Stray | Review in 3 Minutes

[@jepeman]

"Knocking down drinks and then meowing my dominance." Yep, cat game indeed.

[@thereisnolion6320]

This line should have been "... to assert dominance," imo

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

This lets you not just knock things off of tables, but veeeery slowly push things to the edge of the table, lock eyes with a witness, then push it off to prove a point. This makes it the most realistic cat simulator yet devised.

[@halcyonacoustic7366]

Catlateral Damage exists too.

[@RIVEXNGLE]

"There isn't that much to criticize." Yahtzee: "Hold my pint"

[@FlyingJetpack1]

"can't, the cat knocked it on the floor"

[@ElementalNimbus]

@FlyingJetpack1 First up, that response is perfect. Thank you. @RIVEXNGLE Secondly, I think Yahtzee might actually like this game, or at worst be neutral. If you follow his series for some time, he has a few things that aggravate him and a few things that excite him, like anyone does, really. This game looks like it might fall into the "Ghost Train Ride" genre he defined, but hopefully the puzzles are more interesting and break that mold. So in general; Things he generally does not like: The story seems simple, the game looks unchallenging On the other hand... Things he generally likes: Smaller studio, original concept, unique setting, novel gameplay elements, shorter game with a tight focus. Something I personally love, which I believe Yahtzee does as well, is anything that can break the traditional game mires we are stuck in. This game features a quadrupedal, non-anthropomorphic, non-verbal, very small protagonist. All of these require direct adjustments to how we play and experience the game. They also provide a lot of opportunity to botch severely, but it doesn't sound like they did. All of this means there is a ton of potential here that has never been tapped. Not even to mention you get to be cat and mess with people. Edit - Forgot one on the positive list, unique short name with no colon or subtitle

[@RIVEXNGLE]

@@ElementalNimbus Why you balls deep, dude?

[@whoareyoutoaccuseme6588]

@@ElementalNimbus Yeah, I don't think Yahtzee will vehemently rip this one to shreds.

[@gerardotejada2531]

I just saw the new Zero Punctuation and the "There isn much to critizice because there is not much to play" comes to my mind. This is a game for cat freaks.

[@johnnyexponential7229]

'Knocking drinks over and meowing my dominance'. The endlessly quotable reviewing career of Elise Avery continues at maximum quality. Thanks for the review, very glad to hear a positive opinion; been looking forward to this one.

[@manavsridharan3811]

Unironically probably the most awaited game of the year so far

[@tomasdelcampo2]

other than elden ring and horizon sure

[@neildeeley4177]

How is it ironic in anyway…. That’s not what irony is

[@kitthekat6844]

@@tomasdelcampo2 Isn't Silksong coming in 2022 as well?

[@reaperz5677]

No. Definitely not. Horizon, God of War Ragnarok, Silksong, Elden Ring... Those are just to name a few. My point is, this random cat game is barely known by anyone compared to other games.

[@DX88]

Hogwards Legacy!

[@SolaScientia]

I'm glad this is a positive review. I was already expecting it to be on the short side with a focus on the story with some exploring, so hearing that isn't surprising to me and it all basically lines up with what I was thinking the game would be. Considering I've taken in 6 cats (it's insane, really), 2 of which are orange like the playable kitty in Stray, I think I'll be picking up this one, lol.

[@Typical7]

Wait, didnt they reviewer say it is exactly that, a short experience without much free exploration

[@SolaScientia]

@@Typical7 ...that's the point I was making. I already suspected it would be a pretty tightly focused game, so having that confirmed by this and other reviews doesn't mess with any expectations I had for the game. There some larger puzzles that require exploring a few buildings in an area, as well as smaller puzzles. That bit of exploring should be run and a nice change from the more linear bits.

[@Typical7]

@@SolaScientia oops i read it wrong, i thought you meant "hearing that it isnt" instead of "hearing that, isnt surprising"

[@SolaScientia]

@@Typical7 No worries.

