Review: Stray
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:As you play, your progress is automatically saved to your choice of three save slots. Beyond this, you can also return to and replay any chapter than you've completed whenever you want. To pause the game, bring up the game's menu by pressing ESC. Time needed per session:How much time you need to make progress varies based on what you're doing. The longest sections occur midway through, when you're trying to make your way through Zurk infested areas. So I'd suggest giving yourself up to 30 minutes to clear these sections, 15 minutes or so otherwise.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Some players may have concerns Contrary to the way this game is often reviewed, this is actually a bittersweet and sad title. There's gore, and the cat can be killed in several ways. Players should take this into consideration before playing. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/stray_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/stray_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/stray_2.jpg)
Game Overview
Stray has become a popular game, and when anything becomes popular, people talk about it. Unfortunately, this is one case where people seem to leave out most of the important details - for example, most of the reviews players have left on the Steam store just gush over the fact that you're playing as a cute kitty, and say nothing about the game's story, its content, or even its mechanics.
This is a problem because not only can the cat be hurt or killed, there are also segments of this game that seem to have taken inspiration from Dead Space or similar horror stories. If you're going into this game expecting a happy and cute kitty simulator, you're going to be in for a severe shock.
Put simply, this game is a piece of dystopian fiction that just happens to feature a cat. Like any other story set in a dystopia, there's garbage everywhere, people are suffering, and there is even a brutal police force that "reeducates" offenders. There are also small creatures called Zurks that swarm and eat anything that they can find (including the cat), segments filled with body horror, and a general sense of hopelessness.
But there is another aspect of this genre that stands out in Stray: despite everything that's wrong with the world, there's still a sense that some good still exists. And that's the key to this game's story - it's about hope in a hopeless world.
Another surprising detail is that the cat isn't really the main character of the story. Oh sure, they help bring about the changes that the world needs, but they don't really go through a character arc. That role falls to B-12, the helpful AI you'll meet in the second chapter. B-12 rides in the cat's backpack, and pops out to translate things, help you use items, and most importantly, remember things.
You see, the B-12 has a problem of their own. They've been stuck in the network for so long that most of their memories have degraded, leaving them with the computer version of amnesia. The only thing it remembers is making a promise to reopen the doors to the Outside. It doesn't even remember its own name; B-12 is simply the label marked on the drone body it occupies.
As the pair travel through the different parts of the City, they'll stumble across various things that remind B-12 of what they used to know. In turn, B-12 will find themselves needing to confront their own feelings about various topics, and answer some tough questions about what it means to be alive and a person.
In the meantime, you'll guide the cat through many typical cat activities, like hiding in boxes, scratching walls, or even just meowing at someone. Each of these behaviors can be utilized to further the story and solve puzzles. For instance, you could jump in a box to avoid enemies, or sharpen your claws on some exposed wires to short out a security system. Meowing doesn't usually do much of anything, but you can use it to lure Zurks towards the cat, thereby getting them away from someplace you need to go.
Now, as great as all this is, there are some things in this game that aren't as much fun. The jumping mechanics have a steep learning curve, which can be an issue. Most games let you jump whenever you press the jump button, but Stray does things differently, presumably to ensure the cat's movements are more realistic. Instead of being able to freely jump, you can only jump at defined locations, and only when the jump indicator is visible.
This can become a real source of frustration during action heavy scenes, as it's harder than it looks to trigger the jump indicator while moving around quickly. On the plus side, most of these scenes are best handled by other means - eg, running in a zigzag pattern - so if you're struggling to make some jumps, that might not be the solution the developers wanted you to use.
Overall, I'm on the fence about recommending this game. On one hand, there's some good stuff here and I can see why people enjoy it. On the other, there's a higher than average chance of it being more frustrating than fun, and a lot of people, myself included, really aren't going to like seeing the cat get killed during a game over screen.
On the other other hand, there are games out there where you can actually screw around as a cat to your heart's content - Catlateral Damage comes to mind.
This is a problem because not only can the cat be hurt or killed, there are also segments of this game that seem to have taken inspiration from Dead Space or similar horror stories. If you're going into this game expecting a happy and cute kitty simulator, you're going to be in for a severe shock.
