Claws of Furry

Claws of Furry is a side-scrolling beat 'em up from Terahard Studios, where four anthropomorphic ninja cat warriors set out to save their sensei from their archnemesis. The game fuses classic beat 'em up action with platforming elements, all wrapped in a 90s-inspired comic book art style. It offers two main game modes: "Im-paw-ssible," a roguelike mode with permadeath that forces a restart from Level 1 upon death; "Pussycat," a standard linear adventure that lets players save after each level; and "Catrmageddon," an arena mode where players fight waves of enemies against a timer for high scores.

Levels are short, with waves of enemies leading to a boss fight, and players earn a score and grade upon completion. Controls include light and heavy attacks, jumping, dodging, and a special ability that charges by defeating enemies. Unlockable costumes—ranging from ninja suits to superhero homages like Batman and Deadpool—grant unique powers such as freezing enemies or health regeneration, unlocked by meeting in-game requirements. The game supports up to four players locally or online, with tougher enemies and more health in multiplayer, and downed characters can be revived by teammates.

Development

Development began in January 2017 with five Terahard staff as a three-month productivity experiment. By summer 2017, a convincing design document and prototype led to the full team joining, and the total development lasted nine months. On Metacritic, the Switch version scored 52% based on four reviews, indicating mixed or average reception. Critics praised the art style but criticized the gameplay and difficulty.

Reception

NintendoLife’s Dom Reseigh-Lincoln rated it 7/10, calling it demanding but rewarding solo or with up to three players. Nintendo World Report gave it 5/10, deeming it disappointing. The Xbox One version faced similar criticism: Simply Xbox scored it 6.7, citing fun but lack of originality, frustrating difficulty, and generic gameplay. The Xbox Tavern’s Jamie Collyer gave it a 3.6 “Lousy” score, calling it a poor trend-following attempt.

The Xbox Hub’s Nick Burton awarded one star, warning against it due to slow dialogue, repetitive combat, glitches, and poor value.