A kitty cat on a Mission

Animal video games have been around for a long time with differing degrees of seriousness, from the ridiculous Goat Simulator to the more intense Bear Simulator, but Stray brings a new perspective. Sure, a player can perform almost every catlike activity in this indie from BlueTwelve Studio, but the narrative and the robot city are just as compelling. The post-apocalyptic world created for Stray and how the cat interacts with the environment and its occupants make this indie a uniquely memorable experience.

The story begins by following the cat with its family of three other full-grown felines in a lush landscape growing from an abandoned city section. The developers use this section to sneak into the tutorial cleverly by having the player follow and interact with the other kitties. The cute clowder of cats explores an area of overgrown alleyways under daylight until tragedy strikes as the protagonist falls deep into a forgotten and underground civilization. Separated from the furry friends, the cat finds only a broken robot in a dark alley. When the player adventures into the robot metropolis, the robotic inhabitants try to assist the cat’s plight. Will the young feline ever see its family again?

While searching, the kitty follows the neon-lit clues left by one robot named B12 and rescues it. The tiny droid helps the player and becomes part of a heroic duo with the cat, which acts as Stray’s full sci-fi gameplay and exploration elements. B12 handles the interaction and communication with robots, although the kitty can meow at everything to get its point across. The mini robot also takes control of the inventory and translates robot graffiti and signs. In addition, the fury protagonist can jump, run, and interact with several environmental elements, like scratching rugs and drinking from ponds. Although, there are moments when the gamer can have the mischievous feline mess with unsuspecting robots.

The interactive choices are so great that a player can easily get lost being a cat in the post-apocalyptic city. I must have spent an extra hour finding and performing every catlike action in my playthrough. The developers graciously provided ample opportunity for me to live out being a cat! Even meowing at the robots found throughout the cyberpunk dystopia is fun since each cybernetic being has a different reaction. Even my real-life cat was very interested in those feline calls, and he romped aggressively throughout the house, hoping to fight its source.

Stray is not an adventure game without any consequences, and two main enemy types hunt the kitty. The Zurks are parasitic organisms that eat everything, while the sentinels are police drones that fire devastating electric blasts if disturbed. The variety of enemies is not deep, but their usage gives enough sense of danger that sneaking and running expand the gameplay, especially when the main character is a cute kitty.

I had one issue playing the indie, but it was not from a lack of action or adventure. The problem is that the jumps are line-of-sight, which was hard to activate for several high-up locations. Even toggling the auto-camera options did not resolve this issue, and I missed many secret paths I could see from the ground. If I held the jump button, it worsened the situation since the cat jumps automatically to the next available spot, which is often the floor. In spite of the minor issue, I thoroughly enjoyed Stray, and the completionist in me has a reason to replay the game.

Despite the limited enemies and gameplay, there is so much to love about Stray. The player can explore a deep narrative mixed into a fun cat simulator. Gamers should not expect an Elden Ring style of difficulty, but it is engaging and has a presentation that makes it worth playing just the same. BlueTwelve Studio’s Stray reaches a wider audience with their amazing cat adventure and exploration game set in a dystopian future full of robots. The $30 title has more depth and content than some full-priced games and will delight any cat-loving gamer.

Stray

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

• Developer: BlueTwelve Studio

• Publisher: Annapurna Interactive

• Release Date: 7/19/2022

• Played on: PlayStation 5