Thinky Games

Portal meets Stray in the new demo for Schrodinger's Cat Burglar

Corey Hardt, 13 February 2025

Okay, I admit it, that headline might be a little bit of tongue-in-cheek clickbait on my part. But it's also one of the simplest ways to explain what Schrodinger's Cat Burglar is going for: this puzzle adventure puts you in the role of Mittens, a cute orange cat who was... doing a heist? Caught in the middle of one? I'm not sure it really matters: the point is, you've ended up with Quantum Powers. And that's where the puzzles come in.

You're running around science facilities and office environments as a cat, navigating as only a feline can, and when push comes to shove you can split yourself into two superpositions (I'm sure someone will tell me if I'm using that term incorrectly here.) Your orange-and-blue doubles can go separate ways and help each other overcome obstacles before joining back together. But things get complicated and "theoretical" if someone catches you in the act:

Being theoretical lets you pass through doors (that could theoretically have opened), and avoid detection by security (you can't detect what doesn't exist).

It does have drawbacks however - you can't use items or interact with the world until your quantum twin is no longer observed - then you can go back to both being plausible quantum possibilities.

I think I follow the implications being laid out, but it does give me pause while I sort it out in my head, and I suppose that's very much part of the intent in making a puzzle game built around quantum states.

Schrodinger's Cat Burglar has been in development quite a while, and now I can finally go put my understanding to the test in the newly released demo on Steam, where you'll also find the trailer which will give you a closer look at what the game's going for. Here's hoping the puzzles live up to the potential of the high concept.

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