It may not be easy to simply judge a game from its appearance. Flappy Bird was the most recent example. Its sudden surge was one of weirdest things that’s ever happened in the iOS gaming world. But one thing is for sure, it has its own share of uniqueness that makes it go viral. In this sense, Naughty Kitties, a recent installment of Coconut Island Games Limited, could serve as another excellent example of how simple gaming mechanics can work magic.

To be honest, the screenshots of Naughty Kitties on iTunes are not at all impressive. And that’s why my first impression of the game was that it could be another shoot’em up kind of game with just a kitty theme. But it didn’t take long before I found myself thoroughly wrong.

It’s about the fighting of the cats, that’s for sure. A group of aliens are attempting to attack the homeland of cats. All the adults on the planet lie in the dust. Only some kittens make their way out with a spaceship. Your in-game task is to guide them in their fight against the aliens and break through the encirclement. You are the last hope of the Cat Planet.

Every inch matters, as the spaceship is trying to make its way to escape. The farther you can make, the better you will score and the more coins you will earn. But it’s bound to be a perilous journey. You will have to encounter missiles, bombs, and occasionally enemy ships. It’s your task to deploy the kitten warriors to fend off the attacks.

You are given three types of kittens at first - DADADA, an experienced shooter full of curiosity, Chou-chou, who is capable of repairing the ship and Chii, who can launch fish-like missiles. New cats with different abilities can be unlocked with fish, the hard currency in the game.

The strategic challenge actually lies in which cats you choose and how you make use of them. Before each journey begins, you are granted a chance to pick up the cats you are gonna use and feed them with food, which can make them happy and stay longer on ship. In the first levels, there are three slots on the ship for the deployment of cats. If the three slots are filled with the same type of cat, a combo will be triggered. The combo will enable the cats to shoot or repair faster, but also consumes more energy. Whether you can make good use of the combos is a great part that affects how far you can go.

As game progresses, you will be allowed to access new ships or upgrade your current ship for better HP, and capacity.There are totally five ships with different appearance and abilities. Each of the ship provides you with a totally different gaming experience.

The game monetizes though fish and coins. The fish, which can be used to unlock new cats and buy new lives, is something you can only gain through IAP or completing certain quests. While the coins can be earned in each trip and used to buy new ships, upgrade cats’ abilities and more.

Tower defense and endless running games are something we’ve been familiar with for a long time. But it’s until today that we see a combination of the two. It’s definitely a bold move to mix the seemingly irrelevant two, but they seem to be working surprisingly great in one package. Naughty Kitties is tons of fun to play as you unlock more cats, ships, and aiding gadgets. Every trip is new, challenging and certainly full of surprises. As long as you put your hands on it, you will have a hard time putting it down.

View and Download on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/naughty-kitties/id778378115?mt=8