A four-footed walking simulator, Stray provides well-made environments, a passable story, and just enough gameplay elements to be worth recommending.

Stray puts the player in the shoes paws of an orange cat, living with three other cats in what appears to be a crumbling concrete and steel city overgrown by vegetation. A single slip sends the protagonist tumbling into the depths and sets the player on their journey to find their way home.

At its core, Stray is a walking simulator that carries the player through the destroyed remnants of a fallen civilization. The majority of travel involves finding one's way across rooftops, along alleys, and through flooded sewer tunnels. The player will need to think in three dimensions to find their way. Fortunately, the cat has decent jumping ability that allows the player to clear gaps and rapidly ascend/descend, which makes the traversal straightforward. Available jumps are labeled with indicators (while those out of range are not), so one will always know if they can proceed in a given direction. Certain objects (also indicated) may be interacted with in order to proceed, such as knocking down boards to span a gap too wide to be jumped. Stray incorporates light puzzle elements, of simple to moderate difficulty. Only a handful require any out-of-box thinking; most simply involve finding an interaction point and using the correct item or action. With a little exploration and trial and error, the majority of players should have no issue solving any of them.

For a brief period, the only other living things the player encounters are the other cats, though threats soon emerge. The player has no initial defense, other than running (and later defenses are highly limited), so the player needs to learn to weave while sprinting, and to look into the distance rather than focusing solely on the more immediate dangers. Some threats will grab on to the player and can be shaken loose, though enough will overwhelm the cat, resulting in a sad death. Being detected by later enemies will result in a one-shot death if those enemies aren’t outrun, so speed and stealth are the order of the day, as any cat would tell you. Dying just means a delay, as it simply sends the player back to the nearest checkpoint. Most checkpoints are close together but some are inexplicably far apart, forcing the player to repeat full segments.

Eventually, the player will also encounter friendlies, in the form of humanoid robots. The robots provide a number of interactions and bits of information. It's a nice touch that most of the important NPCs feature distinct mannerisms and actions, which helps flesh out the settings of their various settlements. There is also a companion named B-12, who comes in the form of a small drone that launches from a convenient cat-sized harness fitted to the player. B-12 helps with communication, hints, and pointing out important points of interest.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3657503354

Robot living in action!

The main gameplay of Stray is easy enough. The chapters (levels) are of mixed layout, with the journey segments being very linear and the robot settlements allowing free exploration without threat. I appreciated this, as it kept the gameplay from getting stale. There is also a decent amount of side content, such as collecting memories for the cat's drone companion, helping a robot musician by finding sheet music, gathering flowers for a gardener, and so on. None of this is mandatory but gives someone enjoying their time in the game a little extra to do.

I'm glad the optional material is there, because without it, Stray can be over very quickly. There is an achievement for speedrunning in two hours, but even casually following the story and looking around will only take most players four to five.

This is where Stray kind of falls down for me. The game attempts a deep, meaningful narrative; at some point, humanity locked themselves in a city under a dome to escape bad things "outside." Humans still managed to go extinct and their roles were slowly assumed by humanoid robots. Those robots take on the best and worst of humanity, with some seeking freedom, exploration, and cooperation, and others becoming greedy or domineering

That’s all well and good. However, it’s all a bit trite. I think the final reveal is supposed to invoke a feeling of melancholy over what has been lost. The problem is that there’s no depth to the world’s history, and thus no sense of dread over the people that are gone. Other than one exception, the robots all exist in the present; they are still “alive” and kicking, and it’s much easier to invest in their plight than worry about those who vanished. This may be a personal issue but I’ve simply played/read/watched too much post-apocalyptic fiction to be moved by something this shallow. As a morality tale as to how the people lived and mistreated each other (details of which I can't share without spoiling), the story doesn't do anything new or ground-breaking. The finale invoked a brief moment of sadness but beyond that, the game ended rather abruptly, without resolving the fates of numerous characters, so I was left rather disappointed.

The game's world is rendered beautifully, from the lush, overgrown world of the surface where the protagonist starts, to the quiet, lonely decay of the abandoned cities,. to the ramshackle cobbled-together look of the robot villages. Sprinkled throughout the journey are visual cues that will cue a short memory from B-12, all of which flavor the story's background and hint at the depressing history of the world. The chapters have a roughly uniform appearance, in the sense that no single environment looks out of place. However, there is sufficient detail and the levels are well-built enough that the uniformity doesn't detract from the sense of exploration or journey.

No errors or glitches that I noted, and it ran smoothly, without any hitching. The visual presentation is pleasant without being overdone. The player's motion did feel very cat-like; movements, jumps, and mannerisms were consistent and well-rendered. I found both the music and ambient sound effective and appropriate.

For the most part, the automatic camera placement functioned well, though occasionally—especially when making several jumps up or down in tight quarters—I had to adjust it myself to see what I was doing. Pretty much the same for the game's direction determination; every now and again, I thought I was aiming for one jump or interact point and the game chose another. These two problems (camera and misdirection) often occurred at the same time. Neither were constant but occurred often enough to be noticeable, and annoying.

Steam achievements are probably reachable for anyone loving the game enough to persevere, though it will take several runs to get them all.

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Stray isn’t like anything I’ve played before. It was incredibly fun and surprisingly heartfelt. The game has a peaceful, almost calming atmosphere, making it a relaxing experience from start to finish. While it’s possible to complete the game in a single day, the story itself is both sweet and emotionally touching, with moments that feel sad in a meaningful way. The graphics are also beautifully done and really help bring the world to life.

My final verdict: if you love cats, this game is an absolute must-play and deserves a spot in your library.

Amazing game with beautiful graphics. I just wish there was free roam at the end.