Learn all about the solar system and constellations with a star-gazing feline in Cat’s Cosmic Atlas.  Guide the astronomer cat around a study as you float in space and gaze up at the night sky to read up on planets and stars in this educational interactive encyclopedia.  It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

The main menu is the cat’s study where you can walk around and select areas of interest.  You can toggle options and view what badges you’ve earned, as well as a dictionary that lists everything you can read in alphabetical order.  The globe will take you to where you can explore the solar system.  The cat dons a space helmet and you can make it swim around the planets.  When you come close to one, you can press a button to read facts about them,  You can also read about the planets’ moons and other important areas of our solar system.

On the left and right side of the cat’s study are chairs that you can jump on to exit a window and view either the north or south sky.  Here you can walk around the rooftops and clouds.  I would say there’s some platform jumping involved, but you automatically jump so not really.  When you reach a book, you can press the button and the stars will trace out a constellation, and then you can read about all sorts of facts on each one, including the brightest star in it, what myth it’s based on, and more.  They even list more modern constellations that scientists have discovered that don’t have a myth associated with them!

And that’s really all there is to Cat’s Cosmic Atlas.  Really more of an interactive encyclopedia than a game, though.  I would’ve liked to have seen it have more interactivity, like maybe let you trace the stars yourself to make the constellations, or tips on how you can view the stars and planets in real life.  But if you enjoy learning about astronomy, you might find this one at least somewhat fascinating.

Kid Factor:

Kids who love learning about planets and stars will enjoy this, but strong reading skill is required.  It might even be helpful if your kid is doing a research project on the solar system, constellations, or space in general.  Cat’s Cosmic Atlas is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews