CLAWPUNK

Nine lives, nine cats, one villainous corporation

CLAWPUNK is developer Kittens in Timespace's melee-focused 2D action game, published by Megabit Publishing and released 14 November 2025 for Windows. The premise is deliberately, gleefully simple: Feral City has fallen to a villainous corporation, and it's up to a squad of nine fierce feline heroes, each granted the traditional nine lives, to scratch, claw and explode their way back to control. Structurally, the game unfolds across five distinct zones, each built from nine stages capped by a boss fight, asking players to fight, dash and destroy their way toward each stage's exit while chasing the highest score possible, a scoring-driven, "push-forward" design the game's own store page describes as rewarding aggression with devastating abilities rather than punishing players for taking risks.

A roster reviewers say earns every one of its nine lives

The single most consistent thread running through CLAWPUNK's review corpus is specific enthusiasm for its cast of playable characters. Reviewers repeatedly note that the game's own free demo, while well-liked, undersells the finished product, with one detailed review writing that "once you start getting into the meta progression and the extra characters," the game opens up considerably, singling out an early unlock, a cat who fights from atop a pogo stick and throws dynamite as a self-destructive stun attack, as evidence of just how varied the roster's individual playstyles get. That structural choice, framing each unlockable cat as an extra life for a run rather than a purely cosmetic pick, draws its own specific credit, with reviewers describing genuine motivation to keep unlocking new characters purely to see how their kit changes the moment-to-moment combat, a design one detailed review calls the game's "main signature feature."

Hand-drawn cutscenes, a stacked cast of voices, and a soundtrack reviewers keep naming

Presentation draws consistent, specific praise across CLAWPUNK's corpus. Multiple reviewers single out the game's hand-drawn cutscenes and voice acting, with one detailed review specifically naming voice actor Christopher Tester's performance as "nice to listen to" despite an intro sequence that reviewer felt ran slightly long, while also noting Greg Sestero, known for The Room and Disaster Artist, voices one of the game's unlockable cats. The game's metal and punk-inflected soundtrack earns its own repeated, independent credit, with reviewers describing music that "keeps you moving" and complements the game's chaotic pace, one reviewer specifically praising a character-themed track as "metal af." Pixel art and enemy variety draw further specific praise, with reviewers describing high-quality sprite work and a roster of enemies varied enough to keep individual stages feeling distinct across the game's five zones.

A visibility problem on small screens, and a corpus still finding its size

Set against that enthusiasm, CLAWPUNK's lone negative review at time of writing centres on a specific, practical complaint: playing on Steam Deck. That reviewer describes sprites as "too small" and failing to "stand out well from the background until you're right next to them," rendering the handheld experience effectively unplayable by their account. A smaller, related concern echoes in an otherwise strongly positive review, which praises the game's soundtrack, character design and memorable environments while separately noting the game's zoomed-out camera can make smaller enemies difficult to spot amid combos, turning some encounters into what that reviewer calls "a high stakes game of 'Where's Waldo.'" Beyond that specific visibility thread, the current review corpus, twenty- two total reviews at time of writing, is notably small but detailed, with reviewers consistently crediting hardcore and Ironcat difficulty modes for extending the game's replay value well past a first playthrough.

A precision-platformer pedigree beneath the chaos

Beneath its irreverent premise, CLAWPUNK's design leans on the mechanical discipline of a precision platformer as much as a beat-'em-up. One detailed review describes the core structure plainly: five zones of nine stages each, every stage built around locating an exit at the lowest point of the level while navigating traps, explosives and pitfalls alongside hostile enemy hordes, a layout that rewards route-reading and careful movement as much as raw combat aggression. That same reviewer credits the game with "solid controls and a responsive combat system," a foundation that several other reviewers echo when praising how distinctly each unlocked cat changes not just combat options but the way a stage's platforming challenges have to be approached, whether that means a dynamite-throwing pogo stick fighter clearing gaps differently than a more traditionally-grounded melee cat, or a ranged-focused character favouring a slower, more deliberate route through a stage's hazards. Destructible environments compound that variety further, with reviewers noting that levels can be reshaped mid-run by the chaos of combat itself, adding an improvisational element on top of the game's already varied character roster.

Value

At NZ$15.75, CLAWPUNK asks a modest price for a stylish, character-driven arcade action game, and its currently small but strongly Positive review base, twenty-one positive against a single negative review, reflects genuine enthusiasm for its roster variety, presentation and soundtrack. That reception comes with the caveat of a still-limited sample size, and the one specific technical complaint on record, poor visibility on Steam Deck, is worth taking seriously for anyone planning to play primarily on a handheld screen. For fans of chaotic, melee-focused 2D action platformers with roguelite-style character unlocks, CLAWPUNK is a strong, well-regarded pick at its price; for players who mainly game on Steam Deck, the current review corpus suggests sticking to a desktop or larger display first, at least until visibility settings or scaling options are addressed in a future update.