Put simply, this game is a piece of dystopian fiction that just happens to feature a cat. Like any other story set in a dystopia, there's garbage everywhere, people are suffering, and there is even a brutal police force that "reeducates" offenders. There are also small creatures called Zurks that swarm and eat anything that they can find (including the cat), segments filled with body horror, and a general sense of hopelessness.
But there is another aspect of this genre that stands out in Stray: despite everything that's wrong with the world, there's still a sense that some good still exists. And that's the key to this game's story - it's about hope in a hopeless world.
Another surprising detail is that the cat isn't really the main character of the story. Oh sure, they help bring about the changes that the world needs, but they don't really go through a character arc. That role falls to B-12, the helpful AI you'll meet in the second chapter. B-12 rides in the cat's backpack, and pops out to translate things, help you use items, and most importantly, remember things.
You see, the B-12 has a problem of their own. They've been stuck in the network for so long that most of their memories have degraded, leaving them with the computer version of amnesia. The only thing it remembers is making a promise to reopen the doors to the Outside. It doesn't even remember its own name; B-12 is simply the label marked on the drone body it occupies.
As the pair travel through the different parts of the City, they'll stumble across various things that remind B-12 of what they used to know. In turn, B-12 will find themselves needing to confront their own feelings about various topics, and answer some tough questions about what it means to be alive and a person.
In the meantime, you'll guide the cat through many typical cat activities, like hiding in boxes, scratching walls, or even just meowing at someone. Each of these behaviors can be utilized to further the story and solve puzzles. For instance, you could jump in a box to avoid enemies, or sharpen your claws on some exposed wires to short out a security system. Meowing doesn't usually do much of anything, but you can use it to lure Zurks towards the cat, thereby getting them away from someplace you need to go.
Now, as great as all this is, there are some things in this game that aren't as much fun. The jumping mechanics have a steep learning curve, which can be an issue. Most games let you jump whenever you press the jump button, but Stray does things differently, presumably to ensure the cat's movements are more realistic. Instead of being able to freely jump, you can only jump at defined locations, and only when the jump indicator is visible.
This can become a real source of frustration during action heavy scenes, as it's harder than it looks to trigger the jump indicator while moving around quickly. On the plus side, most of these scenes are best handled by other means - eg, running in a zigzag pattern - so if you're struggling to make some jumps, that might not be the solution the developers wanted you to use.
Overall, I'm on the fence about recommending this game. On one hand, there's some good stuff here and I can see why people enjoy it. On the other, there's a higher than average chance of it being more frustrating than fun, and a lot of people, myself included, really aren't going to like seeing the cat get killed during a game over screen.
On the other other hand, there are games out there where you can actually screw around as a cat to your heart's content - Catlateral Damage comes to mind.
Points of Interest
Tons of interactivity
The developers really went overboard with finding ways for you to have the cat interact with its environment. There are lots of places where you can just do things for the sake of doing them, as well as many situations where normal cat behavior can solve puzzles.
A particularly popular example is found in the slums: there's a robot snoozing on a sofa, and you're given the option to have the cat curl up on his chest. The first time you do this, he'll startle awake, look confused for a moment, then shrug as if to say "well, this is my life now" and goes back to sleep.
A particularly popular example is found in the slums: there's a robot snoozing on a sofa, and you're given the option to have the cat curl up on his chest. The first time you do this, he'll startle awake, look confused for a moment, then shrug as if to say "well, this is my life now" and goes back to sleep.
Side quests and collectables
Aside from locating things that will help you progress or restore B-12's memories, there are some additional tasks you can do to earn some optional prizes - typically a badge for the cat to wear on their vest. Some of these tasks include finding items, or you may simply need to explore your surroundings.
Steam community features
In addition to a set of Steam trading cards, there are 24 achievements to earn while exploring the ruined City. Only a few of these are awarded for completing parts of the story - you'll need to put in some effort for the rest of them. You'll have an easier time earning most of them if you're also interested in locating those collectables, but there are two rather difficult achievements that will take a lot of retries.
One of these is the achievement for completing the story in under two hours. This will take some planning, but it's generally more doable than the achievement for not getting caught by any Zurks during your initial meeting with them. There's just too many to avoid.
