Simplicity is complex. It’s never simple to keep things simple. Simple solutions require the most advanced thinking. – Ritchie Norton
If you are wondering why this guide begins with a quote from one of Amazon’s best-selling authors, then you have yet to explore, or for the most part, has just begun your journey into the weird and mysterious world of KleptoCats. If you are here just for the guide then, feel free to browse below.
Nevertheless, for those who want to delve further into the game, the details below will nurture you. So without further ado, let’s take a quick overview of the origins of KleptoCats. This includes the seemingly dark and complex mystery that’s camouflaged with the game’s simplicity.
What is KleptoCats?
KleptoCats is a free-to-play casual game developed and published by HyperBeard Games in 2016 for mobile devices. Inspired by the popular Japanese cat-themed virtual pet game, Neko Atsume, KleptoCats is a brilliant execution of “social criticism” pointed towards its players.
KleptoCats, unlike most freemium games, does not have ads or in-game bundles that annoyingly pops-up from time to time. It’s a simple and ingenious infusion of the monetization concept into a cat-themed casual virtual pet game. By integrating ads into the wait system of the game, HyperBeard Games was able to cash in without having 30-second ads and discounted in-game bundles shoved into the player’s face every 5 minutes.
Nevertheless, the KleptoCats prototype came in the middle of HyperBeard Game’s financial crisis, forcing the developers to archive the game. Not to mention that there are games already in development and that the head honcho of the company thought of the prototype as “silly”.
As Antonio Uribe mentioned in his blog, archiving the game is not the end of the concept. It’s just their way of saving the idea for the future. Just like Godzilla who wakes up from dormancy when the earth is in crisis, KleptoCats eventually became the golden ticket that transformed HyperBeard Games from a struggling studio to a highly revered video game developer.
The KleptoCats Mystery
KleptoCats is a free-to-play casual game where cats present their master with various trinkets in exchange for attention and care. It’s a simple ad-powered game with basic virtual pet mechanics. Nevertheless, the arrival of Version 2.0 also known as the Room 4 update, took the game into an unexpected turn.
Update 2.0 went live on August 1, 2016, just a couple of months after the game broke the 1 million download milestone. The patch notes for update 2.0 are nothing special. It contains just 44 words informing players of the new room, new items, new cats, bug fixes, a link to the game’s social page for comments/suggestions, and the phrase “A SECRET added to the SAFE.” Just like the quote at the beginning of this article, the modesty and simplicity of the codes piqued the curiosity of players.
Blue Pill vs Red Pill
Before updating version 2.0, some players were already curious about the things brought home by the cats. Nevertheless, players who noticed something odd in the game before the arrival of the secret codes are hesitant to share their observations with the public. The secret codes, for the most part, served as the catalyst that brought the “Blue Pill or Red Pill” dilemma into the game.
The secret codes gave players 2 options; enjoy the game for its simplicity and ingenious gameplay structure, or crack the codes and discover the mystery. As expected, most of the community took the Red Pill and were awed and creeped out by the dark narrative hiding inconspicuously behind the simplicity of the game.
To that end, as much as we want to venture deeper into the various theories and analyses generated by the baffled KleptoCats community, that’s a topic for another day. For now, however, let’s move forward to our main topic which is more on how to play the game efficiently. We also included the secret codes in the guide below which you can skip if you do not want spoilers.
KleptoCats Tips for Beginners
KleptoCats, as odd as the game’s narrative may seem, is a simple game with basic mechanics. Any player can jump right into the game and learn the rules and mechanics in a flash. Speaking of rules and mechanics, your first cat will tell you everything you need to know about the game. In other words, just pay attention to what your cat is saying and you are good to go.
Sending Out Your Cats
One of the main activities in KleptoCats is sending out one of your felines to the world. In fact, the player’s progression and even the entire game itself revolves around this activity. With that said, it is important to know the basic rules involving this activity.
The first thing that new players should take note of is that each cat has their unique description in the “Cat-alog.” Most veteran players agree that the items brought back by the cats are influenced by their descriptions. In other words, a cat who likes music will most likely bring back music-related items.
Sending out the same cat all the time will result in duplicate items. Duplicate items are automatically converted into coins, which is not a bad thing since you can convert coins into gems and vice versa. Nevertheless, if you are focused on completing the task, then it is highly advised that you send out a different cat from time to time so you can acquire random and unique items.
The level of happiness of your cat plays little to no influence on the type of items they acquire. The happiness of your cat, whether it’s at 100% or 80%, will not in any way affect the outcome of their scavenging hunt. Nevertheless, maxing out their happiness level will sometimes result in the cat taking home something special.
Coins, Gems & Mini-Games
Another unique element found in KleptoCats is the in-game currency that comes with its own exchange rate. With that said, new players must always remember to get as many coins as possible and convert those into gems that can be used to unlock areas and cats. The game also features six mini-games that you can play to mine coins.
The Golden Cat
The Golden Cat is a special item that appears in the room from time to time. This golden item is easy to spot due to its brilliance and meditating pose. It is also floating in mid-air as if it is in a state of nirvana.
Golden Cats are instant coin generators that can reward you with more than 80 coins depending on the speed of your clicks. Golden Cats can spawn every 1-2 hours. Therefore, you must scan the room first whenever you log in to the game.
The Secret Code
As a bonus entry to this guide, we decided to include the complete set of Secret Codes. This will give you access to the secret room in the game. As to what the room contains is for you to discover. The Secret Room paved the way for various theories and discoveries by the KleptoCat community. Just type the words shown in the image above on the game’s vault and you should be good to go.
