We played Codex Solis: Purrgatorium

There are space shooters, there are collectible card games, and there are online worlds shaped by their communities. Codex Solis: Purrgatorium boldly asks, "Why not all three?" The result is one of the more unconventional indie experiences you'll find on this side of the solar system.

At its core, Codex Solis: Purrgatorium is a fast-paced 3D arcade shooter that immediately sets the tone with an energetic, memorable soundtrack. The music absolutely fits the action, as you weave through surreal planetary battlefields, dodge and return relentless enemy fire.. At its heart, the game is a fun, fast-paced arcade experience that rewards movement and quick reactions.

Victory comes with an unusual reward: psychic cat cards. These aren't simply collectibles. Every battle feeds into a larger, asynchronous metagame where your feline companions help conquer territory across eleven planets, allowing the game’s community to rewrite fields in a planet’s orbit by adding verses of their own in dedicated fields, which leads to some expected results of both serious and not-so-serious attempts.

The cats themselves are more than a quirky gimmick. Each of the game's collectible feline cards is inspired by a real cat living in Turkey and the developers own photography, giving every card a charming connection to reality. That said, the presentation is a little uneven. While the game's overall visual direction embraces a wonderfully surreal, arcade aesthetic, the use of AI-generated imagery for some of the cards and other assets feels somewhat disappointing and clashes visually in some cases. The game would also benefit from a photosensitivity warning, some of the bright explosions, while they add to the style, can be straining on the eyes even without any medical issues.

The game also certainly never loses sight of it’s Arcade roots. An offline Arcade Mode offers pure action for players who simply want to jump into space battles without engaging with the larger online system, while those who enjoy long-term progression can participate in the ongoing struggle to claim territory and leave their mark on the solar system's evolving mythology.

However, the game's biggest hurdle is accessibility. Codex Solis: Purrgatorium introduces a number of interesting mechanics and interconnected systems, but it doesn't always explain them particularly well. New players are often left to figure things out through experimentation, and while that sense of discovery has its own charm, the game seems complex enough that a more comprehensive tutorial, in-game hints or even a traditional digital manual would go a long way toward helping players understand the game's unique ideas. At times, the experience can feel a little directionless before its ideas begin to click.

This aside, the greatest aspect of Codex Solis: Purrgatorium is its willingness to experiment. Few games would combine bullet-hell-inspired space combat, collectible cat photography, territory control, and collaborative worldbuilding into a single experience. Yet somehow, the pieces fit together with an eccentric charm that feels uniquely its own. Like the cats that inspired it, Codex Solis: Purrgatorium doesn't follow anyone else's path.

Sometimes, saving the galaxy is serious business.

Sometimes, it takes a psychic cat.

A copy of the PC version of the game for review purposes was provided by the development studio Illusoric Games