Little Kitty, Big City
Little Kitty, Big City
Game
Game2019
Nauticrawl
Developer Spare Parts Oasis
A stolen, enigmatic machine is your only way out. It's likely to kill you, but so will the hostile planet you're escaping. Pull levers, hack devices, and puzzle out how to pilot the Nauticrawl to freedom in this unusual atmospheric adventure... or die trying. From the Steam store page
194 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 5, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
87
LovedLoved
165 positive · 25 negative
95% range 81–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 165 | 25 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
4 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
464 of 507 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 194 · most liked firstI was incredibly excited to try this game, and it still looks like fun. But if you have an ultrawide or larger screen (seemingly anything beyond a 16:9 ratio) then it's simply unplayable, and I mean that as in, you can't click the buttons to get past the first scene because they render off screen. Just, please let us run the game in a window...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Be warned: this is not a complete videogame. The Store blurb tells you this game is about figuring out the controls for an unfamiliar machine, but that part is over very quickly. After that, you can get some enjoyment out of figuring out the world mechanics and min-maxing tricks, but there's no real point in doing so: the game will soon just suddenly be over without giving you any real opportunity to take advantage of them. It's a frustratingly wasted potential. It is very atmospheric while…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you see this review STOP SCROLLING! Go into this game knowing nothing i PROMISE you will have a good time, provided you like puzzle games. trust me when I say this game is art at its finest
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+fun to figure out how to operate the vehicle +fun to figure out how to interact with the game world and begin to make progress -very short once you understand what to do -very easy once you figure out how to keep a certain subsystem going without draining battery -beat the game in my first sitting on my 3rd or 4th attempt, spent only 3 hours with it in total Despite listing more cons than pros above, figuring out the vehicle and the game world was worth the $10 I paid. Recommended for people…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll update if I change my mind, but I'm not really liking it. I thought it was going to be a game about piloting a complicated and enigmatic machine, through a complicated world only seen through imperfect sensors. Instead, I played for about 10 minutes and basically got the machine figured out. That leaves the "world" outside , but that part is extremely bare bones. Something the game also doesn't tell you initially, which it really should, is that the power and fuel drain are action based,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nauticrawl is a stylised minimalist top-down survival/puzzle game. It plays out through a radar screen in which a dot represents you, but the pretty rendering of your surroundings and atmospheric writing ensure that you do really feel like you're part of something bigger and more "real" than that dot would suggest. Unfortunately, I think the game also requires a huge amount of patience which I wasn't able to bring to it. The first time playing, having been given no instruction, you will likely…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nauticrawl is okay. Part escape room, part extremely simplified simulator, it's a game that dumps you at the controls of an exotic vehicle full of unlabeled buttons and levers and expects you to figure things out as you go. It just feels like a game that was meant to be much, much larger than what it ended up being. There's an inventory system that is basically reduced to refilling your resources, even though the only one you would really want to refill is your fuel. There's an upgrade system,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game went beyond my expectations! I failed plenty of times, but when I understood how to navigate the nauticrawler. I thought that was the game, navigate through the radar, avoid being blasted to bits and manage fuel consumption. But then the moment came...I realized I just finished the tutorial. Cinema! This game is part escape room, and part exploration. Can definitely recommend and hope more people play it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just can't recommend this game. I thought it would be something I'd really enjoy, and starting off, it wasn't as bad as everyone seemed to say it would be. I got things moving and even progressed to the second part The Airship on my first try, the trial and error wasn't too bad. Cue me spending almost 30 minutes at the next stage literally unable to progress. I by luck contacted a trader and populated my map, but I couldn't do anything. I even tried to look up walkthroughs all online, which…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The opening is magical as you figure out what the heck is going on and how to operate the machine, but that only lasted me half an hour or so. After that the core gameplay loop is tedious and boring, enough to where I didn't feel like continuing the game to a conclusion.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⣿⣿⡻⠿⣳⠸⢿⡇⢇⣿⡧⢹⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡐⣯⠁ ⠄⠄ ⠟⣛⣽⡳⠼⠄⠈⣷⡾⣥⣱⠃⠣⣿⣿⣿⣯⣭⠽⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⢢⠏⠄ ⠄ ⢠⡿⠶⣮⣝⣿⠄⠄⠈⡥⢭⣥⠅⢌⣽⣿⣻⢶⣭⡿⠿⠜⢿⣿⣿⡿⠁⠄⠄ ⠄⣼⣧⠤⢌⣭⡇⠄⠄⠄⠭⠭⠭⠯⠴⣚⣉⣛⡢⠭⠵⢶⣾⣦⡍⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⣿⣷⣯⣭⡷⠄⠄⢀⣀⠩⠍⢉⣛⣛⠫⢏⣈⣭⣥⣶⣶⣦⣭⣛⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⢀⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣎⢩⠌⣡⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆⠄⠄⠄ ⢸⡿⢟⣽⠎⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⠄⠄ ⣰⠯⣾⢅⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠄ ⢰⣄⡉⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠄ ⢯⣌⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣇⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣟⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⠈⢹⡧⣿⣸⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠗⣈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠄ ⠄⠘⢷⡳⣾⣷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⢀⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄ ⠄⠄⠈⣵⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄⠄
