Stray

Developer: BlueTwelve Studio | Released: 2022 | Genre: Adventure, Third Person

Know that feeling when you think a game is going to be in a certain way, then when you finally play it, it turns out to be significantly different? Stray was like that for me. I had the impression it would be sort of a cat version of a walking simulator, barely figuring out how to traverse a city, with lots of platforming and jumping through difficult to find openings. And that would be just about it.

But it was much more than that.

The game was also an adventure game with chain-like quests, it had a floating robot called B-12 to translate text and communicate with robots, there were genuine stealth sequences, running for a while from chasing enemies, even some combat. Yes, the actual shooting kind. At the same time, the game constantly awed me by how fantastic it looked. The lighting and the amount of detail was staggering.

So many of my screenshots taken of the game could be framed and put up on the wall.

Spoiler: Observations

Zurks? I see what you did there. A word play on Zergs.

It was so satisfying making those two robots fumble and drop a bucket of white paint.

Had to make a grand ma robot knit a sweater for another freezing robot as part of a chain quest.

Found all the music sheets for the guitar playing robot. Some of the music was really good, but there were also one that was unfinished and even one that sounded like random gibberish. Quite amusing.

Really glad B-12 had to use Momo’s code and not me. It had me giggling at the thought at first.

I loved how one robot was clearly modeled after Doc from Back to the Future. He even mentioned needing 1.21 gigawatts (spelled with an “o”) to power the Defluxor gun.

I have to admit I wasn’t really fond of the escape and combat sequences. Somehow they felt a little too much apart from the relaxed adventuring in the hubs. The Defluxor gun didn’t really resolve this much, it just added another stressful component to the gameplay.

Aww, Doc and Seamus hugging each other! Just a moment, I think I’ve got some sand in my eye.

Surely they wouldn’t be able to top the first hub, but I was wrong. Midtown was even better. Somehow it reminded me of Prague in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

There was one cut scene where something was crashing down and the cat fell down as well. It landed on its side and kind of slid on the floor. The cat really should have landed on its feet in that situation.

I loved how the cat could hide in cardboard boxes when sneaking. Very Metal Gear Solid.

A frequently returning part of a puzzle was rolling a barrel by having the cat walk inside of it.

Big surprise when the cat was caught and put in a hanging cage. I thought that trope wouldn’t really be practical with a cat. By the way, nice touch having to swing the cage to break it open.

Actually stressful luring those sentinels into the cages and locking them up. Got me on the edge of my seat.

B-12 sacrificed himself in the end and there were tears. But no surprise – that was predictable.

Pros

Amazing graphics with exquisite lighting and an abundance of detail everywhere.
The contextual jumping mechanic with a target indicator generally works well.
The cat is cute and perfectly animated, and it can scratch furniture, knead a carpet, and meow.
Sometimes you reach a hub with several robots offering quests or useful information.
There’s a satisfying collection quest gathering new songs for a robot musician.
You can make some robots stumble by running in between their legs.