Before this game came out I decided to not follow anything about it, but I had seen a .gif of the cat climbing around, so I started referring to it as “Cat-Uncharted”, and I think I was somewhat right in the end.
This game was not all I was expecting, but more.
There is not much to say, in my opinion. You play as a cat in a post-apocalyptic world that gets separated from his cat friends and has to find his way out of the situation. The world is well written and the way you slowly get to understand what happened keeps you hooked.
The game plays great, the controls are very responsive and the graphics and animations are insanely detailed. So much that sometimes I would just stop and look at the cat idling.
Performances on PC are not perfect, there is some stutter, especially when loading a new area, but it’s not unplayable and it does not happen that often.
The game is the right length in my opinion in the first playthrough, being a puzzle/platformer game, and with completism, it becomes long enough to justify the purchase at full price.
Some of the achievements are really fun to pursue, especially the one about speedrunning the whole game within a set amount of hours.
Although the game has no difficulty selector, one of the achievements is very tricky and could frustrate some people, so keep that in mind.

A small project with a unique vision that hit all the right points.
Between Stray and 12 Minutes, I think Annapurna is on a roll!
That said, for me, this was easily a 9/10!

J’ai vraiment bien aimé ce jeu cool et chill. Le gameplay est un gameplay à la troisième personne. On contrôle un petit chat qui a un compagnon robot avec lui et qui doit résoudre des mystères sur le monde, dans un monde open world assez petit. L’ambiance du jeu est calme, mais à la fois un peu stressante. Il y’a également quelques petites missions secondaires par ci par là. J’ai bien aimé l’univers un peu cyberpunk, mélangé entre robot et nature. Malheureusement, ce qui m’a déçu, c’est que l’histoire principale est trop courte, la fin m’a beaucoup déçue, je m’attendais à voir autre chose, je ne pensais pas que ça se finirait comme ça. Quand aux quêtes secondaires, trop peu et pas assez longues. Je note quand même Stray 3 étoiles car c’est pas non plus un jeu horrible, je veux dire, le gameplay est cool, l’ambiance aussi, malgrès l’histoire qui je trouve est pour moi bâclée.

Stray is an interesting piece. You play as a cat who ends up all alone in a dystopian city. From there, you will solve puzzles and platform your way back to the surface world.
The world bulding is fantastic and easily my favourite part of the game. It really sets up an awesome visual experience if you're a fan of cyberpunk styles meeting gross horror. It really nails the enviornments it's trying to build up as well as the characters living in them.
The game absolutely rocks in this sense and honestly is worth the playtime even just for the world it's set in.
Gameplay wise, it's fairly simple. You third person roam as a kitty and jump with x on any surface that it allows. No free jump but you can basically jump onto almost everything, allowing for great traversal mechanics. Other than that, there isn't much new here. It's a simple platformer and features a variety of puzzles and mini quests to make up most of your adventures. From finding secret codes to scratching areas to reveal hidden doors.
Does the cat game have plot? Why yes it does! It's a pretty fun storyline that captialises on the world around itself. It isn't anything hyper unique or special but it is heartfelt and the questions of the world are quite intriguing. You always want to know more and how your companion robot ties into everything.
It isn't so much plot for the cat but for the beings you meet and how to provide hope to their lives.
Ultimately, I enjoyed Stray. Do I think this game would have been AS played and loved if it wasn't for the cat? God no. Which saddens me because games like this normally go underappreciated.
However the marketing was incredible and now a lot of people will get to see a really neat cyberpunk dystopian platformer that gives a nice short adventure.

Yes there's a meow button (yes every outlet think this is gods gift to mankind in terms of reviewing it)

How on earth can you not love this game. I'm not even a cat person, I like dogs way more but this game executes playing as a cat perfectly. You feel like a cat, the cat purrs, scratches, sleeps, rubs against people legs, and does normal cat things. Stray is an incredibly immerse and beautiful game. It has some of the most beautiful scenery i've ever seen. From the starting area to the bright night cities. The game is absolute peak and while there are some minor issues I have with the platforming, I still think this game is just an amazing time. 9/10

Reviewing every game i've fully completed #40

I preordered Stray and never actually got around to playing more than half an hour of it on release. I can see why I bounced off it - it's not exactly a deep or challenging game, but that's okay. I just needed to come back when I was in the mood for a cute, mellow, vibey little adventure with a kitty cat. I really enjoyed how the cat handled, the different animations and movements depending on if you're jumping onto a ledge, a chair, or a vending machine for example - it all feels very natural and smooth. Really enjoyable aesthetic. I struggled a bit with the idea of having human-brain puzzles and such, and when you get your companion I was also a little disappointed - I was kind of hoping for the entire game to be through the eyes and capabilities of a lost cat. However as the game went on I appreciated the way your little friend helps add to the texture and story of the world. Cool setting - I'd be keen to see what else these developers can do in future. I'm glad I finally got around to playing it!