[@umamifan]

Not worth $30. Only buy if you're into the atmosphere and ambient noise. The gameplay is very limited, sections aren't revisitable, there isn't much of a story at all, there's very little conflict, and the cat itself is very limited until the plot calls for it. You can't jump unless the game allows you, and even that is fairly buggy. So there will be times where you'll be trying to jump, only to never have the option present itself, leaving you grounded. The puzzles themselves aren't even hard. They're insultingly easy and simple. And it requires backtracking, which is annoying

[@rtoops9126]

Hopefully the sequel has a cat creator so we can create a cat that looks like our real life cat 🐈

[@simonsays7212]

This is why I’d give it a negative review 😂

[@simonsays7212]

We want a cat creator!

[@TheGoukaruma]

And a photo mode. So many cute scenes but not good way to make screenshots.

[@Craxin01]

Why would this need a sequel? It's great and doesn't need a superfluous sequel to try and grab cash.

[@wererat42]

Relieved to hear it's worth playing, been looking forward to this one

[@herpderp728]

it's not. the game is utter crap.

[@Guerrilla_Grodd]

Stray is also listed as a "free" title under PS Plus Extra. For anyone who hasn't upgraded from Essential to Extra yet, it's actually cheaper to do that than it is to purchase this game outright.

[@bootleg_24]

i think BlueTwelve have earned my money

[@MrPeanutToes]

Cheaper in the moment but then $120 for a year. It’s BS how sad games are now. Stray was a great game but that’s the first major title good game I’ve played since I bought a PS5, it’s depressing and not worth paying for PS Plus “Extra”

[@MrPeanutToes]

Well…. Besides Elden Ring, that was great too

[@sognar2240]

I'm so glad the game is good. Really hoped for it. Thanks for the review!

[@talion7268]

Just finished it and I highly recommend it really enjoy it and the pacing is superb my only complain is that it's too short

[@yuvraj01]

So for a game that doesn't have much in the way of replay value, I guess it is one of those titles that is: "Wait for it to go on the cheap"

[@talion7268]

@@yuvraj01 yea I'd definitely agree on that, for me I got it for free with ps plus extra

[@yuvraj01]

@@talion7268 yeah but it is only worth getting PS plus extra if there are things on there you like as opposed to paying for it for just one game to get free . (Which would be the case for me..) .who knows they might make it cheap at Christmas

[@talion7268]

@@yuvraj01 as it currently stands if u haven't played a lot of sony games or Ubisoft ones, getting the extra should be a no brainer to any gamer, there's just so many great games on there I tried about 50 high quality triple A games for 14€ which is just awesome

[@92814323]

just beat the game, damn, this game is good, loved every hour of it, to anyone on the fence about it being short, it's content is compressed in such a way as to make every moment feel worth the time spent.

[@Craxin01]

Games don't need to be 80+ hour epics to be awesome. 5 hours having fun is 5 hours well spent. 80 hours slogging through some grindy mess is just awful.

[@chetthehoss]

If you can become a cat loaf while napping, hell I'm sold. Nothing better than a cat loaf.

[@catgodswim]

as a cat enthusiast this has been on my radar since i heard about it at an E3 or something a couple years back, glad it's finally coming out

[@Olimar92]

A game where you are a cat doing cat things.

[@sick_nisson]

This is also included in PS Plus Extra

[@Ice9kills78]

Oooo...don't say that! Ponies will get upset! They all about spending that $, not "renting it".(btw...I did exactly what u mentioned and finished the game)

[@dr.chungusphd108]

“I have become, cumbersome, to this world”.

[@VaultGirl16]

Solid review! It's good to know this is more of a linear game than an Untitled Cat Simulator going in, so I appreciate the review

[@Alloveck]

Yeah, I found the information useful too. Still wondering if the world design is narrow as well as linear though. To me at least, there's a big difference between being linear with room for exploration along the one order to do things, and world design so narrow you'd almost might as well be stuck on rails. Unfortunately, this game looks to be the latter from what I've seen.

