Stray - New game on PS4/PS5 + Steam.

[Rodgerwilco]

After being announced in 2020 to a warm and excited reception from fans, this game finally dropped day-1 free to play on Sony's new PS Plus Extras and for sale on Steam.

Stray is an adventure/puzzler game takes place in a dystopian world and follows an unnamed stray cat who has been separated from its group and is trying to make his way back. The player interacts with the world in many different ways, traversing the urban environment.

It's received incredibly favorable reviews both from critics and (more importantly in my opinion) players. The atmosphere is well designed with a good aesthetic, the story seems engaging so far (I'm not too far in yet), the music is really awesome so far in my opinion! As a fair warning, I will say, if you're looking for a cute, feel-good type of experience, this isn't particularly it. The setting and some parts can be somewhat unsettling.

I haven't played a ton yet, but I'd totally recommend this game, especially to PS users who can access it for free! Anyone else in here tried this one out and liking it?

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[Jovavic]

Played it for a few hours, it's cute and the city is beautiful but the gameplay is lacking thus far. Maybe the puzzles become harder later on? My dogs tilt their heads and look at the TV when make the cat meow.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Played it for a few hours, it's cute and the city is beautiful but the gameplay is lacking thus far. Maybe the puzzles become harder later on? My dogs tilt their heads and look at the TV when make the cat meow.

Yeah, I agree about the gameplay. I'm hoping it gets a bit more involved and challenging later, but it's a nice little game so far. Hoping to play a nice chunk of it tonight with the wife.

Two of my three cats are very intrigued by the game, the youngest one we have was staring intently almost the entire time we were playing, and the oldest one was frantically looking around at certain meows. I've seen some funny articles about animals reacting to the game, kinda hilarious lol.

 

[pistolpete11]

I played maybe 30min last night. Can already tell they nailed the atmosphere, music, and sound design. I wish it was a little bit more free roaming. Like I'd like to be able to jump when I want to jump instead of when there's a prompt telling me I can jump. I guess missing jumps and falling all over the place would make it less cat-like, though.

 

[Hammettf2b]

looks boring. ill pass

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I played maybe 30min last night. Can already tell they nailed the atmosphere, music, and sound design. I wish it was a little bit more free roaming. Like I'd like to be able to jump when I want to jump instead of when there's a prompt telling me I can jump. I guess missing jumps and falling all over the place would make it less cat-like, though.

Yeah I felt the same way in that it feels slightly streamlined as to where you can go, I agree it would get awkward and maybe frustrating with that much free movement, like you said. Fun game though so far.

 

[John Price]

I've seen some of it it seems solid

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Definitely a game I would get bored sick within 20 minutes.

 

[Ceremony]

It's on the PS Plus Extra tier, not Essentials.

 

[Osprey]

I just played the first 45 minutes or so. It's OK and cute. The novelty of playing a cat is the main/only appeal. It's mostly jumping on things to get to other areas (sort of like Tomb Raider) and solving simple puzzles. It's very linear and not very challenging so far, though you can disable the jump prompt so that it doesn't tell you all of the time when you can (and should) jump on something, which makes it slightly less handholdy. I'm not captivated or impressed yet, but it's something different.

 

[Shareefruck]

I'm intrigued and skeptical at the same time-- Looks a little hit or miss to me. I love the premise and look and feel/art direction (the silence and world-building strangely reminds me of Hyper Light Drifter for some reason), it seems very restrictive (it makes me yearn for a cat-Metroidvania in this style), and it's clearly more of a narrative-only experience, but the narrative doesn't look like as much of an assured and confident slow burn as it wants to be (and would have to be to justify the lack of other qualities), and gets a bit meandering/weirdly paced, from what I've seen. I also think the chase sequences look kind of lame.

I think the biggest bummer for me is that even what you would expect to be its one main strength (a new standard in silky smooth, inspired cat animations) looks a little janky. Especially considering that you have so little movement freedom and the jumps are more like predetermined cutscenes that are the same every time (and that they could hand-craft), it's very underwhelming that they still don't look right.

