Since the dawn of time, well pretty much, a debate has raged with such ferocity around one simple question – which are better, dogs or cats?

And although many offer their opinions – with dog owners obviously supporting their pet, and cat owners theirs – we still have no definitive answer. Or do we?

It certainly appears that in the videogame industry at least, cats are most definitely preferred; dogs occasionally appear as pets or sidekicks in games, but there has been a number of releases over the years that has a cat as the central protagonist, as this one does.

You are a cat in shelter, one of six that can be taken. An elderly woman by the name of Olive takes one home, and calls her Dawn.

It takes a while for Dawn to get used to her new abode, unsure of her new surroundings. But Olive seems nice enough, and this could well be the forever home for this nervous cat.

But then we understand why Olive called you Dawn, as a replacement for her recently lost cat. A cat that eventually returns making it quite a tricky situation - which ‘Dawn’ gets to stay?

This is a debut title for fledging Australian developers Spoonful of Wonder, who are Samantha Cable and Kostia Liakhov.

The pair have an obvious love for cats, but you need more than that when creating a game.

Perhaps game is the wrong word, as this is more of a narrative driven experience, and that is sadly most of the problem.

It’s a title that wants to be educational and socially aware, with a few standard gaming quests thrown in for good measure as you play the cat throughout. And because of this heady mix it struggles to make an impact on any front.

The story is often quite bleak, as it follows, what has to be said, a very selfish old woman, who is all too quick to replace her ‘beloved’ pet cat. The narrative informs us that she is also unwell, suffering from Emphysema and on medication as well as an oxygen tank to help her breathe. This only highlights how selfish she is, as she probably isn’t in the best of health to take on the responsibility of being a cat owner.

At the same time we get an insight into the relationship with her daughter, which is especially bleak at times, with one scene in particular that feels a little over dramatic for such a title. Especially when it’s sandwiched in-between some very tired and generic game sections, that sees the cat knock over cans, meow at birds and play with a cat toy, in what is a series of dull mini-games.

You get the sense that the developers realised this, which is also why they included a number of sections that see you as a big cat, as in a panther-like creature in the wild, where you chase rabbits, which sadly don’t work either.

It’s all rather too obvious and basic, making its short three hour play through feel far longer.

The main take away from it is that humans are selfish and cats like to play, and no-one needs a three hour ‘experience’ to reach that conclusion.

Its mature themes about loneliness, a sense of belonging and the importance of home, although commendable, just don’t gel with the general mechanics of cat life, and certainly the simplistic tasks given to you.

As cat owners of one very special kitty for 18 years (supreme Boom cat princess Myrtle RIP), you can appreciate that its heart was very much in the right place, but its execution was sadly all too obvious and lacking in all departments; cats really are marvellous and fascinating creatures, and as the game’s own title suggests, this simply covered well trodden ground, which is a shame as our feline friends deserve far more credit than they’re given here, making this somewhat of a dog’s dinner.