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As with all my reviews, I judge on the base price of a game. 15$ is too much. Even the 6$ I paid was questionable for the experience I got. Quick info for people on the fence: 1. This game is turn based, but gives the illusion it's not. 2. The game is short. 3. If you figure the game out, it becomes 'piece of cake' easy and is almost impossible to fail. 4. Sound is the primary source of the 'atmospheric' tag. 5. There is a lot of reading. Now then, I'll talk about what I liked about the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nauticrawl is one of those rare games that makes you feel utterly lost at first — and that’s exactly where its magic lies. You wake up trapped inside a mysterious stolen machine, with no tutorial, no clear instructions, just a maze of blinking lights and cryptic levers. The first few hours are pure discovery and tension — you’ll panic, you’ll take notes, you’ll press buttons that you really shouldn’t — but every “aha!” moment feels incredible. The atmosphere is fantastic: claustrophobic,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Eleventh game of the backlog, Nauticrawl, complete! All 16 achievements in 9.7 hours! Amazing. Peak. There's no tutorial, but Spare Parts Oasis WANTS you to learn how to play and wants you to succeed. I hope more games are developed like this!
unlabelledView post →What can I say? Even hours after the credits rolled, I still have goosebumps. In all my years as a gamer, I have rarely experienced something as atmospheric as this. Nauticrawl is an absolute masterpiece – a truly unique experience that I will never forget. My sincere thanks to everyone who made this extraordinary journey possible!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You know how you know that a game is not only good, but fantastic? When after you've played it (Nauticrawl), you spend hours upon hours searching for ANY other game that offers a similar feeling of immersion, depth, and complexity, only to continually come up empty handed - with the brutal realization that you won't FIND anything else like Nauticrawl because nothing like it exists. This thing is a pure gem. If you want to challenge yourself and stimulate those "button-pressing" parts of your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A couple of hours of pulling levers to see what goes clunk. There's a bunch of stuff I didn't do, e.g., on the overworld map, I picked the correct island first, and then went straight to The Lighthouse, so I missed some achievements; I honestly don't feel like playing it through again, since I think 90% of the joy was in the discovery. I died once, but once I realised it's basically turn-based (it actually mentions this on the store page I realise now) I had a few close calls but managed to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun to learn to play, well written tips for learning to play better, but once you figure it out the challenge drops to zero and the game is regrettably short. I beat it with two deaths, in about two and a half hours. But I enjoyed the game immensely.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Such an original concept and execution - I don't think I've ever seen a game that mixes combat vehicle simulation, puzzles and roguelike games like this one does. It's like if someone made a puzzle game out of playing a DCS of an exotic vehicle, without a manual, except some of the buttons cause you to make a move in a turn based roguelike game. Jonathan Blow (Creator of BRAID and THE WITNESS) played this live on a twitch stream and ragequit after solving like, one puzzle. So if you want to be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nauticrawl is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it was a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. This mobile app looks like a cool submarine simulator, like Silent Hunter 3 but more steampunk, doesn't it? Well, you're wrong. This is a simple escape-room screen tapping puzzle game, meets Fischer-Price toddlers activity set. Tap and swipe around your iPhone screen to twiddle a bunch of buttons and knobs. Getting the right combination/sequence…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1.5/10 the most minimalist of minimalist games trial and error switch and toggle flipper
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short simple game, I accidentally visited the correct island immediately but I think if you visited other islands and explored more it would be more fun. It seems to be trying to encourage multiple playstyles but I ended up just brute forcing it using one of the subsystems. It felt very similar to Outer Wilds in the knowlege based progression
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →4/10 So these are my kind of games usually. I like to figure out what everything does. But there comes a point where things are too vague and difficult to understand. I mean, most people could probably figure it out if they spent a lot of time on it, but once boredom sets in you start to wonder 'what's the point, I can play another game instead'. And that's just what I did...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you saw screenshots and thought "Man, I want to play this" then you should definitely play this. Very cool and unique game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nauticrawl is an excellent, but short, puzzle adventure game. It manages to be clever with its design without becoming frustratingly incomprehensible, which is a feat I can only imagine took some time to balance. I have wanted to build a game like this myself for decades, where you are left with a machine with no instruction and lots of inputs, and have to experiment to figure out how to use it. This idea first came to me in the 90's when I played Out of This World on the SNES (known as Another…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i reximend this game if you want to feel like a new born baby figuring out the box with holes in it and what shapes go where.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Will be refunding this game. Although it looks cool and i'm sure would be fun if I could actually play. Unfortunately the developer has decided that ultrawide monitors should not be support and also provide 0 way to use a different resolution. Instead you are left with just a screen with some not complete text and not able to interact with anything.