Why Everyone You Know Is Obsessed With “Stray” (a.k.a. The Cat Game)
You might have noticed your timeline on social media being invaded by a little orange tabby cat. That is because on July 19th, the widely anticipated “Stray” finally released on Steam and PlayStation!
You might be wondering what the appeal is. Does it have a vast open world? A complex fighting system? Neverending dialogue trees? Endless customization?
I'm here to tell you that it has none of that, and somehow, I think it works to its advantage.
This is one of the reasons why I love indie games so much. They don't try to pull you in with never before seen features, or million dollar endeavors as they try to outsell or outdo their competitors. These developers had a story to tell, they told it following their vision, and they presented it to us, in whatever shape it ended up being.
Stray is easily summarised by the phrase "Cat has an adventure in a cyberpunk city with a friendly robot." And for a lot of people, that's the appeal.
A number of us have fatigue of buying a game and spending hundreds of hours exploring an unending world or struggling on a hard boss for a shiny achievement. Not to say that these aren't great experiences, because they are, but being able to say to yourself:
'You know what? Tonight, I'm going to sit down with snacks, and chill as a cat for a couple hours.'
It’s refreshing, and a reminder that games don't have to be this long, hard experience you power through to test your skills. They can also be the story of a cat, and the impact it has on the world around it. A tale of hope and sacrifice you can finish in one afternoon, talk about with others, and just- enjoy.
Stray doesn't have endless side-quests. It doesn't have talent trees. It doesn't have breathtaking graphics. It knows what it is, what it has to offer, and does it extremely well.
The main areas you can explore during your time in the city are small, but they are packed with details. The verticality of the spaces also enables so much more life and content to fit in what could be considered a narrow space. Meaning that, although when you look back at it you notice its humble size, it never feels like it when you're in it, looking up and down to find details, easter eggs, and ways to get where you want to go.
The game design is genius in that it almost never explicitly tells you where to go, but uses all the usual tricks to make sure you can never really get lost. Whether it be lighting, cables, marks, little prompts, many times I found myself doing something by pure instinct, only to notice I had accidently done it early when the game would then ask me something about it.
Stray rewards you for exploration, while never punishing you for not doing it. I will never forget when I was messing around on a counter and knocking stuff over (as you do), then was suddenly stopped as I had walked onto a small platform which proceeded to descend into a basement, where I found one of the game's collectibles. There was no indication of it ever being a small lift, and I only found it by following the game's One True Rule: Be an arsehole cat.
With every step and jump, it's obvious how much time and love the developers spent perfecting our meowing protagonist. The game never tries to act as if you're a human controlling a cat. You are a cat, and will do cat things, because you're a cat. Yes, there's a state of emergency outside, but you haven't scratched that wallpaper yet, and clearly, that takes priority.
Being a cat also lets the plot take its own form. This isn't the story of the cat, really. Yes, your goal is intertwined with the plot, but the stakes are mostly for others, and the stories of those you meet really shine in this way. It makes you appreciate the intricate world building you can spot in every single frame and in dialog.
Stray has a rich story, tells it beautifully, and sometimes, that’s all we need.
Author Spotlight
I'm Leeze, an aro ace content creator/ musician from France. I've been playing games my whole life with a special interest in Indie games as I grow more and more tired of the state of AAA companies. I love to feel the passion indie studios put in their work and I want to do my part to help them grow and flourish.
