Kitten Challenge

Ordinarily I'd consider a game about cats a washout. A pastime for an anxious person too delicate for the ravages of Dead Trigger 2.

You know, the type of individual who keeps sachets of Heinz tomato ketchup in their wallet, unable to bear the possibility of being boxed into a situation where Daddies is the only option.

So it was with a heavy sigh that I approached Kitten Challenge. I was expecting something fluffy, forgettable - the mobile gaming equivalent of a furry scatter cushion from the John Lewis summer sale.

My mistake, however, was focusing on the word "Kitten". "Challenge" is by far a more apt word to describe this addictive arcade platformer.

Cat-astrophically difficult

Your task is to guide a ginger kitty along a roller coaster. You have two main controls. Tapping the left hand side of the screen jumps kitty in the air, tapping the right lets him swing off his cart and dangle from the bottom.

Combining these moves allows you to dodge obstacles and collect rewards as you hurtle towards the tiny chequered flag at the end of the level.

It's a simple enough idea, but a dastardly difficult one to execute. Unless you possess cat-like reflexes you're going to struggle to even remember which side of the screen makes Ginger Kitten jump.

It's especially tough when you’re bolting towards five boulders that block both sides of an impossibly tiny stretch of track. Never have you needed nine lives more, making it all the more cruel that the game only gives you three.

Like classic games from the halcyon days of the NES, Kitten Challenge forces you to work your brain as furiously as your thumbs.

Passing each level requires a heady cocktail of patience, repetition, and memorisation. Don’t expect to race through on your first try.

Hurtle down memory lane

Gameplay isn't the only think Kitten Challenge lifts from old school titles. The art is gloriously retro, evoking memories of long-lost days steering the Mario Brothers through levels peppered by primary coloured obstacles.

Even the top right-hand corner's score tally looks like it fell straight out of a '90s platformer, and for that it is wonderful.

Perhaps the most exciting feature is the level editor. It provides players with the opportunity to craft their own track, replete with obstacles, flags, and collectibles.

The idea is still in beta but it's definitely promising. You can masochistically craft even harder routes if the punishing twists and turns of the main campaign aren’t enough, you self-flagellating maverick.

Basically, play this game at your peril. A few hours of brutally difficult gameplay, and you could easily be reduced to stuffing Heinz ketchup sachets in your pockets while muttering darkly about ginger kittens and hypersonic cart speeds.