Stray Reviews
Stray has a unique premise, a rich world, an engaging story, fun gameplay, and it lets you play as a cat. It's a good game.
B-12's memories are a kind of collectible you'll have to search for, and a few optional side-quests require scrounging up assorted bric-a-brac, but Stray doesn't make you wander about examining every nook and cranny for something you may or may not actually need. That's a good thing for a videogame, but if you were hoping to really just play as a cat doing cat-like things, "pointlessly searching for stuff you don't need" would be exactly what you wanted. The cat game might be less about the cat and more about the existential crises facing mankind and the artificial intelligences that will be left behind, but at least there's a dedicated meow button.
Stray is a brisk and relentlessly charming adventure that offers a very unique window into a gorgeous sci-fi world. It won't challenge your mind or your reflexes too much but it'll absolutely delight your senses. Importantly, it's a video game with a dedicated 'meow' button, and what could possibly be better than that?
Stray somehow manages to endear at the same time it feels like it's overstaying its welcome. At the end of the day, though, this cat-lover was won over by its sheer charm.
Instead, it is difficult to think that it can attract those who have already spent about ten hours on other shores, but there is also some reserve for those who only own Switch: Stray is nice, it is relaxing, but it lasts very little and offers very basic game mechanics.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Stray is able to pull some innovative ideas in neat ways. It is creative in how you can run around these levels and interact with your environment. There does seem to be some curing factor in just roaming the world as a cat. Inadequate challenge and reward mixed with the limitations of the hardware may sour your experience, but the attention to detail, fun designs, interesting narrative, and fantastic music lighten these burdens. Save the future by protecting the past in this pawsome tail of a time!
Long story short: it's worth digging your claws into BlueTwelve's debut hit.
Overall, Stray surprised me in how well it wears its features and themes on its sleeve and how well crafted said features are. It's a game created for cat lovers by cat lovers, but with features and mechanics everyone can enjoy irrespective of age or pet preference. It's just too bad that the journey you'll go on, while memorable, is incredibly short, at only about eight hours long.
Stray is at its best when it lets you do the things you'd expect from a cat – sleeping on cozy pillows, meowing, or scratching sofas – but fails to build consistently compelling gameplay around these flavorful bits. Although it creates a believable world, I found it hard to connect with the robots you encounter across its forgotten city, making the game's admittedly grand climax feel hollow.
Stray is a short and sweet game, with a unique and immersive adventure from a cat's point of view under a beautiful cyberpunk vision. The story of this lonely city and stray cats will still linger on.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Stray reminds of the good old adventure games with puzzles and little sandbox sections. Besides the cute protagonist, you're gonna love the other characters and their stories.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Stray is everything I wanted from it, an enjoyable and engaging journey across a well told tale that is every bit as cute as it is mysterious. More importantly, it made me feel empowered and brave in the face of uncertainty – I can’t remember the last time I’ve audibly cried out in delight so many times in the space of a few hours. Cuteness overload, no doubt.
Stray does a great job at letting you act like a cat, turning a wide range of true-to-life feline behaviors into clever gameplay mechanics. But it's much less successful at making you truly feel like a cat, as the game's more conventional approach to its gameplay and story routinely shatters your immersion in odd ways. If you can suspend your disbelief and look past the missed opportunity of a more cohesive experience, however, there's a lot to like in its moody cyberpunk world and varied challenges.
Outside of a handful of action sequences, the pacing here is slow and measured. And without any real difficulty or challenge, there’s a meditative quality to Stray.
As it is, Stray may be short, but it’s perfectly formed.
Stray isn't just a game about a cat trying to get home, but one about an even greater adventure. And doing cat things.
Stray is a purr-fect cat game that doubles as a well executed, memorable platformer.
Stray may not be for everyone, but it is enjoyable so long that gamers check their expectations before playing. Its got a bit of puzzle solving, chases and simple navigation, but its never demanding much accuracy or dexterity from the player. Merely aim camera and prompt to jump will make cat 100% land on target- anyone can play it.
While animals have served as human companions, attack assists, and Easter egg distractions throughout the history of video games, Stray — in what's a rare thing — asks you to play as one. It's nowhere near purr-fect, but it's a delight nonetheless.