Stray Review

Blue Twelve Studio’s Stray is a game made by cat lovers for cat lovers and is an absolute joy to play through. Stray graces shelves on July 19th playable on PlayStation platforms and on PC via Steam. While most 2022 games try to bring something new, Stray aims to perfect what already worked. Make no mistake, Stray is a relatively simple game, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

This review will cover Stray’s Gameplay, Story, Visuals and Audio, explaining what works and what doesn’t. Moreover, we’ll ensure there are little to no spoilers; however, some locations and characters may be discussed.

Gameplay

We’ve spent several hours diving into the cyberpunk-themed world of Stray, getting to know the characters and discovering secrets. Much to the love of the internet, players get to control a Cat in Stray and relish in all the feline activities that come with it. That is to say; players can rub against friendly robots, leave their paw prints and find cosy places to nap in. Below we’ll go in-depth into Stray’s simplicity, mission design and traversal elements.

Simplicity

The highlight of Stray’s gameplay is in the simple actions of moving around, jumping, colliding with small objects and interacting with the characters. In other titles, most of these actions are monotonous and easy to gloat by; however, Stray makes even the most repetitive motions exciting.

We credit some of the fun of Stray’s simple gameplay to the high-quality animations incorporated into the gameplay. As a result of the robust animation system, the developers have integrated actions such as sitting, rubbing against objects and clawing soft patterns as gameplay. Moreover, these simple gameplay elements are elevated creatively with the PS5’s DualSense Controller.

However, while animations in Stray are superb, they prove to be duplicative and unnecessary in the long term. That is to say, clawing against patterns will Wow players the first time they see it but less so the hundredth time.

Mission Design

There are not that many straightforward puzzles in Stray. Instead, players are treated to a ” figure it out yourself ” approach in the main story. Moreover, players aren’t given many hints about where to go via UI Elements.

We love this approach and believe it adds a sense of immersion rarely seen in video games. Stray’s mission design relies on the player’s knowledge and awareness of their surroundings. To succeed, players need to listen to characters carefully, consult with BB-12 and make sense of their surroundings.

Stray passes the mantle to players when figuring out where to go next, and we’re all for it. However, this innovative approach isn’t all good news. That is to say, players that take long breaks in between gaming sessions are more likely to feel lost. In other words, these players will struggle with what to do next and may use the internet to discover their next step.

Traversal

The final and albeit most significant aspect of Stray’s gameplay is how players will get from Point A to Point B. Being a Cat in Stray is no visual design choice, and players need to behave and tackle situations in the mind of a cat. This could mean running away from most foes instead of fighting, surveying the area via a high vantage point, or generally messing around.

As a cat, players will leap towards ledges and pipes and crawl into tight spaces to go where humans or, in this case, robots cannot. The ingenious animation system pulls through again and makes jumping around a continuous fluid motion. That is to say, we never experienced any hiccups or hitches and always found traversal in Stray smooth and sleek.

We have no quirks regarding Stray’s traversal and believe it is its most prominent strength. No matter how often players jump, crawl or dash through Stray’s cluttered environments, it never gets old.

Visuals And Performance

Stray is one of the finest-looking games in this generation so far and sets the standard. Everything from the claustrophobic city alleys to the dimly lit cluttered sewers looks beautiful. The first time players see the city in all its glory is a magnificent setpiece. There’s no singular great thing about Stray’s visuals; everything comes together, giving a polished and refined look. Many hidden items, such as Safe Codes and Digi Codes, are combined into the surroundings too.

There are no Performance or Graphical modes in Stray on PlayStation 5. That is to say, Stray runs at a dynamic 4K Resolution targeting 60 Frames Per Second, and it pulls through. We like this approach better as it gives the developer enough time to optimize the performance universally. During our playthrough, performance remained rock-solid; there were no loading screens, and only minor hitches were encountered rarely.

Stray boats relatively low system requirements on PC, which can be mainly credited to the optimization in place by the developers. Players can expect to maintain 60 FPS at High or Medium settings even on Budget PCs, provided Ray Tracing is turned off. Moreover, early reports of PC Performance stated that installing Stray on an SSD is mandatory for stable performance.

Story

Without diving too much into spoilers, Stray’s story begins immediately as players fall into a crevice above a neon city. In the following hours, players navigate the growing territory trying to find a way back to the surface.

Stray’s story isn’t breathtaking, but it is creative and invokes a sense of curiosity in the player. It won’t be uncommon for players to question what happened to the world, its current state, and where all the humans went. Moreover, these questions will propel players forward to find answers.

Stray’s story is captivating and holds the player’s attention due to how it is told. Moreover, Stray uses its environments and characters to expertly craft and convey a story that will last with players. Generally, talking to characters will tell the player about the state of the world and how it functions now. Alternatively, players can sit back and observe how robots interact with the environment and even each other.

Stray’s story also has a few breathtaking setpieces designed to impress and hold the player’s attention. These set pieces may take the form of high-thrill chases, widening views of the city and introduction to entirely new environments. We were pleasantly surprised at Stray’s quality and variety of backdrops, and it never felt duplicative.

The only downside we see to Stray’s story is its short length. Players can expect to finish the main story in 5 to 6 hours without any replayability options apart from collectables and music sheets. Another quirk we have is that players only focused on getting to the next objective are bound to forego optional interactions. These players won’t be immersed as much and may not be interested in the story or its conclusion.

Music And Audio

Stray’s Original Soundtrack blends well with the themes of its world and heightens specific story beats. The soundtrack isn’t intrusive and is present mainly in the background as players progress through the story. Moreover, the music only picks up during important story segments, a small change we like.

While Stray’s soundtrack isn’t going to be ingrained in players’ minds, it gets the job done well. We prefer this timid approach to a more explosive soundtrack that diminishes immersion.

Apart from the soundtrack, the various sounds and noises from Stray’s environments are superb. The developers have incorporated a sound for everything from running across puddles to clinging for dear life from pipes. Our favourite implementation of the sound design is the ability to Meow on command in-game.

To summarize, Stray’s sound design is nothing short of spectacular, and we believe it adds to the story and immersion.

Verdict

Stray is an effortlessly fun game for all ages with a compelling story and gorgeous vistas to complement it. We especially love how the environment is directly integrated into the storytelling and the innovative mission design. The soundtrack and audio quality hold up and improve the base game. We just wish that it was longer and had replayability options.