Healing Through Play: How Robo Cat Story Uses Gaming to Explore Grief, Trauma, and Loss
"Game therapy, a new approach gaining attention from both mental health professionals and gamers, uses immersive video games to promote emotional healing. Robo Cat Story, an RPG exploring themes of loss, trauma, and grief, is a standout example, blending a heartwarming narrative with interactive gameplay..." - Moody Melon Magazine
TAG STUDIO
Sam Barris
Executive Director &
Creator of Robo Cat Story
My goal is to blend creativity with mental wellness through mobile games. In Robo Cat Story, I’ve created a world that fosters self-discovery, healing, and adventure, while inspiring others through storytelling and play. I’m always looking for new ways to make a positive impact.
Liam O'Connor, NY
“This game is both fun and deeply therapeutic, handling complex themes of loss with a perfect balance of emotion and gameplay. It’s an unforgettable experience that stays with you long after."
Maya Lee, MN
"Robo Cat Story blends lightheartedness with deep emotional storytelling. It’s a game that encourages reflection on personal loss, offering a truly unique and impactful experience."
Amira Patel, FL
“An adorable and emotional adventure, Robo Cat Story thoughtfully explores grief and healing. It’s a rare game that offers both entertainment and therapeutic value. Highly recommend!”
Between Heaven and Earth,
There is a little-known place called the 11th Dimension
Where certainspirits linger,
Where every soul they meet is a stranger,
And all strangers manifest as Soul Pops.
Nobody really knows why but it’s best not to ask questions…
Awesomeness Created by Tigs & Gin Studio (a.k.a. TAG Studio)
Unlock Your Inner Hero with this epic ARPG adventure. Live ON APPLE App Store on May 1st, 2024!
In a market flooded with generic, idle RPGs that are bland, boring and downright forgettable, Tigs & Gin Studio intends to bring back a once-popular RPG sub-genre where manual play—which encourages players to explore freely the world of wonder created for them—is praised. As long-time fans of old-school MMORPGs such as Ragnarok Online and MapleStory, we were inspired to produce the ultimate iOS mobile app that truly captures the same spirit and vibrancy but as an offline, single-player game. That was when the idea of Robo Cat Story came alive. Robo Cat Story was designed with a modern, fresh twist on nostalgia. It provides a striking, new spin on action RPGs with its completely original story, unique features, amazing graphics, novel armors and weaponry, and most importantly vigorous, additive gameplay that excites.
The Story
With an awesome gameplay down, we know we need to back it up with an equally awesome game script. So we've gone on to craft a hilarious yet powerful, coming-of-age story to complement it. Robo Cat Story follows the adventure of Dill and CAT. Through their epic and emotional journey about love and loss, Dill learns that inevitably he needs to deal with the pain of letting a loved one go. If you are a sensitive person, be warned that some parts of the story can be a real punch-in-the-gut tear jerker!
The Player (You)
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live inside a robot cat in your subconscious? And how fun and cool would it be able to command your very own bot to fend off enemies as you roam the streets of the most mystical place you'll ever visit? Robo Cat Story lets you experience all of that and we do it flawlessly with one ultimate goal in mind—we want to provide the greatest mental escape possible to our players (because you deserve it!) for their time's worth. So while you hold onto the edge of your seat and imagine you are Dill, get ready for the most unforgettable, bewitching roleplaying experience of your life time! Because by the end of it, you might actually think you ARE Dill!
Robo Cat Story: character drawings (Dill)
DILL'S MINI BIO
He's a talented guitarist; sensitive and reserved. His dream is to go pro and tour with his band carrying a photo of Millie in his pocket. Unfortunately, before he can achieve stardom, something terrible happens and his whole world stops. He must go on a lonesome journey with a robot cat he built in search of answers.
Robo Cat Story: character drawings (CAT)
CAT'S MINI BIO
Dill’s loyal robot sidekick; also a bit of a wisecracker. Its hard outer shell has no bearing on its extra soft (and roomy!) inside. It makes Dill laugh and keeps him grounded without even trying. Adorably oblivious yet so lovably curious, CAT will never leave Dill’s side as it looks for its own purpose in life.
the gameplay
Experience The Most Heart-Pounding, Engaging Combat
Dill built and rides in CAT specifically to handle the rough and tough conditions of Samuton and the endless onslaught of Soul Pops inhabiting it. Battles are action-packed and fast-paced, and we aren't kidding about endless either. Soul Pops will continue to spawn forever. You can easily get swarmed if you aren't extra careful so don't stay on an area too long or you might wear yourself out! You'll need to wield powerful gear and utilize handy skills if you want to progress through the game. This is especially important during each of the 10 riveting boss battles. There are a total of 28 skills bosses use against you, so watch out!
Go On Wondrous Exploration
Ever wanted to visit a furniture factory, haunted school or an abandoned amusement park? Be prepared to check those off your bucket list as you get lost in 10 wonderful locations around Samuton—a meticulously beautiful, fictional town that never ceases to beckon players into a lively world of colorful darkness. If you are lucky you may find a Treasure Chest or two hiding somewhere, or even a Gear Scrambler (totally seek those out)! Each location has 9 floors/areas of Soul Pops that need to be conquered before reaching the 10th where the boss resides. Boss Wrap Tickets will come in handy if you are in to collect Boss Badges in exchange for Boss Suits!
