What I thought would be just a cat simulator with acceptable gameplay ended up being something far more impressive.
Stray is an adventure game akin to something like Journey, Abzu, or Gris. I make that comparison because Stray is a game that bases itself on very simple and basic platforming mechanics that are absolutely elevated due to the environmental storytelling and direction. It's less about platforming through challenging and complex level designs that evolve as you progress, but more so about placing you into an interactive experience.
Just the premise alone is so neat. You're in a world, long after the extinction of humanity, residing within a complex cybercity filled with colorful robotic citizens. However, the twist is that you are viewing this story all through the eyes of a feline companion. Something I never knew I needed to see until I had it in front of me.
I wouldn't say that the story and world itself is wholly original, but I think this game still has enough charm behind its direction that it still felt like it stood on its own. The robotic civilians are all very intriguing to observe and interact with, and the level designs are surprisingly dense, interconnected, and filled with character and environmental storytelling that really all just makes it feel less like sections of a game and more like an actual living, breathing world that you're getting to observe.
It's just a lovely, chill little experience and I was genuinely surprised by how much I ended up actually liking it. This will actually probably go down as one of my favorite games of 2022. Definitely a game everyone should check off their list of games to play this year. Also, the music is fantastic.
Cons:
- Not really a negative, per se, but the game only took me 4-5 hours to beat. I didn't mind that. I think any more would have hurt the pacing. However, it's also a $30 game so just be aware that you probably won't get a lot of mileage out of it.
- I think the story and world-building is interesting, if cliche. There's a lot of things presented in the story, though, that I wish were delved a little more deeper upon.
- The second half of the game is a bit weaker than the first. The slow unraveling of the setting is much more rewarding there, and I think the first, big, dense map feels more interesting and has more neat stuff to do and interact with than in the second half.
Stray is an adventure game akin to something like Journey, Abzu, or Gris. I make that comparison because Stray is a game that bases itself on very simple and basic platforming mechanics that are absolutely elevated due to the environmental storytelling and direction. It's less about platforming through challenging and complex level designs that evolve as you progress, but more so about placing you into an interactive experience.
Just the premise alone is so neat. You're in a world, long after the extinction of humanity, residing within a complex cybercity filled with colorful robotic citizens. However, the twist is that you are viewing this story all through the eyes of a feline companion. Something I never knew I needed to see until I had it in front of me.
I wouldn't say that the story and world itself is wholly original, but I think this game still has enough charm behind its direction that it still felt like it stood on its own. The robotic civilians are all very intriguing to observe and interact with, and the level designs are surprisingly dense, interconnected, and filled with character and environmental storytelling that really all just makes it feel less like sections of a game and more like an actual living, breathing world that you're getting to observe.
It's just a lovely, chill little experience and I was genuinely surprised by how much I ended up actually liking it. This will actually probably go down as one of my favorite games of 2022. Definitely a game everyone should check off their list of games to play this year. Also, the music is fantastic.
Cons:
- Not really a negative, per se, but the game only took me 4-5 hours to beat. I didn't mind that. I think any more would have hurt the pacing. However, it's also a $30 game so just be aware that you probably won't get a lot of mileage out of it.
- I think the story and world-building is interesting, if cliche. There's a lot of things presented in the story, though, that I wish were delved a little more deeper upon.
- The second half of the game is a bit weaker than the first. The slow unraveling of the setting is much more rewarding there, and I think the first, big, dense map feels more interesting and has more neat stuff to do and interact with than in the second half.