Game Review: ‘Stray’ Is An Enjoyable Story That Holds Your Attention From Start To Finish

Stray is a video game that just launched on July 19th of this year and it’s a game where you literally play as a cat. It’s a third-person linear platform, puzzle, and adventure game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans don’t exist and humans inhabit underground cities. Stray was developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapurna Interactive. It’s a relatively short game that is beautifully designed and will surprise you. Its story develops as the game progresses and you pick up clues on how humanity ended as you go along.

Immerse Yourself In This Game

When I heard about Stray – mostly from the YouTube channel Gameranx – I knew I had to purchase it. I have four cats and the cat in this game is absolutely adorable. Full disclosure, you play as a completely normal cat. Except for the fact that you gain a small backpack early in the game where a tiny robot called B-12 floats around with you, you’re a regular cat. Which, means that you’re doing some normal cat things. You’re using your expert athleticism to traverse the many pipes, ledges, and more that this world has to offer. You’re also scratching carpets, walls, wires, and anything else you can sink your claws in.

On top of being incredibly adorable, this cat really develops some strong attachments with the robots of the world. It’s absolutely endearing to see the interactions between our main hero and the robots. Of course, you’re sitting there saying to yourself that there’s a lot of responsibility placed on the shoulders of a mere cat, but hey, who am I to argue about the realism/non-realism of this game?

An Incredibly Alive Video Game

Stray is incredibly beautifully designed. If I had one complaint about the game, and perhaps it’s because I’ve been playing games like GTA V and Red Dead Redemption II; but I would have really loved how this game to be open-world. It’s so beautiful and there’s so much to explore in such tiny little areas. I adored being able to jump around, interact with other robots, and see what the world had to offer. I loved that there was so much potential to interact with others and the world felt incredibly alive. The developers gave us a really fun world to play in and there wasn’t any point where I was bored.

As cute as Stray is, there were some moments that were really intense and scary. There were many difficult missions that I had to do a few times and I felt immense relief when I was finally able to go past certain levels. I’m sure expert gamers who play constantly, and play different kinds of games; would consider this game low-stress and just click-and-play. However, for me; there were some challenging moments. That, I really enjoyed – because, it added more to the game. And as cute as the game is, you really are exposed to how humanity ruined itself and the ugliness that can happen from greed. Every inch of this game felt like it was alive and the detail everywhere you looked was a nice touch.

Rating: 9.5/10

I really hope this game gets expanded upon or even a sequel. I didn’t want to stop playing as our little feline companion and I’ll certainly be playing it again to really explore all the collectibles there are to have. Stray is available on PC, PS4, and PS5 – it’s worth it! I promise you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgPRPi–F5E