I loved The Cat Lady.

I can't wait to arrive home and play this game.

I'm so happy teh game's finally released here!
I heard in November, I think, that GOG is getting this and even asked Novotnus if he had more informations, since he knew the game was greenlit.
Downloading now, I can't wait!

That came as a surprise even for me :)
Since then Mark opened a Greenlight page for Downfall (and Rem promised to make an updated version) if it gets greenlit. I asked about GOG release on their page, but they didn't seem to know themselves :)
Also, @our conversation about Alan Wake... well, as you can tell after playing TCL, Joe is also a kind of arsehole protagonist... which you'll find at the very beginning.

Well, the circumstances differ a lot. Ivy seems to be downright insane. Her first line? "It's raining blood."
Even with the patience of a saint, you're going to hit your limit if you have to endure such rambling all day and night. I was annoyed by Ivy after a few seconds and I consider myself to be patient. At least Joe's first line is about finding a doctor for his wife.

Alan on the other hand.. well, let's just say I don't want to start an argument about a different game here.
Curious reader can look up the Alan Wake-forum, there's a topic about someone asking whether he should buy this game or not. It's either there where I list my problems or linked to another topic about why I dislike Alan Wake (the character).

In any case, my take on Joe might change as the game progress. So, nothing is set in stone yet. He might be as bad, worse or not so awful in the end.

Needles.
Or do yoe mean the earlier scene? Yes, as a cat owner, I did not enjoy this scene, but Joer wasn't too fond of it either. I wonder if there would have been another way. Thinking about it, that riddle didn't amde any sense.

That scene is kind of repeated \ hinted three times in Downfall and then again twice in The Cat Lady...
I don't think it should be taken literal (it's pretty clear it happens in Otherworldy Quiet Haven) and it makes some sense... Joe is loosing his sanity and in his head it was the only way.

Well, I don't want to spoil, but if the cat ate the key a lonmg time ago, why is this key still in the stomache? After all, all the other keys could be "retrieved" and metal cannot be digested that easily.

In any case, just finished. I'm pretty much unimpressed by Downfall, to be honest. Maybe I'll replay it and do other options to see how the end differs, but I feel more like playing The Cat Lady again.
Also, I wouldn't call Joe a jerkass, considering the ending.

Some obiects can't be extracted so easily :) But kicking the door open would be a more reasonable option... Well, he's a kind of misguided jerkass, but still... I mean, he fed his own obsession.
Just wonder... what did you do with the gun?

Well, the other keys DID reappear, after the cat took them. So they must have left throuigh the way they came in or the exit that is meant to be used.
Also, I didn't saw any litter box, so I assume the cat is mostly outdoors, but comes in when the wheather is bad.
But then again, wondering doesn' help as the game made clear that there was a different reason. (Damn, I SO want to avoid spoiling!) Fed his obsession... I like that wordplay. In any case, Joe is insane and didn't know what he was doing, while thinking he was doing the right thing. Does it make things better? No.
Alan on the other hand leaves the impression of knowing what he does and throws tantrums over pitiful things, going so far ruining the lifes of others intentional, while portraying himself as some sort of hero, because he has problems with his ego. Oh god, that's getting to far in this direction. I'm sorry, I'll stop now or I'll start to rant again.

As for the gun, I played the demo. It was a dead giveaway telling me what to do. Or rather NOT to do. I'll see on a later playthrough what happens if I use the gun and take the receptionists offer. And the three choices at the end.
I took option #1, the left most.

Actually Downfall plays the scene three times with different interpretations. To avoid spoilers, I'll just say: Lucifer - bathroom - hideout.
And then two more times in TCL :)
Some of the choices are important, some change small details.
But no ending leads directly to the situation we see in TCL, so it's still hard to tell what really happened :)

Raining blood! From a lacerated sky!

Well, for all we know, TCL might play before the events of Downfall.
Joe seemed to be quite unstable in TCL and there a few indicators that... uh... shoved his immagination in the direction things went. I believe TCL had an advetrtisment of the hotel somewhere in the basement and it's possible Joe first heard of it there.
and both flats were a wreck. Also, we see the flats from different angles.

Granted, it's just speculation.

What about the hole in the floor? :)