Hackycat Review – Animal cruelty in a cute fashion

Our rating:

By: Kenneth Wong

Version #: 1.0.2

Date Released: 2013-03-14

Developer: Kenneth Wong

Price: 0.99

User Rating:

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The first impression Hackycat struck upon me was how cute the kitties were, but once the game commenced I found myself cringing instead.

Gameplay is focused in a similar way to the traditional Asian game of Sepak Takraw, where a ball is kicked and juggled around by players in the air over a period of time. Except in this game, cute little doodled kittens are the ones being kicked around in the air by beach goers to accumulate points. The objective of the game is to keep the kitten in the air while collecting items that sporadically appear throughout the round. As the game progresses more kittens can be unlocked, each cute in their own rights.

But what really bothered me was the message the game was indirectly sending across. Evidently targeted at the younger audience, it seems to be saying that animal abuse is acceptable and just. It gives kids the impression that kicking your cat, or other animals for that matter, around is but fun and games and it really isn’t that big a deal.

In the app description it even says ”all the cool kids are playing this”. I really do wonder what the developers are trying to carry across towards our younger generation.

So while the gameplay itself is rather engaging, I wouldn’t recommend this app for download. I do not understand why the developers had to use pets, and capitalize on their cuteness rather than say, a ball or some other form of acceptable item.