Stray (Xbox) Review

Many people love cats. They are lovable mischief-makers who know how to get what they want. The French game developers, BlueTwelve Studio, give gamers a chance to play as a realistic cat in a dark cyberpunk adventure.

Four stray cats live in the overgrown ruins of an abandoned city. When one of the cats jumps onto a broken pipe he falls deep into the city and finds it inhabited by robots and giant bacteria that consume anything that moves. The ginger kitty has to team up with some of the robots to find a way back to the surface and destroy the Zurks.

When the first trailer for Stray was released, I was won over immediately, but I had to wait for the Xbox version to come out. It was worth the wait for this cat dad since the game gave me the chance to live as my old ginger nut. Stray gives gamers a chance to play as a furry arsehole as they can knock things off ledges, trip over robots, and do cat things like scratch up walls, doors, and sofas. There were also plenty of opportunities to do cute cat things like shoving your head in a bag, sleeping in nooks, and playing with balls. It’s a game that allows players to be as destructive as possible.

Stray was a simple gameplay experience. It was a linear game where a player just needs to press the appropriate button when prompted. You can perform kitty parkour as you will need to collect items and the game is so safe that there’s no way to fall off the edge no matter what you do. The only threats were the Zurks and Sentinels so the only things Ginger can do is run away or hide. There were hub worlds where the cat gets tasked with fetch quests to continue the story, like stealing some detergent so it can be exchanged for a reel of wire that can be sewn into a poncho. The problem is if someone tells the cat to do something the cat’s response would be to flop on its side and clean themselves.

Stray was a story-driven game. It started as a simple quest for Ginger to get back to his family but evolved into a grander story about stopping the Zurks and overthrowing the authoritarian regime. It was a game about world-building, and the backstory of the world was slowly revealed as Ginger explored it. One of the side quests involved Ginger helping his robot companion, B-12, regain his memories, and this gradually revealed the backstory of the world.

The developers did create an absorbing world. The city was inspired by Kowloon Walled City, resulting in a dark and depressing atmosphere. The city was dank and natural light was unable to reach the citizens. The companions acted like their old human masters in an attempt to have a connection to them, even though their needs were different. I did a second playthrough with my nephews and seemingly small details had extra significance because I knew the context. Stray was an indie game yet it still had a grand scope and was graphically impressive: it was easy to love Ginger. The hub worlds did feel small but it was better to have a small, lived-in world instead of a big empty one.

The world and story that was crafted led to a mix of environmentalism, sci-fi, and horror. The game felt like a darker version of the Pixar film Wall-E since they were about humanity’s guilt leading them to destroy the planet because of their greed and overconsumption. The environments in Stray were Los Angeles in Blade Runner because they were dark and dank but also filled with noir lighting. Both films and Stray were connected by the evil role mega-corporations played in their worlds.

The Zurks brought a Lovecraftian horror element to the game. They were destructive to anything that moved. When Ginger went to the sewers, he discovered they had formed a hive with hideous giant eyeballs watching for intruders. The minimalist score did add to the creepy and tense atmosphere, especially beyond the hub worlds.

Stray was a short and simple game that had a lot of charm, even in its dark setting and story. It was easy to play, and I enjoyed the story.