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Apparently I’m super late to the party, haven’t heard of this game before. I got Nauticrawl for $2.37 and it was definitely worth $2.37. It is not worth the $14.99 base price at all lol, especially 7 years after release. When I got to the credits I was like ??that’s it??? all that buildup and it’s just over? I’m a big fan of brutally unhelpful games (that aren’t combat-based because I have boomer hands) and this is one! For a bit anyway, then it starts giving you hints through in-universe…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Seems short but it's the perfect length for what it tries to achieve. Pretty good!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WARNING - This game is not hard. Get comfortable with dying and trying again a few times. Experiment, theorize, repeat. You can master the Nauticrawl and earn your freedom.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked this game conceptually, and beyond that, I had a lot of fun playing it. The beginning of the game, when you're learning how to control the Nauticrawl, reminded me a bit of Outer Wilds. The only disappointing thing was that the game seemed to don't have the second half of the midgame and the entire lategame. There are unused locations and a basis for a large amount of content, but there's no actual content. Once you fully grasp the controls, the challenge completely…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is just uplayable. So you sit inside a machine, you do not see world outside. Instead, there is 2 ingame screens which tell you information, radar, and few control things you click. Backpack, interaction with other objects (you kinda hack enemy) is also done via menu on one of thoose ingame screens. Mechanics is simple, moving and so on simple to figure out. But screens, menu management, is just awful. You have to click to scroll over list of many items. Buttons aren't accurate/big enough,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic immersive game. I would defenitely tweak all the buttons and levers for 9 hours again !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short and sweet! And has some really neat surprises later on! I don't think I explored the world very thoroughly before 'escaping', and I don't know if I'd go back to complete it, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. If I remember correctly though the Mac version isn't especially great and I wondered if it would've been better playing the windows version through Crossover or something.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I failed immediately because I left the headlights on and couldn't find the push button start before the battery died. Besides that, learning how to operate the craft is mostly intuitive. After that, it is a bit of a slog in the middle part. Still enjoyed the discovery and payoff ending, but this is naut a game for everyone.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun! This is very niche, but you already knew that didn't you? Engine start-up is the biggest hurdle but once it was running it's not too hard to discover and master the rest of the gameplay. I found the mouse-following camera unpleasant for the first few minutes but then didn't notice it. Each time you learn to use a new control, it changes how you interact with the world, sometimes dramatically—that's hard to pull off and this game does it multiple times in its short span. I would love to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fantastic, immersive puzzle game - a really successful execution makes this a hidden gem
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nauticrawl is a weird experimental game about learning to understand an arcane system. It would be absolutely trivial with a manual - once you understand the rules of the game, there's zero challenge. I agree with some reviews here that this is more of a fantastic proof of concept than a fully fleshed out game. And so I'm of two minds about recommending it. I definitely did have some delightful experiences - in particular, it initially took me 15+ minutes to first get the engine started and to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved it! It's pretty short, but for good reasons. Just as I was starting to get worried that I had the game all figured out, it ends. That, my friends, is good design. Nauticrawl doesn't overstay its welcome. I want more games like this, and harder ones!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You've pretty much played this game already when you were 15 or so and learning to drive. Wrestling with a bunch of new controls while hurtling down the street inside of a deadly vehicle, fiddling with the radio, avoiding the cops and trying not to crash into things. Yeah, it really takes you back. Of course you won't exactly be doing much hurtling here; but more on that later. The first thing you ought to know is that this is really a game in two interleaved parts, only one of which is any…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you use ultrawide+ monitor resolution, don't even try. It's not playable, there is no way to change the resolution in the game, workaround/hack or play it windowed. And also, as I read in discussions, devs don't plan to make anything about it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was this game entertaining? Yes Would I recommend it? No The game's premise is interesting, you need to figure out how to use this machine you're in to escape from some oppressive space: both in a societal sense and in the fact you're literally under 20,000 atmosphere's of pressure. Figuring out the ship for the first time was fun. But after that actually playing the game was very repetitive. Exploring a random maze with little challenge once you understand the base mechanics. I didn't play…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's short, but an incredibly unique "puzzler". The entire premise is figuring out how to drive the titular "nauticrawl", very enjoyable for someone who enjoys operating and figuring out machinery. Despite passing around terms like "permadeath" which I usually hate the game never felt punishing at all, and difficulty is minimal once you learn how things work. It's even turn based in a way that doesn't feel like it! Highly recommend it for anyone who loves the idea of a semi-text based machine…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →With the amount of content that this game has, it shouldn't be priced at 15 dollars. I'd recommend only getting the game whenever it's on sale for 5 dollars at most. Also, the game throwing me in without explaining any of the controls was incredibly annoying, I get the idea of why, but I'm not willing to waste my time learning an unintuitive machine with nothing labeled.