggots from the first time, not having a panic attack in Chapter 3, listen to Liz, solving the riddle of the crow, refusing to blow the candle in the end, etc. But in the end, I agree with you that it is too good for my taste.
I just finished the game for the first time. I’m not sure how many endings can be obtained, but anyway I got the following:
- First… I gave Mitzi the gas mask, I thought it was what I would do, plus we know that Susan can avoid her own death, actually not “avoid” but she can reborn once more and that’s what I did. By the way… I loved the scene of the two of them embraced, with Mitzi with the mask on .. I loved it <3. Then when I met with Queen of Maggots I refused to blow her candles, I simply said no.(I had already refused her proposal at the beginning of the game).
- Regarding Adam, I imagined that there could be something wrong or weird with him, but I did not think his situation would be as extreme as it was, ie .. completely paralyzed was not something I had in mind. Beyond that: at first I tried to talk to Mitzi to prevent her from shooting Adam, just letting her know of the gas tubes in the room, but at Mitzi’s insistence.. and considering also that I do not think Susan is very good at giving positive advice, I finally said, “Fine, kill him” and that was my ending.
[spoiler]Mitzi : (
(I’m not a lover of happy endings I must admit, they always seem fake to me).
I’ll try to get another ending, just out of curiosity, I will try to keep the gas mask for Susan and will also try to prevent Mitzi to shooting Adam ... .. We will see..
Oh and before I forget, I also want to thank Rem for joining us, It was great to have him here.
” I remember. Somebody died. It was me.”
~
Firstly I need to admit that I didn’t notice I could throw out the blown up burger from my inventory before I had actually played the game once through. Talk about irony of carrying your past mistakes with you.
I tried out different things in the end but none of them changed the “actual ending”. Only the way Mitzi died and “details” like that. It’s not possible for me to get the perfect ending without going back to chapter 2 so I’ll let it be. I wouldn’t believe a happier ending anyway. This was pretty damn happy already considering everything Susan went through.
I didn’t really spend too much time thinking about Adam but it’s not like any twists and turns here and there really surprised me. I think there was plenty of hints about all the issues throughout the game. Nothing was supposed to be a “huge shocking revelation”. I even called Queen of Maggots representing Susan’s depression as the whole “only takes and never gives” thing just seemed so fitting description to depression.
The game was awesome. I seriously think I might need to make some room on my top 10 list now. Of course it can also be the antidepressants talking. They’ve started kicking in during this playthrough and basically I get more joy and sense of accomplishment from managing to stick an USB drive to my computer than what I did from hours of school work a few months ago.
Currently Playing: Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
Recently Played: Red Embrace: Hollywood, Dorfromantik, Heirs & Graces, AI: The Somnium Files, PRICE, Frostpunk, The Shapeshifting Detective (CPT), Disco Elysium, Dream Daddy, Four Last Things, Jenny LeClue - Detectivu, The Signifier
I’m done now too, pretty enjoyable overall. I liked the ‘normal’ adventure game parts especially, wasn’t so keen on the horror/gore elements really.
Regarding chapter 7:
I gave Mitzi the gas mask of course – Susan’s immortal!
Stood up to Queen of Maggots, as I had in the beginning.
Talked Mitzi out of killing Adam.
Ending - Mitzi dies of cancer, Susan making a go of it.
Did you get the “perfect” ending where Mitzi remains alive in the end?
Thought you were joking at first! Agree with the others that this just wouldn’t feel right.
Glad this came up for the CPT, I’ve had it installed for >1year but probably would have never got round to playing it otherwise.
Cheers
Nod
I’m done now too, pretty enjoyable overall. I liked the ‘normal’ adventure game parts especially, wasn’t so keen on the horror/gore elements really.
After playing several run of the mill point and click adventure games, this game is amazing - very, very different in pretty much every aspect. I actually enjoyed the horror/gore aspects. The game is a refreshing change of pace from the norm.
I can see why many people put this game in their all time top ten best adventure lists.
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
I’ve just finished The Cat Lady (yet again) & have seen all the endings except for the ‘Hollywood’ one which I dearly wanted this time but yet again it escaped me!
