Travellin Cats in USA Review

The Latest Postcard From a Beloved Hidden-Cat Franchise

Travellin Cats in USA is the newest entry in solo developer Patrick's long-running "Cats Hidden in..." series, a franchise that has quietly built a devoted following on Steam through simple, hand-drawn hidden-object scenes stuffed with camouflaged kittens. This installment sends players hunting through six American cities — Las Vegas, San Francisco, New Orleans, Seattle, Boston, and New York — each rendered as a single large, richly detailed illustration where dozens of cats are tucked into windows, signage, foliage, and architectural details. With 33 English-language reviews at 94% positive (31 English-total reviews across all languages sit at 91% positive), the reception continues the series' pattern of near-universal warmth from an audience that knows exactly what it's getting and keeps coming back for more.

The core hook that distinguishes this series from generic hidden-object clones is the way each scene doubles as two puzzles in one: every level can be played in full color or switched to black-and-white, with the cats in identical positions but far harder to spot against the desaturated backdrop. As one reviewer explains, "the levels are the same, with the cats in the same positions, it is still challenging because there are so many of them, and they perfectly blend with the background, be it white or the background colour" — a simple toggle that effectively doubles the game's content without doubling its production cost, and reviewers consistently point to it as one of the smartest design decisions in the franchise.

Small Interactive Touches Add Life to Static Scenes

Beyond the core cat-hunting loop, reviewers repeatedly highlight the small animated flourishes scattered through each city scene: Ferris wheels and bicycles that start moving once all their nearby cats are found, birds and butterflies that flutter away when clicked, planes that drift across the skyline, each accompanied by light ambient sound design. One detailed review breaks down several of these touches specifically, noting how satisfying it is to trigger a mechanism after finally spotting every cat hidden around it — turning what could be a flat, static search into something with a small sense of reward and discovery baked into the environment itself. A hidden bonus level, described by multiple reviewers as an old postcard densely packed with especially well-camouflaged kittens, is singled out as one of the hardest and most memorable challenges in the game, to the point that community-made guides had already sprung up to help players spot its trickiest hiding spots.

The presentation continues to be a series strength. Reviewers consistently praise the hand-drawn art style as "gorgeous" and note a noticeable jump in production values for the soundtrack specifically, with one long-time fan calling it "beyond incredible, and a massive leap forward from the beloved past jingles." For a franchise built on a simple, repeatable formula, that kind of incremental polish across entries matters — several reviewers frame this specifically as the best-looking and best-sounding installment in the series to date rather than simply more of the same.

A Comfort Game With a Loyal, Vocal Following

What stands out most in the review pool isn't any single mechanic but the depth of goodwill the developer has built with a returning audience. Multiple reviewers describe the games as genuinely therapeutic, with one writing plainly, "I find these games so therapeutic and helpful for my anxiety. I know that I can just boot this game up, hunt some cute cats and soon I will calmed and feel better." Others frame their support in almost fan-club terms — "Greatest franchise in all of gaming" and "The Dev also puts so much passion into these and it really shows" are typical of the tone across the pool. That kind of loyalty is rare for a low-priced casual title, and it speaks to a developer who has clearly earned trust through consistency rather than hype.

The negative reviews in the pool are notably narrow in scope rather than broadly critical. The most common complaint isn't about the hidden-object gameplay at all, but about how faithfully (or unfaithfully) individual city illustrations capture real-world landmarks — one reviewer, self-identified as a lifelong Bostonian, was disappointed that their city's scene amounted to "a lighthouse, a church, and some ivy," while another flagged the Las Vegas and Boston artwork specifically as less compelling than the rest. Notably, even that reviewer hedges their criticism, acknowledging it's a personal, hometown-pride complaint rather than a flaw that would bother most players, and stops short of recommending against the purchase. There's essentially no criticism in the pool aimed at the core puzzle design, controls, or technical execution — the post-launch patches so far have addressed minor memory optimization and visual scaling issues rather than anything more substantial.

A Short, Polished Entry That Rewards Series Fans Most

Some reviewers are candid that the overall runtime is brief — one notes the game includes just five main levels plus two hidden bonus levels, and even enthusiastic fans describe finishing the core content in a single sitting before returning for achievement hunting or a second black-and-white pass. At $3.99, that trade-off reads as reasonable rather than stingy, particularly given the color/black-and-white doubling mechanic and the genuinely difficult postcard bonus level extending replay value well past a first clear. This is a game built for a specific kind of player — someone who wants a calm, low-stakes, visually charming way to spend an hour or two — rather than one chasing depth or challenge, and it succeeds cleanly within that narrow, well-understood lane.

Verdict

Travellin Cats in USA doesn't reinvent its developer's formula, and it doesn't need to: it refines a proven hidden-object structure with a clever color/monochrome toggle, charming hand-drawn cityscapes, and small interactive rewards that make searching feel purposeful rather than tedious. It's a brief, gentle experience best suited to existing fans of the series and anyone looking for a cozy, low-pressure puzzle game rather than a lengthy campaign. Recommended for hidden-object and cat-game enthusiasts alike; newcomers unsure about the price point can look to the franchise's long, consistently well-received back catalog as reassurance that this is a safe, satisfying pick.