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun puzzle game but not super challenging. Wish the game was longer and had more content beyond the 3 locations you visit. Great game to buy if it's on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →borderline recommend with caveats. some interesting ideas, but shallow in most aspects. the good news is it's very short, assuming you don't need to restart past the first area at least. even so, there were some parts that started to feel repetitive/grindy once you figure them out and just need to wait or repeat certain actions. and i could see bouncing off the potentially-non-intuitive 'where is the game here' nature of this ... experience? thematically at least, it's a bit of a mix of an…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very short, but at the same time completely worth the price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Joy In Learning How To Drive A Nauticrawl A game where the player is left to figure out how to operate a complex machine in a hostile environment is quite bold and appealing. Understanding the machine does brings a sense of satisfaction and fondness to it despite its issues which shows the design works as intended. Beyond the other game issues, this short game is definitely worth trying. What is disappointing though is how short or not as rewarding despite the initial complexity.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool idea, but after having to compare a guide to simply start up the engine after it wouldn't start up again on repeat playthroughs after death (activating other switches than the mainframe one before startup seemed to be the issue along with other problems), I've come to the conclusion that the game is bugged, and just can't be sure that if I get stuck later on in the game that I just can't figure out a solution due to me being stupid, or if some glitch is making progress impossible.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Name doesn't lie, has at least 20,000 of atmosphere
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game and experience, unique gameplay. Pros: - so many buttons to press - once you figure out all the functions it's just a great feeling - good story that is told via logs and notes - great atmosphere and soundtrack as you cruise around in your little craft Cons: - starting can be a bit tough, you might need to eject yourself a few times before getting the hang of it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun. Unexpectedly fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is a steep difficulty curve here, because the game relies on you not knowing how the interface works. There are a few ingame hints for tricks, but you have to be quite persistent to get to them. The later... "stages" are a bit more straightforward but while being fun, I don't think there is much replayability here. A very good experience, if you like Myst, it should be for you too.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm someone who likes to play a game for a long time. This is an interesting game, but it's way too easy. Solve a few puzzles and bam win. There's really no challenge to it at all. I can't recommend a game that can be beaten in 3 hours. I didn't really even get to fully understand the lore or anything. I guess if you're a casual gamer who likes to beat games in few hours then this game is for you. But if you're into pouring 20-50 hours into a game before beating it then just pass on…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Note: parts of my review detailing certain game mechanics have been marked with spoiler tags. This game is best played knowing as little of the mechanics as possible, however; detailing them is necessary to provide a review potential buyers would find informative. While reading the spoilers won't ruin the game, it will remove some of the mystery from it. Be warned. Nauticrawl is, at it's heart, an old-school rougelike in the guise of a machine manager/simulator. You find yourself thrust into…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nauticrawl is a very interesting and short game. The main appeal of the game is being put in front of a machine without any idea on how to operate it. It's indeed very fun to mess around with all the buttons and levers until you slowly figure out how to move and survive. The problem, however, is that this part doesn't last for very long. It took me about 1 or 2 hours before I figured how to reliably survive while moving, and from that point onwards I never died again. Which is good, because…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game, but it's too unforgiving and hard (insert git gud here). And this comes from someone who loves phatologic and cultist simulator...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What an amazing game. At first I was confused, but intrigued enough to keep going, as was intended by the game designer. And wow, just wow. As you learn more about how your "ship" works, and how the world works, and discover the lore of the place, and start to feel your way around, the progression is amazing and there's several "wow" moments. Within a couple of hours of playing this went from some obscure game that was sitting in my library to one of my all time favorites. If you get lost just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing Sci-Fi Game! Very Original! It is very interesting to learn how to deal with the different systems of the vehicle by experimentation. It's a short adventure, you can finish it in approximately 4 hours, but once you learn how the game works, find out how to harvest infinite resources, want to equip your vehicle to the maximum and explore all the islands, the time can increase a bit. Recommended!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would love to be able to play this, but the game doesn't work with an ultrawide monitor (5120x1440), and there's no option to force it to a window that I can find.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
You Might Also Like
similar titlesWhat Remains of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch
Game
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Game
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate
Game
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Game
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Game