TechGamingStray review – big trouble for little catDoes Stray do enough to justify the new PS Plus subscription on PS5 / PS4?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)T3 VerdictStray’s perilous journey about a cat and drone in a dark, desolate city provides more emotion than most human stories in media today. Who knew playing as a feline could be so much fun!Reasons to buy+Heartfelt story+Brilliant originality+A rich world to explore+Dedicated “Meow” buttonReasons to avoid-Combat feels unnecessaryWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechGamingStray review – big trouble for little catDoes Stray do enough to justify the new PS Plus subscription on PS5 / PS4?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)T3 VerdictStray’s perilous journey about a cat and drone in a dark, desolate city provides more emotion than most human stories in media today. Who knew playing as a feline could be so much fun!Reasons to buy+Heartfelt story+Brilliant originality+A rich world to explore+Dedicated “Meow” buttonReasons to avoid-Combat feels unnecessaryWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Does Stray do enough to justify the new PS Plus subscription on PS5 / PS4?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)T3 VerdictStray’s perilous journey about a cat and drone in a dark, desolate city provides more emotion than most human stories in media today. Who knew playing as a feline could be so much fun!Reasons to buy+Heartfelt story+Brilliant originality+A rich world to explore+Dedicated “Meow” buttonReasons to avoid-Combat feels unnecessary
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
T3 VerdictStray’s perilous journey about a cat and drone in a dark, desolate city provides more emotion than most human stories in media today. Who knew playing as a feline could be so much fun!Reasons to buy+Heartfelt story+Brilliant originality+A rich world to explore+Dedicated “Meow” buttonReasons to avoid-Combat feels unnecessary
T3 VerdictStray’s perilous journey about a cat and drone in a dark, desolate city provides more emotion than most human stories in media today. Who knew playing as a feline could be so much fun!
T3 Verdict
Stray’s perilous journey about a cat and drone in a dark, desolate city provides more emotion than most human stories in media today. Who knew playing as a feline could be so much fun!
Reasons to buy+Heartfelt story+Brilliant originality+A rich world to explore+Dedicated “Meow” buttonReasons to avoid-Combat feels unnecessary
Reasons to buy+Heartfelt story+Brilliant originality+A rich world to explore+Dedicated “Meow” button
Heartfelt story
Brilliant originality
A rich world to explore
Dedicated “Meow” button
Reasons to avoid-Combat feels unnecessary
Combat feels unnecessary
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
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Upon its reveal, Stray slowly built up an allegiance of fans that couldn’t wait to get their paws on Annapurna Interactive’s new indie project. The excitement only intensified further when the studio partnered withSonyto make the game free as part of its newNetflix-style PS Plus offerings acrossPlayStation 5andPlayStation 4.
All of this in mind, didn’t prepare me for the emotional and wonderful journey that Stray offers from its first moments to its last. Can a game where you play as a cat really be anything more than a gimmick? Yes, and so much more.
Stray review: Price and Release Date
Stray review: What is it?
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
Similar to the Lion King without Scar, Stray begins as our pretty kitty slips and falls into the darkness, separating from its feline friends. Seeing the cat limp after a fall is genuinely heartbreaking. I just wanted to make sure the cat was safe. It’s a tragic opening that any animal lover will immediately feel their heart strings pulled at. This continued throughout with my heart in my mouth every time the animal faced hazards.
Now lost in a depraved cybercity, our protagonist comes across the adorable but amnesia-ridden drone B-12, that acts as a companion and translator in this world. The duo now set off into the unknown to retrieve B-12’s memories, avoid the carnivorous bacteria – known as Zurks – alongside discovering whether there really is an “outside”.
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
Stray review: How does it play
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
Naturally, you need to decide where your interest may stem from when looking at whether Stray is worth picking up. Do you like cats? Do you like the idea of controlling a cat, doing cat things like drinking water from puddles, scratching furniture, knocking things off ledges and “meowing” constantly thanks to a dedicated button? If so, you’re in for a treat. This is the most cat-like game I’ve ever played… not that it’s a saturated market. But still! It genuinely feels like playing as a cat in all the best ways possible.
After years of playing as a human or humanoid, it’s super satisfying to just nonchalantly squeeze through gaps or walk straight underneath entrances that would normally require workarounds. While enjoyable, I did find the platforming a bit mindless a times, simply forced to press the X button excessively to carry forward. No real challenge or danger loomed from the heights, always confident that the cat would land on its feet.
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
When it comes to additional content, there are 67 collectables to pick up from certain chapters. The most interesting of the bunch is B-12 memories that are recollected whenever stumbling upon a place, image or item, not only giving you better insight into the character but the larger world that came before.
Stray review: How does it look and sound?
Image1of12(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
Image1of12(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
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(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
Stray is an extremely handsome video game considering that the developer, BlueTwelve Studio, is made up of a team of less than a dozen workers. Most impressively, is its use of lighting throughout the neon-lit city, bouncing from corner street to corner street. The Slums are a dirty, grimy place to explore that gives you a good perspective of what it’s like to be so low down on the ground, whereas Midtown is a bright district filled with neon signs and holographic statues that bear resemblance to a gloomy night in Shanghai.
Its use of silence in the earlier stages to portray isolation is smartly used. Just the odd trickle of water and low sounds from paw prints making their way across the cold floor. As Stray progresses, it then utilises everything from air raid sirens to further increase the tension, spooky sci-fi bleeps and bloops to portray the mystery and synth beats to signal safety in the bigger cities. Of course, cat noises are used to a good degree, hitting most when hurt and making you really care for the animal’s safety. Human danger can’t compete with this for me.
Stray review: How long to beat?
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
(Image credit: Annapurna Interactive)
Stray took me approximately five hours to roll credits onPlayStation5, spending most of my time focused on the main story and occasionally exploring the odd sidequest. PlayStation advises that the full playthrough should take about eight hours on average and 10 hours to see everything. The latter seems to be the most accurate, for anyone looking to go for the Platinum trophy. I know I will be returning for more catastic action… okay that’s the last cat pun I swear.
Verdict
Also consider
(Image credit: Finji)
(Image credit: Finji)
Not a cat person? How about foxes? The adorable indie action-adventure Tunic, which takes heavy inspiration from The Legend of Zelda 2D games, is bursting with delightful puzzles and a charming aesthetic. Similar to Stray, there’s more to the narrative than meets the eye and it doesn’t overstay its welcome either, at 12 hours to complete.
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