Look Gorg While Slaying Without Penalty
And what, are you going to use your fists to fight all those Soul Pops? No way! There are over 200 unique gear and 30+ costumes to equip. Each piece of gear comes with random stats and changes how your CAT looks. Yup! What you equip is exactly what you'll see CAT wear in battles. You know in other games when you have a weak piece of gear that looks really cool and you want to wear it? We won't make our players take a stat hit for wanting to look hot while they slay. Our wardrobe function allows you to doll up how you want without affecting your stats. Don't love the look of that costume but want to keep the stat bonus? You can easily "hide" it with the click of a button.
Recycle Unwanted Gear Into Boundless Potential
New gears are obtained through Gacha machines. Gear ranges from 1 to 5 stars in rarity and are part of 4 different themed collections. To keep the gear inventory simple and uncluttered, you may select and retain the best copy of each item after each draw. So if you get the same piece of gear again, you have the option to trade it in for Fusion Scrolls. Those become incredibly valuable as you get farther and farther into the game. You can also collect them through battles (Soul Pops drop them). Gather up however many you can to fuse your equipment as leveling your gear up makes CAT stronger. Who doesn't want to be all-powerful?
Experiment Dynamic, Free-For-All Skills
Having the proper skill set in battles is deemed crucial to your success in beating any RPG. So don't you just hate where they make you spend skill points to upgrade a skill only to find out soon you'll never use it again (sorry it's not refundable!)? What a waste. But this won't happen on our watch! In this game you can apply and reset skill points as frequent as you want for free. There are a total of 19 unique skills for you to choose ranging from Passives, Actives and Buffs. Test them all out and see what works best for you. You'll be tempted to use different skill sets in different situations because they are just that good and fun to use! You can change up your pre-selected skills anytime, anywhere. Yup! Even during battle!
Enhance Your Play With Helpful Boosts
All this battling and exploring is going to make your CAT hungry! So "recharge" its batteries with a tasty snack of Furniture. Yes, you read that right, CAT eats furniture and in doing so gains powerful temporary bonuses to various stats for use in battle. Don’t question how this works, it just does! So how does one acquire something as large as a bookcase or loveseat? Well Soul Pops drop materials like nails and fabric which you can use to make 11 unique pieces of furniture. CAT may eat up to three things at a time but each must be different. Once the bonuses wear off, CAT will be hungry again for more.
Make Your Own Difficulty
We want our game to be challenging but not overly challenging that people quit on their first go. So we've decided to accommodate two gameplay modes—Normal and Hard— that can be changed at will. Hard mode is what we originally intended the game to be, but many of you may find it a real dare (it's not meant for the faint-hearted!). In Hard mode, Soul Pops' stats are raised by 25% but they also give 25% more EXP and Silvers. No matter which mode you prefer to play in however, Soul Pops drop items called Soul Drops used to "heal" the specific Soul Pop that dropped it. Healing raises its max level by one, and stats and rewards by 5%. You can freely control battle difficulty by adjusting each Soul Pop's level. Bosses also level up and raise their own stats every time you defeat them, assuring a more thrilling play as the challenge builds.
Take Advantage of The Most User Friendly UI
Once you start playing Robo Cat Story you won’t want to put it down. You will want to share it and play together with friends and family. The intuitive UI of this game is designed to be easily understood by anyone. Even newbies (no more feeling left out now, Grandma!) or someone who has never played RPGs before will find the interface straightforward, easy to use and follow. Our in-game functions are well organized and explained. You won’t need to do much navigation to get what you need done before your next battle.
Immerse Yourself In Unlimited Fun With The Incredible Playability
Don’t think that just because you beat the game it’s all over. We know you will be in love with Robo Cat Story and we have a solution! After beating the final boss you have the option to start the game from the beginning in New Game + mode with your current level and gear. Soul Pops are MUCH harder to fight this time around, are you brave enough? But what happens if you beat the game yet again… there’s always New Game ++! No kidding! Who said level 99 should be the max? Why stop there when you could reach level 999, right? This game has so much to do, so much to be achieved, if you are one of those diehard completionists, you have your work cut out for you! Because Robo Cat Story will keep you happily busy for a long, long time. — Can you collect all pieces of gear and fuse them to the max level? — Can you own all of the daily and boss costumes? — Can you heal all Soup Pops to level 25 and beat each horde in the arena to earn them as a pet? — Can you discover all 90 Former Self Bios to learn about the backstory of the Soul Pops? — Can you complete all of the 4000+ achievements?
Play Anywhere, No Annoying Ads, No Internet Required
Flying somewhere? How about going on a trip with your family where there's no wifi or internet (unlikely but it could still happen!)? With Robo Cat Story, once you downloaded the game to your iPhone you have it forever. There are no ads whatsoever that may pop up and take you from your escape (who honestly likes those awful pauses when you are in to have a good time, right?). And you can play the game anywhere in any time zone. Your battle performance will no longer be held back by a poor signal or bad wifi connection. You are able to indulge freely, offline in your own time and pace, for as long as you want. Now how great is that?