 

[Mikeaveli]

I don't get the hype behind this one at all. Watched a streamer play it and it looks like yet another 4 hour walking sim except this time you play as a cat. I did like what I heard of the music though.

 

[Osprey]

I don't get the hype behind this one at all. Watched a streamer play it and it looks like yet another 4 hour walking sim except this time you play as a cat. I did like what I heard of the music though.

It's more than just a walking simulator. You can also jump and meow!

 

[Shareefruck]

It does seem like this one's randomly getting a metric ton of attention mainly because cats are cute or something.

 

[Osprey]

I just played another hour and got to do so much more. I played with a ball, got my head stuck in a paper bag, rubbed up against several legs, knocked over books and scratched up doors and many pieces of furniture.

Seriously, after the first 45 minutes (which are very linear), the game opens up and you're free to explore the level (even get up onto the rooftops) and search for the items that you need. You also learn a little about the cyberpunk world, interact with other characters and get an inventory. The second hour was measurably more enjoyable than the first. It's still rather simple and only casually challenging, but it feels a lot more like a game now and not just a walking simulator. If you watch gameplay, you can tell that the player is past the point that it gets better if the cat has its little backpack and droid friend.

 

[Jovavic]

I finished it, probably a solid 7/10 for me, cool concept that gets held back by the gameplay and lack of puzzles but the novelty of being a cat brings it up

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I don't get the hype behind this one at all. Watched a streamer play it and it looks like yet another 4 hour walking sim except this time you play as a cat. I did like what I heard of the music though.

It certainly starts that way, but once you get the little drone companion it opens up a lot more.

It does seem like this one's randomly getting a metric ton of attention mainly because cats are cute or something.

Yeah, it's absolutely getting a ton of hype because people love cats, lol. But it is an endearing game that's more light-hearted.

 

[Ceremony]

It does seem like this one's randomly getting a metric ton of attention mainly because cats are cute or something.

Are you new to the internet?

 

[pistolpete11]

Finished this last night. Kind of torn on it.

On one hand, the gameplay is too limited for me to call it 'fun' and it was too short for me to really get invested in it. But it was a neat little experience and something unique.

I think it's worth playing, but not worth buying. Since it was free, can't complain.

If I'm not mistaken, this was the studio's first game, though. So considering that, props to them for creating a solid experience.

 

[Jovavic]

^agreed on all that, glad I spent the money for a month of Plus then to spend more and own the game

 

[Dolemite]

Definitely a game I would get bored sick within 20 minutes.

I love it. I doubt you'd get bored.

I don't get the hype behind this one at all. Watched a streamer play it and it looks like yet another 4 hour walking sim except this time you play as a cat. I did like what I heard of the music though.

Watching a stream and playing a game yourself are two different things. It sucks you in to the sci-fi story from the start.

Finished this last night. Kind of torn on it.

On one hand, the gameplay is too limited for me to call it 'fun' and it was too short for me to really get invested in it. But it was a neat little experience and something unique.

I think it's worth playing, but not worth buying. Since it was free, can't complain.

If I'm not mistaken, this was the studio's first game, though. So considering that, props to them for creating a solid experience.

...an independent game studio.

I dig the game and am having fun with it.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I love it. I doubt you'd get bored.


Watching a stream and playing a game yourself are two different things. It sucks you in to the sci-fi story from the start.


...an independent game studio.

I dig the game and am having fun with it.

I think this part is understated. This is definitely the kind of game that looks boring on stream, but playing it yourself is very immersive into that sci-fi world.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Watching a stream and playing a game yourself are two different things. It sucks you in to the sci-fi story from the start.

I think this part is understated. This is definitely the kind of game that looks boring on stream, but playing it yourself is very immersive into that sci-fi world.

Maybe you're right but as with all these linear story-driven games, now that I've seen the whole game I see no reason to go play it myself.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Maybe you're right but as with all these linear story-driven games, now that I've seen the whole game I see no reason to go play it myself.

Yeah if you watched the entire story there's not a ton of reason to actually play yourself, I guess. The gameplay isn't particularly gripping, it's more the atmosphere and story that's the allure.

 

[Osprey]