I don’t know what to think about what the The Eye of Adam was doing – yes! he was tipping people over the edge to commit suicide but I couldn’t help thinking that his loving & devoted father (who must have set up that poisonous fish-tank for him!) perhaps denied the fact that his son was promoting something he wanted for himself i.e. to die but incapable of doing so without help? I gave the gas mask to Mitzi & let her shoot him as I think that’s what he wanted - as evil as ’Adam’ seemed I really don’t believe that anyone would entertain an internet site like that unless you were in a suicidal frame of mind anyway - perhaps it was a cry for help from ‘Adam’ & I wasn’t cruel enough to commit him to a life of more misery in the state that he was in by committing him to nursing care without any means of stimulation despite his prompting of others taking their own life if that makes sense
I found it a very interesting game with lots of metaphorical stuff relating to depression & a wonderful story about friendship & rapport as that between Susan & Mitzi along with the real-life investigation of the flats in the building in Chapter 6 - another favourite chapter! Rita Tickle was a little too pushy for my liking as a child-minder but on the other hand she was quite committed & possibly perfect for the job (as thick as she was)? I didn’t quite get the whole scenario with Joe Davis & thought that maybe it was just a glimpse of something that had happened previously that Susan was susceptible to seeing the past events of particularly after she fell through the floor i.e. he wasn’t really there ?
I did get the feeling that Susan was already on the road to depression on account of her seemingly bad relationship with her husband Eric before the death of her baby but then followed by him drinking himself to death - just so sad
I’d loved to have said more but it really is an amazing, very thoughtful game with quite a few subtle variations, an imaginative use of the AGS game engine & great voice-acting!
Thank you Sefir for leading this playthrough & your eye-opening revelations as to variations & I’ve enjoyed reading so much all of the comments from other participants here also!
Also thank you Rem for taking the time to look in & post here - I’ve certainly appreciated your comments! 
I don’t know what to think about what the The Eye of Adam was doing – yes! he was tipping people over the edge to commit suicide but I couldn’t help thinking that his loving & devoted father (who must have set up that poisonous fish-tank for him!) perhaps denied the fact that his son was promoting something he wanted for himself i.e. to die but incapable of doing so without help?
In my case I must admit that because it is the first time I played it some situations could go undetected for me, but once I pay a little more attention into some detail some questions and hypotheses begin to emerge in me, perhaps seeking an explanation to certain details, for example as you imply : ¿Who then set up the fish tank in the first place? It must have been his father, if Adam was in a chair with a total inability to move it is clear then that his father must have been the manpower of all this macabre spectacle, maybe his father also wanted that. .. die.
For me… the ending I got is probably the “best” possible ending, I think. [spoiler]Give the gas mask to Mitzi and let her fulfill what she craved, her personal vendetta. In no time I thought “But if I kill him then I will be doing what Adam wants, he will have achieved what he wanted”, because to be honest ... I did not care at all about Adam, I did not care what what he wanted or not wanted, I put myself on Mitzi’s shoes and at that time the “best” thing to do was kill him .. I did not care if I (as Mitzi) died too by doing it, because she was there for that reason .. as Mitzi told Susan ” Did you think I wanted to have a coffee with him?”. She already had cancer and had lost someone she loved, so… there was no turning back for her. I thought in that room that the best that could happen it would be that everyone die (Susan included), right there, at that moment, all their pain should end there, that’s what should happen, no happy endings [/spoiler]... Perhaps a catastrophic ending, but at least I thought that’s how everything had to finish.
Anyway, I also enjoyed the game very much, and I felt many times especially during the first part of the game closely related to Susan and her way of seeing things and her responses to certain questions, and I hadn’t felt related to a character and way of seeing things in a long time. Maybe it’s because I also suffer from depression and I felt there was a character who could express at some point how it is.
Besides, it is a beautifully game, perverse, with some gore, with a lot of emotional and metaphorical content and with some voices and a soundtrack really cool!
Oh and thanks to Sefir for leading the playthrough of this fantastic game.
” I remember. Somebody died. It was me.”
~
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