Stars in the Trash (Switch)
The feline platformer Stars in the Trash is a bit of an animation showcase. With a cartoon style similar to films like Oliver & Company or All Dogs Go to Heaven, the most eye-catching part of the experience is definitely how the game aims to animate its feline hero and the world he’s in. The illustrated backgrounds and the appealing movements of the characters can be charming and nostalgic, but while it can be nice to look at, it does feel a bit like Stars in the Trash leans far too much on its looks and forgets to show such care elsewhere.
Stars in the Trash is the story of a cat named Moka, although the narrative is wordless save a few signs so you might not even pick up his name. Moka lives the life of a pampered pet, but as cats are wont to do, this doesn’t stop him from causing mischief like knocking things off shelves or ruining upholstery with his claws. The game begins mostly with moments around the house meant to be cute and recognizable to pet owners, letting you be the one to cause the trouble for a change, but Moka mostly gets away with causing trouble and even seems dead set on escaping out into the world. It’s a little hard to get a feel for Moka’s thoughts or emotions though, something that starts to let down this short two hour game’s thin story a fair bit once he does head out onto the town.
While there’s a stray feline who catches his eye that proves to develop a bit of an interesting relationship with Moka, the game’s lack of words not harming that little thread, we also have the tale of a vindictive dog catcher in the area who actively feeds local rats specifically so they can be problems for the stray pet population. He is cartoonishly evil through and through which isn’t a problem itself, but we also have a few unfortunate dogs roped into this narrative. Moka’s owners also have a handicapped dog who uses a small wheelchair to get around who goes traveling around town trying to find the lost cat to their own misfortune, and Moka never really seems to grow over the adventure or even comprehend much of the results of his selfish actions. In some ways, this is a bit true to life for how cats may not seem appreciative or still cause mischief despite it, but Stars in the Trash seems like it wants to make a sentimental and touching narrative, especially since the game’s trailer uses voiceover to try and add in the kind of personal growth you’d expect from the game’s events. In game though, Moka feels unappreciative and unrepentant, not exactly bad at heart since there are times he does the right thing, but it doesn’t feel like Stars in the Trash measures up to the animated animal movies it looks like because its story doesn’t have much of an arc or clear personality for its lead.
Looking past the plot, Stars in the Trash isn’t a particularly involved side-scrolling platformer either. Moka’s walk about town and through some nearby natural spaces will let you see some nice sights, but despite some human level puzzle solving smarts, Moka is mostly limited to what a can cat reasonably do. You’ll pounce about, sometimes swipe at things with your paws, and overcome a good deal of obstacles either by climbing or moving things around. Usually when there is some trial or puzzle you can just look at the screen and there’s little room to miss the solution, although it is possible Stars in the Trash is aiming for younger or inexperienced players as well so some simpler trials to overcome isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are a few points where it gets a little tougher, such as figuring out how to utilize a pneumatic tube to break a window or climbing up ledges on a clock tower as the dog catcher is after you. However, other points feel like they’re missing the intended impact. One point there is a large threatening fish in the water that feels like it is meant to be this looming presence chasing you from below, but the way forward is all too obvious and it has no hope of catching up unless you specifically let it. Many moments are just interactive enough to keep the game from just being about walking unopposed to your next destination, but the gameplay is often too straightforward and thus it adds little to the adventure.
A few rare fights do emerge during the story, although mashing attack is normally enough to deter the rats responsible, but Stars in the Trash does try to throw in a bit of optional content to give you a little more to do. When these aren’t just cute little moments which feature a cat acting like a cat, these will involve finding things like beckoning cat statues, playing with rubber balls, or resting at napping spots. These are achievements on other platforms but in the Switch release they are sadly untracked and feel a little meaningless for it, especially since the same animation will play every time you do interact with these optional objectives that usually aren’t even too hard to find since they’re often just a bit off to the side on the obvious small branch away from the path onward. If anything, they do the animation a bit of a disservice since you’re seeing the same action repeated without alteration, although there are some weak directing choices involving the presentation at times as well.
Some moments lack the sound effects or musical accompaniment needed to better bring them to life, sentimental scenes usually given some care but peril is often underwhelming even when you are witnessing something like Moka almost getting run over by a car. While we didn’t need things to get dark, some parts feel a little unfinished because of the sound design coming up short, and that might prep you to start noticing things like a scene where Moka’s little trot through a few areas looks like he’s not even walking in the environment but just walking over pictures. Individual instances may not be bad, but they add up as you go from simply seeing the seams in the style to wondering how such things escaped the development team’s notice.
THE VERDICT: Stars in the Trash feels like playing someone’s animation portfolio, and as nice as it is to see some cute and expressive cartoon pets move around, you will find yourself aching for a better story and platforming to go along with it. Stars in the Trash didn’t need a captivating narrative, but the wordless plot can sometimes undermine its sentimental spots since its visuals and events don’t properly weave even a simple sappy story. The puzzles and navigation are usually pretty plain as well, but they could have been serviceable if there were extra challenges or just a good enough heart to it all. Instead, it feels like all the heart when into the appealing animation, the game’s title unfortunately feeling like it refers to the one bright light in an otherwise low quality adventure.
And so, I give Stars in the Trash for Nintendo Switch…
A BAD rating. I try not to judge a game too harshly in comparison to another that did it better, but I couldn’t help but compare Stars in the Trash to a previous well-animated feline platformer I played called The Purring Quest. Imagine my shock then when at one point in the game you see a boy playing The Purring Quest on his television set because Stars in the Trash is in fact made by the very same development team, Valhalla Cats. Previously, I had just thought that The Purring Quest better added in extra activities with its collectibles and better handled its platforming and action bits, even doing its simple but sentimental story well enough by comparison. Now though, it’s a bit sad to see what feels like a regression in design. Stars in the Trash leans far too much on its animation but it needed other ideas to help bolster it beyond a nice look. Moka’s hard to empathize with since his story isn’t being told the best despite the game’s trailer pretty much laying out what they wanted you to feel. The game’s events don’t communicate it well enough, but even if you come in with the outside knowledge and give it the benefit of the doubt, you will still run into a game that’s far too plain elsewhere to the point it feels like puzzles and platforming were a true afterthought. There may be a brief spark like a point where you’re working with a stray cat to navigate the equipment of a construction area, but it doesn’t go far enough and leaves you wishing it could commit to more involved action even if it might have made this game a little bit harder for less experienced players.
Stars in the Trash may appeal to animal lovers still, and since there’s not too much friction in the experience, they can get to the silly cat antics or cute moments without much concern. Stars in the Trash should have been more though, and I don’t mean that in the generic way you can say any piece of media can be improved. Valhalla Cats should have an understanding of the very type of game present here, but whether it was getting too wrapped in making this game look even better than The Purring Quest or possibly taking the wrong lesson from some player feedback to their last title, they ended up making a step down from their previous video game. The core designers on the team didn’t seem to have changed in the almost nine years between their two games, and while it feels like they dropped the ball in their second go at this idea, perhaps one day they can hone things into a third cat-based platformer that is more even in design and doesn’t require you to overlook weak points to enjoy the cute kitty’s adventure.