Stray Review | The Cat Adventure of Your Dreams (No Spoilers)

First and foremost, I want to establish that could make or break this review; I am not a cat person. I don't hate cats, but if I were asked to chooose a dog, I would definitely go for the dog. If you look at cat and dog videos online, you'll find plenty of cute video compilations for both animals. However, while most videos focus on the loyalty, companionship, and wholesomeness of dogs, most cat videos show their destructive and indifferent behavior. Furniture scratched, dishes shoved off tables, and cats meowing and simply moving on as if being a natural disaster is to be expected. To be fair, dogs can also be destructive, but they can also be trained to do a multitude of things, including learning from their mistakes Cats can be trained, but its a much longer process. This might be because of their independent nature. When you see stray dogs, they are usually struggling to survive, as they can't clean themselves or find food easily. Cats are usually the opposite' they clean themselves, slip into alleys and jump onto buildings until they find what they look for, going where they want, when they want, with plenty of naps along the way.

This idea is the foundation of Stray, an adventure game where you play as a stray cat that has been separated from its family and has to escape a deplorable post-apocalyptic city. There are no superpowers, no double jumps, and no waypoints to light the way, You aren't playing as a complex video game character that talks to themselves and the companions along the way. You are just a cat trying to find its way home bringing hope to some people along the way.

Now I say people, but in actuality, you are helping robots. I say people because the robots me have evolved and actually developed personalities like any human would have. After you fall and enter the slums of the city, you are greeted with your first hub areas. There are abo these areas, all completely unique in their appearance and ambiance. What all three areas have in common are the robots. There are usually a few robots that need your unique set of skills to complete a little side mission. Sometimes these missions are actually a part of the story and other times they are purely for the player's (and robots') enjoyment.

Missions in the game don't have any type of log, but you can ask your companion drone for help if you need a reminder. That also means you can't always tell what is essential to the story and what's extra. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as most of the side missions involve collecting a specific item and bringing it to one person, which makes it obvious it is a side mission. Also, side missions are completely optional and aren't required to enjoy or complete the story. If you solely focus on the story, it should only take you 4 to 5 hours to complete the story. If you want to do every mission and find every secret, it would take around 8 to 10. I spent about 10 hours with the game, but around one of those hours was me simply napping and letting the camera zoom out as another beautiful song played.

If the cute cat protagonist was the hook, then the music was the reel. My favorite games of all time have incredible soundtracks and this game is no exception. New areas will yield new music and one of the earliest side missions is focused on music. Music is shown as yet another way for the robots to cope with their current living conditions. Whether their on the streets in the slums, or in the apartments in Midtown, music and art serves not only important to you as a player but to the characters as well.

But what is actually going to get you to love this game? Is it the characters your cute drone, the music, or the setting? Depending on the player, some of those things may not matter. What really attaches everyone to the game is you, the stray cat that simply wants to go outside and found the family again.

The game makes sure to emphasize that you are just a normal cat, with nothing supernatural or magical about you. You are simply stumbling your way through these robots' lives and just happen to help them or ignore them. For instance, when you are activating the drone companion, it seems like the cat is simply following instructions and is actually intelligent. In reality, the cat is simply following the lights leading the way and happened to activate the drone. Its also evidenced by the number of nap spots you find in the game. If this was something like the Last of Us, there would be no resting unless it was in a cutscene. But this is a cat and no matter what is going on in this world, it still needs its beauty sleep.

So, when it comes to the debate on cats versus dogs, I might have to change my vote. Stray completely won me over with its beauty, its characters, its incredible music, and adorable characters. Walking, jumping, and meowing made me feel like I was an actual cat, scratching random couches and walls and inadvertently becoming a symbol of hope in a once bleak city.

When this game was about to come out, I joked that this would be game of the year for the cat alone.

But now, I actually think it could be a contender. So far, Stray seems to be the game everyone's been looking for to satisfy a widespread videogame itch that only a cat could reach.

10/10