Introduction
Today we are going to be lost in Stray, are you up for a review where your main purpose is to, meow at things. Or robots for that matter. It is also your goal to survive and find your family that you lose in the introduction of the game. While you soon find yourself in a dead city, it seems that not everything is as simple as it seems. Can you escape the dangers and find your way back to your family?
What did I think before playing Stray?
This game has won the poll and I have been aching to play this game for a while, however it just never came of it. And now, my wife and I have finally managed to scrounge up some time to get this review ready and rolling. We were interested in some action while wandering around as a cat! We did not know what to expect at all from Stray, so, let’s check the Steam page!
The Steam page
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1332010/Stray/
As you can see, a cat in a mysterious city is a very wanted game! While there is some action in this game, it seems we are going to mostly play this game for the visuals,and the cat. We really want to see the cat. Show me the damn cat already! Oh yeah, the game, we will be exploring an ancient where a plague has taken over and only robots reside. But what are these robots, or who? Can you untangle the mystery of this city while you find your way back to your family?
Rating
I rate Stray with an 8.4 before playing.
I must have the cat, I want all the cats!
Story
The story starts very happy, you are a cat with a fun family, however a terrible accident happens, and a cat falls into the city where a plague tries to devour him. Luckily, the cat escapes, and he finds a sentient robot that will help unravel the secret of this dead city.
Rating
I rate the story of Stray with an 8.7!
The story of Stray is quite emotional as you follow the journey of this cat!
Gameplay
The gameplay of Stray is not very complicated, you will mostly be exploring the city. If you are not in a section where robots live, you will just be going through hallways while looking around. It gives me this vibe of a visual novel. In some parts, you will be chased by the plague creatures, they want to eat you! It is better to run fast. In some parts of the game, you will have a gun to destroy them, but the overheating mechanics is quite bad.
When you are in sections with robots, you can explore a lot and try to help the robots with their problems. One might need some music sheet, or you can get energy drinks for one of the robots. But in the end it does not matter as this will not change the ending, nor will it really affect your game in any way.
You have a sentient robot with you, it has lost its memories, and it is your job to find them. While there are some core memories that you will just find y playing the game. There are also non-essential memories that you will be able to find by looking in every nook and cranny. Once again, collecting all memories will not change the ending of the game!
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Stray with a 7.2.
While I did like the game, it just felt like walking through a story, instead of there really being action, the game is also very short.
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
Now the graphics, while there are some minor glitches and clipping issues. Most of the graphics are amazing, it looks, stunning. However, I had the biggest eye for the cat. It can park, throw things of shelves, and meow! We have a cat, who cares about the graphics?
Sound
Who cares about the soundtracks? We just want the cat to keep on meowing everyone’s problems away!
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Stray with a 10.
Why? There is a cat in the game, enough said.
What did I think after playing Stray?
While I did have a lot of fun when playing Stray, I did not see the need to complete any of the side quests or to collect the other memories, as there is no secret ending to unlock, or any other bonuses at all. I just wanted to know what the ending would have in store for me, and it kind of, left me hanging which annoyed me more than I would like to admit.
The overheating mechanic had my wife and I quite bummed out. While we were expecting an upgrade to the weapon, we were encountered with the sad fact that you cannot upgrade it, and you will lose it in the story. And the sneaking mechanics are actually quite easy to walk through.
Rating
I rate Stray with a an 7.6 after playing.
While the gameplay mechanics are not the best, I did like the story!
What are my personal thoughts about Stray?
While I did have fun with Stray, mostly by knocking items off the shelves, I was also glad that the game had ended. And the story left me, hanging. Fun fact, if we used the button to meow, our cats responded!
Rating
My personal Rating of Stray is a 7.1.
I had expected more action!
Last Words
Pros
- Explore the dead city and find out what is going on!
- Amazing graphics, look at my cat!
- Meowing soundtracks
- Oh my god, I like cats
- Some neat gameplay mechanics
- A well-developed story
Cons
- The gun overheats very quickly.
- There is barely any action, there are some running scenes.
- Side quests have no impact at all
- The ending leaves you hanging!
This cat really does have nine lives, funnily enough, it is an achievement to die nine times in this game! Thank you to, Barış, Silentrets, Stephanov, Joo, Dan Aiden, Nick, Aristotelis, Krutarth Mateusz, CTPAX001RUS, Kaiserdark for requesting this game!
Final Rating
8.4
Let me know what you think of Stray in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
If you liked reading this review, maybe you would like to share this review with your friends!
InSpec
Could be gun overheating is a feature 🙂
> The ending leaves you hanging!
Expect Stray 2...
supersven
Yeah, it is an unbalanced future!
I indeed expect Stray 2!
EMPERORU
This game is good but not my type of genre
supersven
It is indeed, something else!
Michael Lo
a wonderful game
C
Definitely recommend the "Garfield - Cartoon Edition" mod on top of it!
supersven
What does it do? Does the cat turn into Garfield?
Silentrets
I finished this game. Really awesome indie game.
Delicious Bacon
Umm, I wished this one was more into cat natural abilities instead of cat tech... It's a bit odd. XD
supersven
It is indeed, odd!
DonCarlos
I can't wait to see what they do with other installments if they decide too...
supersven
I am expecting Stray 2!
Alex M
Thank you for this cool review!
Wonder
A game where you play as a cat....what more can be said? 1 billion/10 rating!!!!
supersven
Meow!
Anton
Good game, but not a masterpiece)
long shade
Good review! This game has an interesting premise.
supersven
You are welcome!
DarksLight21
Best cat game?
Pawel K
seems to be a very nice game.
fano23
This is a pretty cool and different game
PoeticKatana
This game is pure eye and ear candy but the gameplay looks dull.
Thank you for your honest review!
krutarthxo
Cool game, innovative and new but not a GOTY material.. I guess it was overblown by furries and people who like walking simulators because the game itself is just mediocre at best. Visually pleasing was the only reason why it got the attention it got.
Nevertheless, a fair review sven!
supersven
Oh my god, overblown by furries, I did not see that one coming lol.
Yogtaa
I always want to play this game
Twigas_Hobbes
I still have to play it ^^
jon doe
on my wishlist!!
fjorduna
Thanks for the review. I expected more gameplay from all the hype, but it's still nice to follow a cat story.
supersven
I also expected more from the gameplay
metalhead8489
nice one, i'm looking forward for a nice discount at some point
Nicole
The graphics look amazing and it's always fun to play as an animal 😀 The story looks very sweet, I just wish it was longer! Probably a game I'll just watch someone else play instead!
supersven
It is indeed a game that you can watch someone else play!