![]() ![]() The game action is a little too simplistic. The biggest criticism of Stray I can muster is its short length, which is a real testament to its overall quality. Thankfully, Stray is generous with autosaves so no major progression was ever lost. I did encounter a few times where the cat would get stuck on objects, but a quick checkpoint restart fixed these. Across my first playthrough, I only endured a small handful of bugs and no major glitches or hard crashes. Listening to these tunes offers a great excuse to put down the controller and just zone out for a minute. There's also a robot you can meet early on in the game with a metal guitar who can play sheet music you find in the world. The game also sounds great with its mostly lowkey soundtrack fitting the overall relaxed vibe. There’s arguably merit to leaving players wanting more, but Stray wraps up before you’re ready to say goodbye to your feline friend. I rolled credits in around five hours, with a few collectibles still to find, but even a thorough playthrough is unlikely to clock in at longer than eight hours. Stray’s most unfortunate fault is there isn’t nearly enough of it. Neither segment is especially head scratching - what you need to do next is always clearly signposted - but they’re hugely rewarding all the same and prioritize exploration, which is the game’s biggest strength. These sections set you loose in a small open area and require you to complete multiple objectives to progress further. Two chapters in particular stand out because they allow you properly off the virtual leash. Touring such a stunning location from the perspective of a cat never gets old, and there’s plenty of incentive to search every nook and cranny because of the game’s meaningful collectibles. However, the biggest moments of joy in Stray come from exploring the intricately-detailed city. Neither the chase or stealth elements are especially complicated, but both add some much-needed variety - not to mention ramp up the stakes in the final chapters. Things are mixed up further with chase sequences where you must evade small fleshy creatures, and stealth segments where drones shooting deadly electric bolts try to hunt you down. Stray can also feel quite restricted during some platforming sections as the route your cat must follow is too heavily guided. This makes it impossible to fail any platforming sequence as there’s no way to mistime your jumps. But jumping is always contextual and a single button press automatically guides you from one place to another. Platforming is a big part of how your traverse the city. Although the game does keep things a little too simple throughout. Thankfully there is more to Stray than just interacting with the world as a cat would. ![]() You may find yourself leaving surfaces unscratched quicker than you might expect. However, doing the various things that cats often do does get old pretty fast and after the first couple of chapters these opportunities to express your inner cat-ness feel more like distractions than meaningful game mechanics. You’ll likely spend your first thirty or so minutes with Stray enamored with scratching everything in sight and hammering the meow button until you’ve heard each audio clip multiple times. And a dedicated meow button allows you to audibly express yourself whenever you feel like it. You’re frequently given the opportunity to do regular cat activities from scratching sofas and rugs, to drinking from puddles and sleeping on anything that looks even vaguely comfortable (there’s actually a Trophy for napping for a whole real-world hour). It’s a regular household ginger cat and plays like one. It’s not a cat that’s been imbued with unique powers, or can be upgraded with various cybernetic enhancements, or evolved into some sort of biomutant. ![]() It’s important to note in Stray the hero is just a standard everyday cat. This little guy is useful both in terms of game action and for dolling out surprisingly intriguing snippets of lore. You receive help from several friendly robots, but most crucially you have a small drone companion named B-12 strapped to your back. You don’t have to undertake this mission alone either. Your quest is a simple one: find your way back to the surface. There are no people in this strange place, just humanoid robots going about their daily lives and wandering the neon-lit streets of an eerie, but also oddly inviting, cyberpunk world. While jumping across steel beams and running along moss-covered pipes your kitty falls down a deep hole and awakes in a mysterious underground city. The game begins with its feline protagonist awaking from a peaceful slumber and after a few playful moments where you’ll get to grips with what it’s like to control a cat, you venture off to explore the ruins of an abandoned facility alongside your furry friends. Stray’s opening moments are wonderfully serene. (Image credit: Annapurna Interactive/BlueTwelve Studio)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |