Stray

Ava Abbott, Editor

Stray, a new indie adventure game released by a game developer team called, BlueTwelve Studio in the south of France. This game is a third person cat adventure game set in a dystopian cyberpunk future where the only organisms seem to be a small group of cats, one of which is our main character, a small orange tabby cat. The game starts off with a small tutorial set in a semi-destroyed cement building covered in greenery, where you (the cat) wake up with three other buddies. You learn how to interact with the cats, walk around, jump, balance on objects, sharpen your claws and even meow! This game is super cute and has plenty of hidden puzzles and memories for you to collect. Which is an important part of the game, to gather all of your buddy B-12 the AI/Drone’s memories, escape the city and get back to your cat family. Each of this game’s chapters are full of creative storylines and amazing animations. I noticed even the most irrelevant characters have names and different personalities. Another part I enjoyed the new perspective of the robots, who seemed to look up to humans, think of them as companions and call them the Soft Ones. In other cyberpunk games the robots usually resent the humans so it’s nice to see a positive view on humans from robots. The main antagonists seems to be small mutated bacteria, called Zurks, who are a threat to all beings, robotic or not. This game is pretty straight forward, with obvious cues for puzzles and such, so it’s a game that thrives on the frustration-less levels. There’s a lot of little pieces that go together to complete tasks, getting items you’d think seem they wouldn’t be helpful but become part of a greater puzzle. It also has a lot of platforming going on which is pretty fun from the perspective of a cat that is barely a foot off the ground! When you jump from platform to platform you rarely ever miss a jump, since the jump automatically connects you to the next platform. Your new friend B-12 also gives helpful hints when you get stuck, and acts like a translator/inventory. This helpful little robot is a key element in the game and I just adore its background as a mysterious AI with memory issues. Another cute addition to the game is all of the adorable cat mannerisms such as rubbing affectionately on robots legs, ripping up carpets and overall just being a little menace. Knocking down things from shelves is quite satisfying. The game has 12 chapters/levels in total Inside the Wall, The Dead City, The Flat, The Slums, Rooftops, The Slums (part 2), Dead End, The Sewers, Antvillage, Midtown, Jail, and The Control Room. Each of these levels take about 30 minutes to an hour to complete depending on how fast you are completing the puzzles, and the entire game of uninterrupted gameplay takes about 4-5 hours.  This game is amazing and worth playing!