Kana Quest (2020)

Developer: Not Dead Design
Publisher: Whitethorn Games
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Casual, Indie, Strategy
Rating: 4.0 of 5, 34 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 1.7 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

a gentle, colorful puzzle game that teaches Japanese letter recognition through relaxing tile-matching challenges

relaxingeducationalpuzzlecutecolorfulcasualchallenging2d

What players say

Players are split on whether this is a learning tool or a puzzle game first. Many say progress does not save when closing the game, and there is no quit button. The pixel art and music are widely praised, but the puzzles get tricky, especially when aiming for gold medals.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.