One of these is the achievement for completing the story in under two hours. This will take some planning, but it's generally more doable than the achievement for not getting caught by any Zurks during your initial meeting with them. There's just too many to avoid.
Controls can be hard to work with
I've already mentioned how Stray's jumping mechanics have an unexpected learning curve, but that's not the only time the controls can get in your way. Another problem comes with how that "meow" button is also used to shake off clingy Zurks - by default, you need to quickly tap the button to have the cat try to shake them off. This has an annoying tendency to just make the cat meow instead, which not only doesn't get the attacking Zurks to let go, it also attracts more of the little buggers.
There are alternative control settings available, such as holding down the meow button to shake them off, but it doesn't feel right to require the player to change things to make the game playable.
There are alternative control settings available, such as holding down the meow button to shake them off, but it doesn't feel right to require the player to change things to make the game playable.
Questionable optimization
Concerns and Issues
The cat can die
Easily the most upsetting thing in this game is the fact that the star of the show, the cat, can be killed in a number of ways. This can include being eaten alive by Zurks, and being shot by an energy weapon or bullets. The former does sometimes appear to include blood, though this may actually be fluid from a burst Zurk.
On a positive note, there's an option in the game's menu to make the screen cut to black when the cat dies, so you just see the game over message and nothing else.
On a positive note, there's an option in the game's menu to make the screen cut to black when the cat dies, so you just see the game over message and nothing else.
Gore and body horror
The Zurks are essentially evolved bacteria, and it shows. Areas that are heavily infested by Zurk activity are covered in fleshy growths, with the Zurk eggs resembling pustules. This comes to a head in the sewer chapter, as these mutated growths have started developing actual body parts, like large functioning eyes.
What is the measure of a soul anyway?
The actual plot of Stray focuses on the nature of the soul - or at least, the question of what makes someone a person. The robots you encounter at the beginning of the game are clearly "people" in many respects; they make art, eat "food", have hopes and dreams, and so on. However, B-12 eventually explains that they weren't originally built to have autonomy or free will. Instead, they were designed to do simple tasks and follow instructions, like a household appliance.
As you move through the City towards the Command Center, you'll start meeting robots who haven't advanced as much - their names are simple numeric designations, and they struggle to complete certain tasks. Very late in the game you'll come across robots that never diverged from their basic programming, and it's almost unsettling.
Along those same lines, there are robots who have been "rebooted" to bring their behavior back under control. It's treated as a fate worse than death, as everything that made them a "person" is gone.
As you move through the City towards the Command Center, you'll start meeting robots who haven't advanced as much - their names are simple numeric designations, and they struggle to complete certain tasks. Very late in the game you'll come across robots that never diverged from their basic programming, and it's almost unsettling.
Along those same lines, there are robots who have been "rebooted" to bring their behavior back under control. It's treated as a fate worse than death, as everything that made them a "person" is gone.
Mild swearing
Some of the less polite robots are comfortable using mild language like "damn", but nobody will use harsher profanity.
B-12's big secret
Players will probably see this coming, but it turns out that B-12's "AI" is really the consciousness of the last living human being. Before their death, they attempted to upload their mind into the computer network, but something didn't go as planned, causing them to get "stuck" inside until the cat let them out.
This ties back into the central theme of the game, as it both blurs the definition of "person" and suggests that there was something about mankind that couldn't be stored in digital form.
This ties back into the central theme of the game, as it both blurs the definition of "person" and suggests that there was something about mankind that couldn't be stored in digital form.
Bittersweet ending
In the final act, B-12 realizes that opening the door to the Outside will result in extreme damage to his drone casing, and he still chooses to go through it anyway, saying that there's a future waiting for everyone he met along his journey. In hindsight, this sacrifice is foreshadowed throughout the game, as every robot who helped you on your journey was prevented from coming with you to the next area.
There is, however, a small detail at the end of the last scene that may hint at B-12's survival - a solitary monitor flickers to life of its own accord, just as they did at the beginning of the game when B-12 was in the network and trying to get your attention.
There is, however, a small detail at the end of the last scene that may hint at B-12's survival - a solitary monitor flickers to life of its own accord, just as they did at the beginning of the game when B-12 was in the network and trying to get your attention.