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PUZZLE
Six Cats Under Review: A Game Jam Ghost Story That's Better Than It Has Any Right To Be
I've played approximately seven thousand cat-themed indie games at this point, and I was ready to dismiss this one before I even clicked. But Team Bean Loop made something here that actually works, and now I'm sitting here like some kind of fool, charmed by a game jam project.
Paul
February 15, 2026
6.5
Overall Score
"Six Cats Under is what every game jam project should aspire to be: focused, polished within its scope, and actually fun to play."
First Impressions (Or: Another Cat Game, Really?)
Listen, I see a cat-themed puzzle game and my eyes glaze over faster than a Krispy Kreme production line. The itch.io indie scene has approximately one million cat games, and 999,000 of them are lazy asset flips banking on the internet's obsession with felines. So when I loaded up Six Cats Under, I was already composing my scathing takedown in my head. Except Team Bean Loop had to go and make something that's actually good, didn't they? The premise grabbed me immediately: you're a ghost using poltergeist powers to rescue your cats. Not guide them gently. Not solve environmental puzzles while they watch. You're literally haunting objects to make your cats move. That's the kind of conceptual hook that makes me sit up and pay attention, even when I'm three energy drinks deep into a reviewing marathon and ready to call it quits. The game opens with minimal fuss and gets straight to the point, which is exactly how game jam projects should work but rarely do.
Poltergeist Puzzles: Physics-Based Cat Wrangling
The gameplay loop is deceptively simple but actually well-executed. You click on objects in the environment to possess them, then use your spooky ghost powers to move things around and create paths for your cats. It's point-and-click puzzle solving with a supernatural twist, and the physics interactions feel satisfying in that early-2010s Flash game kind of way—which I mean as a compliment, back when browser games had soul. The puzzles start easy and ramp up at a reasonable pace, never becoming frustrating enough to make me alt-F4 in rage. Each level presents a spatial challenge where you need to figure out which objects to manipulate and in what order. It's not going to blow your mind with complexity, but it doesn't need to. The game knows exactly what it is: a focused, short-form puzzle experience that respects your time. My only real complaint is that some solutions feel a bit too obvious, and I never hit that satisfying 'aha!' moment that the best puzzle games deliver. But again, game jam constraints, so I'm grading on a curve here.
Art and Audio: Surprisingly Cohesive
Here's where Six Cats Under really surprised me. Most game jam projects look like they were assembled in MS Paint during a caffeine-fueled panic session at 3 AM. This one has an actual art style—a charming, minimalist aesthetic that feels intentional rather than rushed. The colors work together, the character designs are distinctive, and the overall presentation has personality. It's not going to win awards at the Independent Games Festival, but it's miles ahead of the typical itch.io visual mess. The audio design deserves specific praise because it doesn't actively assault my eardrums, which is more than I can say for 80% of indie games I review. There's atmospheric sound work that sells the ghost premise without being obnoxious about it. The cat sounds are mercifully not overused—developers, please take note: just because your game has cats doesn't mean I need to hear meowing every three seconds. The whole audiovisual package feels considered, like the team actually thought about cohesion instead of just slapping together whatever free assets they found first.
The Heartwarming Problem (Yes, That's a Problem)
The game's description mentions a 'heartwarming narrative,' and here's where I need to have a word with Team Bean Loop directly: you made me feel things about rescuing digital cats, and I'm not happy about it. The simple premise of a ghost trying to save their beloved pets has more emotional weight than it has any right to have in a game jam project. There's no dialogue, no cutscenes, just environmental storytelling and implied attachment, and somehow that works. It's the kind of understated narrative that hits harder than overwrought indie games trying to make me cry with their heavy-handed symbolism. I'm reminded of the best parts of games like Puppeteer or even old LucasArts adventures, where charm and personality carried the experience without needing to explain everything. That said, the story is paper-thin if you actually examine it, but for a 45-minute experience, it does exactly what it needs to do. I just wish more full-price indie games understood this concept of restraint.
