We have already concluded our journey through this fascinating world of science fiction and it has turned out to be exciting and also endearing. You want to know more? Find out everything in our analysis of Stray, one of the most outstanding games of 2022.
One might think that, in a video game starring a realistic cat (that is, nothing like the mythical pets that have accompanied the video game all its life), it is not possible to provide a work with much variety. That the result would be more contemplative than mechanical. However, after having finished Stray , I'm glad to have discovered that there is room for both styles in it, and that it keeps more variety in its walled city circuits than one could imagine. And I say this because I have enjoyed both what Stray proposes mechanically, and the pure fact of simply being a cat. Act like a catjump like a cat and see the world from his perspective. Dash between the legs of robotic city dwellers, jump to a safe area with great speed and agility, or simply meow and scratch a rug. The BlueTwelve team has studied cat behavior at such a sick level that it has not only managed to bring our lost little animal to life, but through its refined control it makes us as players interpret this role perfectly.
All this, as I said, without forgetting the rules of our environment. We can tour the city, climb on its roofs and explore every corner to immerse ourselves in its environment, but we also have objectives to meet, challenges, puzzles and situations to face. What's interesting is that Stray doesn't base his proposal so much on a system to delve into, but instead intends to offer varied situations that avoid repetition. It even happens with the setting itself, which often alternates between open and linear levels as we explore the dark but compelling underworld it presents us with.
The history of Stray is and at the same time is not the important thing. Our wayward cat's target is a full-fledged macguffin: we've been separated from our cat family by falling into this confined and walled city and must reach the surface to meet her again. It is an excuse, yes, but it is because the true story is found step by step as we fulfill our objective, talking with the different robotic inhabitants that populate the place and who tell us a very different story: that of decadence of the human being and the reasons that led them to build these hermetic cities.
Seven lifes
The surprises come from many fronts, because it is incredible to see how much can be narrated with so few words and through the perspective of a cat. BlueTwelve must be cheating a bit, of course, as it uses the figure of a cute little companion robot, B-12, who not only serves as our guide and translator, but communicates with us with human logic as if we were able to understand it. Although put like that coldly, it can break the suspension of disbelief, it works well to expose our objectives and help the inhabitants of the city, or sometimes complicate their lives with our pranks, all with the goal of returning to the surface and reunite with our family.
For all this, it is difficult to define Stray. I suppose that the easy thing would be to put it in that bag in which anything goes "adventure", and there is definitely some of that, but its mechanics are very diverse. Sometimes we will have to explore large environments; in others, solving puzzles based on stage physics, which are few and we would have liked there to be more, because they really work very well; there are also chases carried out by small creatures similar to the crabs of Half-Life , which destroy all organic or robotic life; even moments of well-resolved combat, through an ultraviolet light; stealth scenes ; even situations reminiscent of a graphic adventurewhere we must link several objectives and use objects from our inventory. All this in a cocktail that seeks to dose each ingredient to always leave you wanting more, rather than less.
It is amazing to see how much can be narrated with so few words.
However, it will be difficult for you to advance quickly when you discover each of the sectors of this city. The inspiration with the walled city of Kowloon in Hong-Kong is clear, and not only because of the narrow and vertical streets full of neon signs, but also because of that concept of a city-wall that becomes more important as we progress. But exclusively graphically, Stray is a delight.
Any of the images I have taken, without the need for a Photo Mode to enhance them, have a degree of detail and sharpness that breathes life into every environment and every alley. The implementation of physics in objects that our cat can throw just by passing by, just like cats do, is greatly appreciated. Even this physics of kicking off with its hind legs, pushing an object in the opposite direction, is sometimes used for puzzles. Even we ourselves are an obstacle for the robots and if we get in their way, they will trip. Every time you arrive at a more open stage where calm is breathed, you will want to lose yourself in every corner and admire the work put in at all levels.
I wish more works as refreshing as Stray
“Unique and endearing” Stray