[@SolaScientia]

@@Alloveck From what I read on the EuroGamer review, there are a number of puzzles of varying sizes and difficulties. Some require exploring a few different buildings and places to find what's needed. The game on the whole is rather linear but it isn't strictly so, and they break things up with mixing in puzzles and dealing with enemies and such.

[@Alloveck]

@@SolaScientia Puzzles and enemies are nice, but I'm talking about the physical narrowness of the in-game paths. A comparison would be God of War if you've played that; I didn't mind the very linear structure so much as the general lack of lateral exploration between point A and B. You almost never saw any open spaces, if you only saw places you could go the maps would be mostly long thin lines. (Dark Souls games have a a similar layout issue for that matter.) And that's my concern with Stray, I don't mind that the game is a line, so much as that from what gameplay I've seen it looks like it's a very narrow line.

[@SolaScientia]

@@Alloveck I'm not actually overly bothered about that. I love the Soulsborne games. I love Elden Ring. I don't mind a big open world game just as I don't mind a more linear game. I've no desire to play the God of War games; just as I've no desire to play The Last of Us or similar games. I tried HZD and got bored pretty quickly. Stray has a good amount of verticality given we play as a cat and thus can climb easier than a person. The game would have its issues if we were playing as a human or robot, but we're not. Given the stress that is Elden Ring right now for me much as I love it, I'm looking forward to a lighter game with a tighter focus.

[@librast]

The most important thing in this review is that this game is "polished"

[@ryanpeacock9004]

It really is. While playing - I ran into a few minor physics glitches where clutter oh the ground would move erratically, or one late game enemy would move weirdly on one occasion. But that was it. It's charming and wholesome.

[@PinothyJ]

"Puzzles often involve encountering a problem, and scouring the maze of buildings around you to find an item to solve it." Wait? So a character does not talk to themselves as SOON as they encounter a puzzle by telling the player exactly how to solve it? But is this not a modern game?? How will I enjoy playing the game if I have to solve a puzzle on my own? *Goes back to Horizon: Forbidden West*

[@genebbyy]

just finished the game :) i thoroughly enjoyed and recommend it

[@sarouschileuana1158]

Wooo, I've been waiting on this game for a while, will be playing this week.

[@MrZRACER]

i'll get it when it gets a physical in september.

[@Schizm1]

Lovely game. Can't wait to play it.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

This makes me want a cat game. One without an iPhone on my back and without the distopian atmosphere. I want the Sims Cats.

[@J05TI]

Try Catz on DS.

[@Cooleepable]

I've been looking forward to this one. Great short review. I'll adjust my expectations accordingly.

[@ironwolf5802]

Meow meow. Meow meow meow. Meow. "Looks fun. I almost forgot. Thanks."

[@Noname304y2u2]

I just beat the game. It's an oke indy game. It's atmospheric and the music is good and it's fun to explore.

[@Ash0512]

YAY THE SCI-FI CAT GAME!

[@icarue993]

Oh no, they beat Yathzee to the punch!

[@matthuck378]

I wish you either couldn't die at all, and this was a pure (modern, walking sim style) adventure game or this was a full on "video game" where you could jump, climb, and otherwise completely freely interact with the environment like a modern action adventure (Assassin's Creed, Dying Light, Dishonored, etc.) I mean, cats literally CAN parkour around IRL like protagonists do in all those video games. I'd like to do that here. I hope we get a Stray 2 that's more expansive, but I doubt we will. I bet we'll get Dying Light 3, Assassin's Creed elevendy million, and Arkane's next game where a person can act like a cat but with a gun.

[@rikou1986]

Only negative I've heard so far is poor performance on pc.

[@Elisenaps]

For me the performance was mostly okay but it made my computer chug sometimes and had a few hitches where the framerate all but stopped for about a second. My pc was high end a few years ago, so your mileage might vary.

