Every owner of a little hairball has already one day, if only for a moment, dreamed of becoming a cat. Thanks to the BlueTwelve studio, this dream becomes reality with the release of the game Stray.
If you thought you were living the cushy life of an apartment cat who alternates his days between eating and sleeping, think again! It is in the fur of a stray cat that you will have to slip and live an experience similar to that of Murtaugh, cat and main inspiration for this game. With the only difference that your wandering will be in a cyberpunk world .
Meet Murtaugh, the main inspiration behind Stray’s pawed protagonist.
Dev details on bringing the game’s feline hero to life: https://t.co/sgvdUU4eflpic.twitter.com/qthc2clYMb
—PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 15, 2022
After a bad fall, this little red cat finds himself alone and isolated from his family. And the flight he will have to take in front of alien insects will not help matters. If he can count on meeting a small robot, who will act as an interpreter, the tomcat will have to manage alone in a new town with unique architecture and environment. Populated by humanoid robots, this city is divided between two beliefs: that of a better future outside the bunker where this civilization is located, or that of the skeptics who resign themselves to living locked up until the end of time. Through walks and puzzles, the city will reveal all its secrets.
Simplicity rhymes with efficiency
You have to keep in mind that with Stray, the Blue Twelve studio signs its first game and takes a promising first step. Developed in a small team, the game therefore had to make compromises and calm ambitions and expectations far from being achievable. Stray then wants to be concise, he wastes no time, does not scatter and finds the right balance between exploration and linearity. If the frustration of not being able to jump as we see fit is present, it is quickly swept away by the freedom left to the player. The lost feline mobility is compensated for by the perfidy granted to it. No other animal represents the balance between angel and demon so well, and that, Blue Twelve understood it well. Whether in walks or in interactions, the choice is left to the player to sow chaos or not.
Stray knows where he’s going. It leaves the freedom that suits the player while guiding him to the right place. Each place to discover has something to tell. If the game is not revolutionary and uses the classic codes of the genre, be it the cyberpunk world or the puzzles, it is the perspective and the verticality of the world that brings a breath of fresh air. Finishable in 6 hours, it’s this feeling of size and this new angle that gives Stray all its power. Of course, such linearity has its faults, notably a shortness of breath towards the end of the game, but it is the price to pay for not getting lost in the city and the story. Dig deeper into Stray’s analysis with Gamekult’s comprehensive review.
You have to believe that a lot of people like being a cat. As Gamekult announced in their review, the game has already referenced a peak of over 62,000 concurrent players on Steam. Stray then becomes the publisher’s most popular game Annapurna. Especially since the game already has many positive reviews and has been, since its release, in the top 5 of the most viewed single-player games on Twitch. The integration of the game in the Playstation Plus Extra and Premium also guarantees a significant highlight.