This was a really cute game! I think there could have been a stronger tie-in to the secondary theme, like putting a little sprout on the cat-like plants' heads, or maybe have them pop out of big plants instead of the ground. The graphics are simple but it's easy to tell what's going on at all times, so props for that! Good job.

"Cat-like plants" haha, nice one. This is only my 3rd jam, but I really had to bust my *** to get my game done. Congrats on submitting a working game :)

I got 43.

Turns out that you could just hold the hit button to get a ton of points, if the button is held, the cats will think that you are hitting them.

Also the mouse controls just ruined the Gameboy Soul.

I don't like hurting animals, but when I saw they were plants... Whack! Good game, well done!

The game is so much fun however, I like it a lot more if you add grass or plant's on the floor to make it more realistic. Overall it's fun :) nice work!

(I played earlier today when I stumbled upon it!)

The cat is cute, although I would have had trouble saying he was a kind of plant without the game page. ;) The animated title screen is also a nice touch. :) I like its music, which feels like accordion; I think some accompaniment could enhance it. The in-game music is a little dissonant, which I think is made on purpose to convey the sense of hurriedness (for the record, I had rightly pointed the same thing for Introvert recently!).

As for gameplay: whack-a-mole is a simple and classic game, but it can be a good exercise to clone one (by the way, I worked on a game myself with an idea I thought was somewhat original, but had so little time I ended up with a sorry half-prototype I did not dare submitting, so, kudos for having a tight working finished game, that is already something I did not really achieve!). Keeping track of the score was a good idea; still, I feel some little ideas would have added variety and interest. I would suggest adding some challenge: for exemple, if you click on an empty hole or take too long to get a catplant, you get a penalty; or/and, if nine catplants are out for too long, you get a game over! And also, adding some sounds would give more feedback to the player (especially when hitting a catplant!) and more life to the game — maybe you did not get the time and spent it all on the music? X)

Regarding playability, the game is harder as a regular Game Boy game, since you get a big speed advantage using a mouse rather than keys. I have also noticed you can hold the hitting trigger (either keys of left click) to whack those kittens! :o I would suggest making it one-time controls, because otherwise, you can simply hold the button all the time. (By the way, controls are QWERTY-only instead of layout-independent (I have an AZERTY keyboard), BUT arrow keys are enabled.)

Suggestions:

1. Adding challenge
2. Adding sounds
3. Using another channel as accompaniment for the music
4. Animating the appearance of a cat (even a simple intermediate image where he is half out would be nice!)
5. Layout-independent keys

The backstory and cute cat vibe (even though he is the villain, here! XD) put a smile to my face. :) A sweet basis for a minigame.

(By the way, I just wanted to say that I love your avatar (the ‘:3’ smiling hamburger chap). XD)

PS: not that it really matters that much (I think the review is the most important feedback), but I cannot rate your game since I did not submit anything… I dithered because of this, too; maybe I should have. :/