Draft:Purrfect Apocalypse

Purrfect Apocalypse

Purrfect Apocalypse’s first game in the series launching on Itch.io. in February 2019. Its gameplay is a visual novel game that features limited interactivity, primarily presenting 2D character images from a first-person viewpoint, along with occasional player choices that drive the story forward.

The game was created by 90% Studios, an indie team founded by Denny and Andy, who formed it in just two months to develop their debut game, Purrfect Apawcalypse.

Gameplay

Purrfect Apocalypse is a visual novel. As such, its gameplay has a low level of interactivity and consists of scenes with static two-dimensional images of characters in a first-person perspective, accompanied by occasional choices the player is required to make in order to advance the plot.

The story centers on Olive Higgins, a nervous dog hiding in a classroom closet after a tragedy has struck, leaving their classmates dead. Olive embarks on a quest to find a special companion to share in the grim reality of their apocalyptic world. Players can influence Olive's fate and that of their friends through various actions, leading to different endings. To survive, they must seek companionship, explore the school, and encounter both carnage and demon cats, all of which impact the outcome of the narrative. In the game, players meet various love interests: Patches, a bookworm Dalmatian; Sparky, an athletic Husky; and Brownie, a bold and cheerful Corgi; Coco, the Black Cat, a.ka. The killer witch; Angel, the ghost White Cat; Ginger, first introduced as the dead Bloodhound. Each character is vividly illustrated, tackling mature themes while maintaining a positive and engaging tone.

90% Studios created the Purrfect Apawcalypse series, and was released in April 2019. Founded by Denny and Andy, the team operates for about two months, with Denny overseeing most aspects except certain programming, music, and design elements. Andy, providing tech support, focuses on advanced programming and currently leads the Panel Royale project, using Renpy

Plot

The story introducing Olive Higgins, the main protagonist, is introduced as a nervous mutt hiding in a closet at the back of their classroom. Their classmates have been slaughtered. Olive decided to find a “special someone” to die within the apocalyptic world. In the game the player will be introduced to several love interests; Patches, a bookworm Dalmatian, Sparky, an athletic Husky, and Brownie, a bold and cheerful Corgi. Each character is brought to life through positive, appealing art that covers the more mature topics that lie left behind. Depending on the player's actions, Olive and their friends can end their lives in any number of ways. To survive, they must gain companionship, explore the school, find carnage, and demon cats along the way to determine the ending result they will reach.

Development

90% Studios (formerly known as 90% Knuckles) is the creative team behind the Purrfect Apawcalypse series. The studio was established by Denny and Andy, who successfully developed their first game, Purrfect Apawcalypse, within just two months.

Denny, the primary creator of Purrfect Apawcalypse, manages nearly all aspects of production, except some parts of the Persona designs consisting of the music, programming, and backdrop. During her college years, she created the first installment of the series as a practice project and as part of a game jam. The game's success inspired her to continue the series, leading to the development of a second and third installment.

Andy provides advanced technical support for the series, specializing in sophisticated programming tasks. In addition to contributing to the Purrfect Apawcalypse games, Andy is currently leading the Panel Royale project. While working on the Purrfect Apawcalypse series, he encountered and resolved several programming glitches, such as one involving a missing second ghost encounter and another where Brownie's affection levels disappeared during a specific event with Sparky. Despite these challenges, Andy consistently delivered high-quality work with exceptional efficiency.

The 90% Studios YouTube channel reveals that the team was inspired to create a series of visual novels that blend cute, anthropomorphic animal characters with dark, violent themes. Set in an alternate universe, the games feature occult magic, casual bloody violence, and dark comedy. Denny, the series' artist and story developer, credits her inspiration to Andrew Hussie's Homestuck, admiring his ability to integrate storytelling with music, games, and interactive elements.

As part of their creative approach, the team intentionally incorporates dark themes, such as death and suicide, to craft a unique blend of humor and serious subject matter. For the Purrfect Apawcalypse games, Denny uses the Sketch brush to create line art that aligns seamlessly with her character design style. However, the series underwent significant improvements over time, with Purrfect Apawcalypse 3 introducing new features such as achievements, additional opportunities to make Coco happy, a secret ending, and various other refinements.

Release

     Purrfect Apawcalypse was released at itch.io on February 20, 2019, and later on Steam. The game's soundtrack has been published on YouTube and SoundCloud, including 5 songs each. On October 29, 2019, 90% Studios' YouTube channel uploaded an additional Purrfect Apawcalypse audio soundtrack for 7 pieces. Each character has their own unique song. The unofficial Purrfect Apawcalypse Discord server has been available since October 2023 on the 90% Studios official website announcement, with the goal of providing a safe area for anyone interested in 90% Studios' games. 90% Studios also unofficially hold semi-regular game evenings and parties for their members. In February 2021, 90% studios uploaded new content to Purrfect Apawcalypse. The new upgrade includes full achievements and a new unknown ending.

Reception

Based on its performance across various online game store platforms in 2024, Purrfect Apawcalypse has garnered positive reviews from players. It holds a rating of 8.8/10 on TapTap, an overwhelmingly positive overall review on Steam with a score of 10/10 from 602 users, and a 4.8/5 rating on Itch.io from 466 reviewers.

    Reviewers commented that the game's unexpected influence on the player comes from its romantic quest, which features a variety of characters with unique personalities and backstories. One of the game's greatest benefits is its outstanding replayability. With so many routes and endings to discover, players will undoubtedly spend a significant amount of time investigating all of the available story sequences. Furthermore, the game's soundtrack has positive comments toward reviewers with a bright, lively, terrifying, and entertaining soundtrack. It fits perfectly to the game's activity and mood, including walking, working, relaxing, and even sleeping.

External links

• Steam game page
• Itch.io game page
• 90% studio game page
• Google play game page