a catfiend's impending relapse is a free action video game wherein you must investigate an anomaly happening inside a strange cavern. Developed by beetlestench, this 3D pixelated indie game is a low-poly sci-fi first-person POV platformer that features an anthropomorphic cat demon and an atmospheric environment to explore.

Similar to Lazr, a catfiend's impending relapse offers platforming gameplay that can be pretty difficult for most—mainly due to how directionless you start off. While the overall aesthetic and writing are superb for a sci-fi story, the game badly needs a tutorial on the controls and a proper settings menu.

You still got it

The plot of a catfiend's impending relapse revolves around the dangerous mission of Gil Kur, a Glislya specialist working at a prestigious academy. You play as this odd character, who had previously been addicted to the Glislya substance. Your current task is to investigate bacterial phenomena deep within the vacuum caverns of Greater Labyrinth. The road isn’t easy or smooth, though, so you need to keep your wits about you

Technically, the gameplay here is pretty simple. You just have to explore by jumping onto branches and platforms to see more of the disjointed map. What makes it difficult, however, is the lack of a proper tutorial for the controls. WASD is for movement, Spacebar is for jumping, and Shift is for running, among others. When you press Esc, though, it only displays a narrative option to exit the game. 

It not only lacks any settings, but it also doesn’t give you a clear hint on where to go next to progress. It doesn’t help that your surroundings are dim and foggy so it can be hard to spot just where you have to jump. The atmosphere is perfect when paired with the writing but it’s no fun when you can’t even figure out where the next path is.

A lot of missing features

All in all, a catfiend's impending relapse is an interesting platformer game if you’re into anthropomorphic characters, a cool sci-fi theme, and strange locations. The glitchy pixel art is cool enough for the setting and the dialogue illustrates your character well. However, it lacks a lot of features that would have otherwise improved its gameplay. It badly needs a tutorial and settings, among other things.