Sometimes the best stories are told without saying a word. When the story unfolds around you, it opens up a sense of wonder and draws you in and does it in such a way that were the story told to you it simply wouldn’t have the same effect. It makes BlueTwelve’s story of a simple stray cat that much more interesting. Our main character never says a word and yet the story is told through the world around us. Honestly if the story were told through a fantastical talking cat I don’t think this game would have had the same appeal. What makes the game so interesting is its simplicity. Simplicity in both its story telling and its gameplay.

While the story is a wonderfully simple one, let’s talk about the actual gameplay first. Stray’s interface is incredibly clean and and easy to use. A simple prompt for what you can do and when you can do it guides you through most of the world. There is no map, mini or otherwise. But that’s ok. The early game is there to guide you through getting used to the controls. What to do, when to do it, and how to go about doing it. This allowed me to simply focus on the game itself instead of worrying about a complex set of controls. These simple controls let you explore as a cat should. A tutorial in such a simple game in 2022 is a waste of everyone’s time and not having one allows you to be curious ¹ as a cat tends to be. And while Stray is short, there is plenty to be curious about. We’ll get back to this in a minute.

The way that BlueTwelve handled the jumping from platform to platform should be stolen by every studio making a platformer type of game ² . It was nice to not have think about certain things when jumping from one place to another. It seemed like the game just had it’s path programmed and as long as you timed things correctly it generally led you to the appropriate place. There was no second guessing. Maybe it’s a little hand holdy but that’s ok. I’d rather focus on the game itself than being frustrated because I can’t figure out what angle I’m supposed to make this jump at. Sometimes simple really is better.

I played on PC and while my system isn’t exactly top of the line these days it still holds it’s own. Generally we’re talking about an i7700k with 32GB of ram and a 2070 Super. Good. Maybe really good. Not top of the line. I played with a spare PS4 controller I had handy and my experience was really good. Yes, I did experience some of the stuttering talked about in reviews but the shader issue is a distinct PC Problem related to the Unreal Engine. Maybe it’ll get fixed, maybe it won’t. It didn’t disturb my experience at all. Your mileage may vary. That said Stray looked as good as it played. The animation on our cat was as natural looking as one can probably get.

The world was well lit and full of character. The art in the game was beautiful and full of style. The colors of the neon signs that light the early cities are perfect and convey a sense that this was once a city bustling with life. Noodle shops, laundromats, bars. All these things tell us that life once existed here. There are even buildings left half built. To some extent life still exists it’s just not the same kind of life that exists there now. The piles of trash remind you that humans once lived here but not anymore. The fact that the current inhabitants feel the need to do nothing about it reminds us that while the city’s new robot in habitants try their best to mimic and emulate human culture, they sort of have a new culture of their own. The robot inhabitants of the game can be interesting to interact with. Even with their own versions of “dialogue” they all convey distinct personalities. Both in the way they act and even in the way dress. They are very much individuals even if they all generally look the same. Perhaps that’s a philosophical statement waiting for an analysis.

Our story begins with a day in the life of a cat wandering with his ³ friends. As you start to explore you’re introduced to the control scheme which is incredibly simple and straight forward. It also reinforces the idea that you are a cat and you are expected to do cat things such as drink, play, and scratch things. Sudden tragedy hits and you’re separated from them. As you start to explore your new surroundings it seems you’re in an abandoned city. Id say the story itself has no dialogue but the robots in the city do speak in their own way. I loved that this was how the story was told and that the developers didn’t, uh, stray, from that. Again the story was pretty, again, simple and uncomplicated. Though the idea that you keep unraveling the mystery little by little through interactions and collectables called ‘memories” makes the game feel like a giant puzzle in and of itself. That’s not a bad thing and it allows BlueTwelve the creative freedom to tell a story their way. I missed one memory and a few other things and the game is interesting enough that I wouldn’t mind playing through again to find them, just see that part of the story I missed.

I really do wish there was more to say but Stray is so beautifully simple and straightforward. In this case you really do get what you pay for. I was going to say “Nothing more, nothing less” but I think you get a lot more than you pay for. Especially since it’s only $30 instead of the normal $60. $70 if you’re playing on PS5 and paying the Sony Tax.

As reviews generally stated it is a short game if you don’t go collectable hunting but that’s ok. Sometimes less is more and keeping things short and focused is better than stretching things out and unnecessarily complicating things. I’ve seen it happen too many times. Something, be it a book, TV show, whatever, starts out with a really good and novel idea that seemingly has a plan to it. In the need to keep the story going for whatever reason the writers invent things along the way and then get stuck in the precarious situation of having to make it all fit into an ending that wasn’t planned for. It rarely works out. Stray doesn’t suffer from that. It’s short but it tells its story. Period. A story of kindness, forgiveness, friendship, among other things. But it also tells a story about bravery. Not just in the game itself but in the fact that it even exists. Making Stray was a brave decision for BlueTwelve. It’s different and it makes no qualms about that. BlueTwelve took chances and tried something new. That’s a good thing. In an industry that constantly feels the need to produce the next Halo or Call of Duty, or whatever top tier franchise comes to mind for you, Stray is not those things. Or at least it doesn’t intend to be. True to its name, Stray takes its own path and its own direction.

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