As a cat owner I was very intrigued by the premise of Stray. A game where you explore a futuristic cyberpunk type city and ask questions of how the world ended up this way is an experience that has been created several times over. But a game where you explore a dystopian setting as a cat? That’s definitely a unique take.
Setting the Stage
The developers, BlueTwelve Studio, take the idea of exploration and give a unique twist by shifting the typical human perspective to that of a cat. From the get-go it is extremely evident how much focus was put on what it feels like to be a cat. The way you interact with the world is exactly what you would expect from a cat. Sleeping in any place you can reach, rubbing up against characters to show affection, and even knocking items off high places for fun.
As a smaller more agile creature you are also able to slip into places that humans or human sizes robots, cannot reach. While conventional things like doors, are now inaccessible as you are a cat and cannot open a door. These are just one of the many barriers you’ll encounter as you explore the city in your feline form.
Stray Gameplay
The gameplay loop for Stray involves exploring an area, talking to residents, and solving puzzles to find out where to go next so that you can accomplish your objective. However, as a cat you are limited in communication capabilities and can only directly communicate by meowing. Luckily you come across a robotic companion named B12 early on in the game, a nod to the studio behind the game.
B12 not only allows you to communicate with the residents of the city but also allows you to access areas that a cat would normally be locked out. These areas are accessed usually by means of hacking, something that you have to help B12 out with from time to time. B12 does a great job of being discrete by traveling with you in a cat-sized backpack that adds to the futuristic feel of the game.
Talk is Cheap
Exploration is a major part of the game but this is not limited to just conversation with city dwellers. As previously mentioned you are much more agile than the robots you encounter and have the ability to reach places they cannot. From a gameplay perspective, this means that you will have to platform your way across several parts of the game. For those that may not have the best platforming skills, worry not. The platforming isn’t tricky or timing based and finding the next object to jump onto is pretty easy as button prompts will usually appear if you can interact with an object. While the button prompts are extremely helpful when they appear correctly, it is when they do not appear when they should that frustration can arise.
I found myself a few times running around in circles because a button prompt would not appear. It was only after the camera was facing a certain way that the prompt appeared and I was able to progress. While the solution to the platforming issue was easy to figure out, it is clear the platforming sections could use some fine-tuning.
While most of the game will allow you to platform at your lesisure there are other sections that will require you to act much faster to avoid impending doom. A notable section is towards the end of the game that required you to dodge oncoming projectiles to escape harm. It’s a noticeable difficulty spike but overall the fast-paced platforming was a welcome change to provide more action to the game to break up the lulls of exploration.
The action doesn’t stop there as Stray does feature a combat mechanic halfway into the game. The combat plays into the story of the game but the doesn’t stick around very long. As you grow to become accustomed to defending yourself and B12 the feature disappears almost as quickly as it was gained. As you progress through the game it becomes evident the combat mechanic is just a gameplay feature for the chapter it appears in and was not something the developers wanted to build the rest of the game around.
Music to Your (Cat) Ears
Despite combat not being a mainstay throughout Stray, one that is consistent throughout the game is the excellent soundtrack. It matches the aesthetic of the city perfectly with its somber techno tones, with a few tracks reminding me of the Midgar section in Final Fantasy VII.
There are not any notable tracks that stood out to me but definitely recommend checking out the music for Stray if you want to experience what the next century might sound like.
Something else that did not stand out to me was side quests in the game. They mostly consist of exploring every nook and cranny in the game to collect items and return them to the corresponding NPC. While these sidequests help build the world out you’ll be just fine skipping past them if they don’t interest you.
Final Thoughts
Cat owners will definitely connect with Stray instantly, but those who have never owned a cat might not see the appeal. Stray is a short experience that warns of what could happen to humanity but never does much more than that. While I recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a shorter experience, I just ask that you keep your expectations in check in your looking for life-changing gameplay or a story that you’ll remember for years. Stray is none of those things. Instead, it is an excellent cat simulator that offers a new perspective on a familiar setting.
It’s unknown if a Stray sequel is in the works but I would love to see what Blue Twelves puts out next. Stray may not be the most mind-blowing experience this year but it’s definitely one that has a lot of heart, soul, and fur.
