By ABBY MEJIA, Staff
SCHUYLER, Neb. (December, 2025)—“Cheers to cat food, cheers to cat food!” is the rallying cry for war. Legions upon legions of whimsical, cartoony cats stand at attention, ready to fight off the Doge Army, for control of the world.
Flames blaze as ancient beasts crawl from their domains, summoned by you to rush towards the heaps of rhinos, penguins and other creatures that come your way. Laser cannons charge up, sending out waves of explosions, stunning thunderbolts or divine beams of light that can shred through undead soldiers.
Failure is inevitable, but the Cat Army perseveres. It’s okay to cry, it’s okay to run away; you were not made that strong.
This is the world of Battle Cats, a mobile game centered around cats, gachas and war. Battle Cats is relatively popular on YouTube, with content creators being the driving force to new downloads. According to a 2016 interview with PONOS International Business Director Sean Koble, “Having a game demonstrated to you in a funny and engaging way—by someone who you trust to be a gamer with common interests and irritations—gives a much more authentic sense of what you can hope for as a player...before I take a risk on downloading a new game app, I like to check out gameplay videos of mid-game stages to confirm that a game is going to head to a place that is worthy of my investment.”
In the beginning of the game, The Battle Cats, players are introduced to their first team member: Normal Cat. There are a total of 836 cats you can collect, spanning over 6 different rarities: Normal, Special, Rare, Super Rare, Uber Super Rare and Legend Rare.
As implied with their names, Normal cats are the most common, and oftentimes the weakest, and Legend Rares are the hardest to draw but are extremely powerful. The most reliable way to collect these cats is through the Cat Capsule system.
There are two different types of Cat Capsules – Normal Cat Capsules and Rare Cat Capsules. The Normal Cat Capsules can produce seven different cats and various upgrades. All of these cats are restricted to the ‘Normal’ rarity.
There’s a limit on the number of upgrades you can apply, but it can be raised. From these, you can draw Normal Cat, Tank Cat, Axe Cat, Gross Cat, Bird Cat, Cow Cat, Lizard Cat, Fish Cat, and Titan Cat. All of these are obtainable by going through the story mode, but capsules help boost their levels and can even introduce new variations of said cats.
Rare Cat Capsules are the meat and potatoes of most loadouts. Each unit is unique in price, cooldown, design and strength, but no two units are equal in their value during fights. 90% of all the cats you can possibly obtain are from rare Cat Capsules.
Many of these capsules fall under specific themed categories, such as collaborations and anniversary specials. Each category is limited by developers with regard to how long they run for, and whether or not they ever run again, which of course adds to their value.
As a baseline, this game is great for people wanting a strategic combat game without blood or violence.
It’s a quick-paced experience with room for individualized tactics, whether it be creating a wall of units to defend your main attacker, or rushing the enemy base and asking questions later.
However, failure is a common occurrence, and discouragement is not a rarity. The game is free, although there are microtransactions to aid in progression. Drawing Rare Cat Capsules is an expensive endeavor, and oftentimes players purchase these microtransactions to bypass the continued effort needed to move forward.
No matter how one chooses to fight, playing the long game in Battle Cats is often required, as instant gratification won’t always be an option.
However, if one so chooses to endure the grind and aid the Cat Army in their mission, they may find themselves saying, “No more Battle Cats until I finish my homework!”