Stray - Review
When Stray first made its debut, it caught the attention of a great many gamers and non-gamers alike, because it let you play as a cat. Since then the game had been mostly silent, leaving the experience of playing the game one of mystery for everyone and now that I have, what is the verdict. Is this a purr-fect game or does playing it feel like coughing up a hairball?
The story of Stray is pretty simple, at least until you start to look into things, the basic story however is that you are a cat, no name just a cat and when some pipe you are using gives way, you find yourself down in the sewers and determined to get out. As you start to explore, a random orange sign lights up, drawing your eye and then another one and another, all leading you to an apartment where a computer is asking for help. Turns out the computer hosts an AI of sorts, and they promise to help you return to the surface, something that they were unaware was possible, until you arrived. The rest of the story is something that you will have to experience on your own, not because of any major spoilers, but the more that you interact with the people of the world and discover more signs and information on the world, things will round out differently. For the most part, the story is pretty solid, I do have an issue with how it all ends, it isn’t horrible, but it feels like its missing something.
On the gameplay side of things, there are some wonderful and some frustrating moments, but let us focus on the good first. Moving around is pretty sublime, there isn’t anything that stops you from pushing forward, climb up or down or interacting with the world, its all pretty straight forward stuff. As a cat, you are nimble, which means in the first large space, you can use air conditioners, small pipes and even rails to move around the world. As long as you are looking in the direction that you want to go, the game will provide a prompt for the ledge, press it and you move in that direction. There are times when you will see prompt circles in the world and when you are close enough, pressing the indicated button, will trigger an action, sometimes it is scratching the walls or floor, or it could be you just taking a nap. The game really does a phenomenal job of making you feel like you are a real cat, there is even a dedicated meow button, that you can press whenever you desire, to really sell that point.
Progression is tied to completing objectives that the denizens of the world give you, something that you can’t ignore. As you progress through the various locations, you will get the chance to help out some folks, outside of the main story, but they are not as common as you might think. For the main quest, there is a sequence of events that must be completed, in order to get a device repaired, the problem is that the game doesn’t explicitly tell you, that you can interact with some things, so players who are not adventure game aficionados may struggle to understand what to do. The little AI that you help at the start, can provide hints at any time, but they are not the most descriptive, so you will need to pay attention to things. The game is quite linear as well, so apart from helping a few random folks around the place, most of the time you are just pushing forward, which can keep the momentum going, however it does come at a cost, of a shorter than expected run time.
On the weird side though, there are some issues, the first is that moving around does require some precision at times, but the game isn’t built for that. If you are on a ledge and can’t see the higher or lower space you want, then you can’t proceed, even if you know there is a space you can reach. While most surfaces are available for your walking pleasure, there are sometimes when the game just won’t let you do so, even when there is no reason why it should stop you, it just won’t let you. There are times when you will have to run away from the Zurks - the critters that look like chibi styled head crabs from Half Life, and generally you just have to push forward. There were a number of times in these events, where I would climb up onto a higher surface, only for the game to not let me climb down and when they leap for you, you can get stuck under them, which removes any potential movement, until you shake them off, but if you are not fast enough, you die. The lack of exploration is also sad, yes there are some side quests that you can do, but once you are in a hub, the only way out is to progress the story and once you do that, you can’t go back. The reason why it is sad is that there is an entire world to explore and the game just won’t let you, once you enter the sewers for the first time and you are seen, you will understand what I mean.
If there is one element that can’t be faulted, it is the games visuals, across the board things are wonderful, from the insane level of detail on cat, to the posters and other elements that make the world feel lived in. When its just you and your fellow felines at the start of the game, the broken world that you live in, never feels like its real, given the amount of foliage around the place, but after you fall, the world feels corrupted, even though there are similar elements in your view. Once you enter the final town, everything you see looks like it’s the best version of the apocalypse, there are clearly issues but the folks living there have done the best they can. The character design is wonderful as well, while the general look of each of the companion droids is the same, there is enough variety in how they dress and their personalities, that they never feel like identical copies of each other, the last group of them not withstanding.
The Zurk, as I said before look very much like the head crabs from Half-Life, just with a chibi layer applied to them, but you may not get to enjoy their cuteness, as they try to devour you. There is a second look to them, something that is more horrific than anything, but again you don’t really get time to enjoy the design, though depending on your taste, that might be a good thing. If I had one complaint on the visuals, it would be that they are too dark at times, they are not impossible to see, but the games default brightness can make some sections hard to see, but otherwise it looks great across the board.
On the audio side of things, the game is solid, but nothing overly amazing and while yes there is a dedicated meow button, the meows are random, so sometimes it’s a short one, sometimes it’s a lower one and there doesn't appear to be any context for when you get one over the other. The games music is great and while I appreciate the game using music to indicate that you have entered a key area, like when looking for the books from the Outsiders, the mix is just a little off. By that, I mean that when you enter, you may have had very quiet music before, but now you get loud music and it can be jarring. The speech from the folks you meet is like Banjo-Kazooie, not words just noises used to simulate them and it works, it also helps sell the fact that they are robots.
Stray is an interesting game, it has some wonderful and fluid movement options, but there are times when you come to a complete stop. The world design is immaculate, from the opening location through to the various towns and hidden spaces, everything feels like it could be a real place. The length of the game, along with its linear nature is likely something to be aware of, before you dive in, as it’s a one and done experience; Still, it is a wonderful experience and worth playing if you can.
The Score
8.5
The Pros
+World is rich in detail from the lowest parts to the highest, it feels like a real place
+The movement of the cat feels amazing when it comes together…
The Cons
-… but there are times when it just stops and leaves you frustrated
-The length of the game and its linear nature do not allow for replays of the game