What This Game Jam Entry Gets Right
Six Cats Under succeeds because it understands scope. This is a team that knew they had limited time and resources, so they focused on doing one thing well rather than attempting to revolutionize gaming. The core mechanic—poltergeist-powered cat herding—is unique enough to stand out but simple enough to execute properly. The difficulty curve is balanced, the presentation is cohesive, and the whole thing wraps up before overstaying its welcome. This is smarter game design than half the 'full' indie releases I've reviewed this month. It also demonstrates something I keep screaming into the void about: you don't need 20 hours of content to make something worthwhile. Give me a tight, focused experience that respects my time over another bloated indie epic that's 80% filler. Team Bean Loop made something memorable in a game jam timeframe, which makes me wonder what they could do with actual development time and budget. I'm not saying they should quit their day jobs and mortgage their futures on game development—this industry is a meat grinder—but I'd definitely look at their next project.
The Replayability Question (Or Lack Thereof)
Here's the thing: Six Cats Under is essentially a one-and-done experience, and that's perfectly fine. Once you've solved the puzzles and herded all your ghostly cats to safety, there's no real reason to go back unless you're showing it to a friend or you really, really love cats. There are no alternate paths, no hidden secrets worth discovering, no speedrun potential that would make me boot it up again. The linear puzzle structure means your second playthrough would just be going through the motions of solutions you already know. This would be a damning criticism for a $20 game, but for a free game jam project? It's completely acceptable. Not everything needs to be an infinitely replayable roguelike or have New Game Plus modes. Sometimes a game can just be a nice little experience you have once and remember fondly, like that restaurant you visited on vacation that you'll probably never go back to but still think about occasionally. That's Six Cats Under: a pleasant detour that doesn't demand more of your time than it deserves.
Rating Breakdown
Quality
7
For a game jam entry, this is shockingly polished—I went in expecting placeholder art and got an actual cohesive experience instead.
Innovation
7
Playing as a ghost herding cats with poltergeist powers is genuinely fresh, which is more than I can say for the last fifty 'innovative' puzzle games I suffered through.
Value
8
It's free and took me about 45 minutes of actual engagement—that's better value than most $15 indie puzzlers that pad their runtime with filler.
Gameplay
6
The core loop kept me going but I'm not exactly rushing back, which is fine because it's a game jam project and not my new religion.
Audio/Visual
7
The art style has personality and the audio doesn't make me want to tear my headphones off, which immediately puts it in the top 20% of itch.io games.
Replayability
4
It's a linear puzzle game—once you've herded the cats, you've herded the cats, and I'm not doing it again just to feel something.
What Didn't Annoy Me
Actually has a unique premise instead of being Generic Puzzle Game #47,892
Respects your time with a focused 45-minute experience that doesn't drag
Art and audio are surprisingly cohesive for a game jam project
The poltergeist mechanics work smoothly without janky physics nightmares
Manages to be genuinely charming without trying too hard
It's free, which is the correct price for a game jam entry
What Made Me Sigh
Puzzles never quite reach that satisfying difficulty sweet spot
Zero replayability once you've herded the cats once
Some solutions are a bit too obvious for anyone who's played puzzle games before
Could have used one or two more mechanics to keep things fresh
The heartwarming narrative made me feel emotions and I wasn't prepared for that
Final Verdict
Six Cats Under is what every game jam project should aspire to be: focused, polished within its scope, and actually fun to play. Team Bean Loop took a genuinely creative premise—ghost cat herding—and executed it competently without overreaching. It's not going to change your life or redefine the puzzle genre, but it's a solid 45 minutes of entertainment that costs you nothing but time. In a world where indie puzzle games regularly charge $15 for three hours of padding and pretension, this free game jam entry shows more restraint and understanding of game design than most 'professional' releases. I'm genuinely impressed, which pains me to admit because now I have to recalibrate my cynicism levels. If you like cats, puzzles, or games that don't waste your time, download this. It's free. You'll spend more time deciding what to watch on Netflix than playing this, and you'll probably enjoy it more too.
Six Cats Under
Genre
Puzzle
Developer
Team Bean Loop
Platform
Windows, Mac, Linux, Web
Release Date
Jan 1, 2020
Rating
6.5
/10
Tags
puzzle
point-and-click
cats
ghosts
game-jam
short
free
heartwarming
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