[@pietro_ferrari]

I will play with my cat! 😻

[@Jagerbomber]

The cat’s more robotic than the robots.

[@heikosiebert8265]

After decades of videogame development, we can finally play as a cat. Meow.😻

[@aliasnando]

Is really an *action*-adventure game? With focus on action.

[@michaelandrews117]

The game is fine, probably a solid 7/10, just due to the fact that the story is pretty bland & the cat makes every emotional scene accidentally hilarious completely undercutting anything they were trying to do narratively. It's a lot better as a cat sim, than it is a full fledged stealth/fetch quest game.

[@paulrus-keaton439]

The 'little guest in a strange robot world' reminds me of Pid, an indie game no one remembers.

[@looniemoonie5955]

Pre ordered it month ago on Steam. Not every day you play as a cat)

[@nobodyinparticular9640]

Kinda basically seems something like "little nightmares or what but you're a cat", lol Doesn't look bad at all tho

[@Craxin01]

I LOVED this game. 9.5/10

[@piggytailgirl]

It reminds me a bit of "Contrast" at the beginning of this review, and more of "Little nightmares" by the end.

[@doctorno3912]

Spams meow key to shit stir my cat irl.

[@beleanonline]

Sounds good - short game, but a very positive review.

[@bootleg_24]

i need yahtzee's opinion!

[@TheCreepypro]

don't get me wrong this sounds like a great game but can you do zoomies at 3 am? because whether you can or can't is kind of a deal breaker just saying....

[@joseluispcr]

in this game you can play with the mouse?

[@matthewanderson7824]

I always wanted the game to be just a little longer

[@billy5642]

Will Yahtzee do a review on this as well?

[@theescapist]

Yup

[@Nevertobebad]

Game of the year

[@Radi_vvanker]

Hooray!

[@DrJunkhead]

makes you wonder if this game will get any sort of DLC

[@MariaVosa]

Sounds absolutely delightful.

[@darkjanggo]

this game looks like it was made in Dreams

[@joakimhansen7733]

Looks really cool.

[@BoserPSN]

I want it now ahhhhh

[@MK-rl8nc]

Does this mean No ZP ?

[@theescapist]

Nope. Sometimes we double up if we have a code early enough to hit embargo.

[@GayBearBro2]

Sounds like the kind of game to play when no one wants to really do anything, but you need to do something.

[@unvergebeneid]

1:52 He said "robot boops", i.e. not with a b at the end, right? (KZbin won't even let me write the word without deleting my comment, which is so very American.)

[@Elisenaps]

I said boops yah. Also it's she.

[@The4thGear]

Is their any chance this is online or split screen multiplayer?

[@Korelie]

No, only single player

[@RangerOfTheOrder]

I was hoping Yahtzee would review this one just to see him piddle all over a game that's supposed to he wholesome and adorable

[@jiahangwu2975]

So...a walking sim but you are a cat?

[@Elisenaps]

More puzzles than a pure walking sim, imo. It's basically a puzzle/exploration game with some action sections.

[@wellurban]

Unfortunately not: there are definitely some action/stealth sections that were quite intense, so it wasn’t quite as chill as I was hoping for. It was still a wonderful experience, though.

[@6ch6ris6]

what a letdown. i was hoping for an actual plattformer. this looks super boring from a gameplay perspective

[@KamiThulak]

Meow

[@MikeJBeebe]

meow

[@herpderp728]

Stray absolutely sucked. Definitely one of the worst purchases I've made this year.

[@God-ld6ll]

didn't like it. I loved it. So calm your kitties.

[@seantulien2001]

Was hoping for something with a little more meat to it. Definitely seems like more of a kids game.

[@joaogrrr]

Imagine calling yourself a platformer when your jumping is context sensitive.

[@Ice9kills78]

I thought that too. Good shit

[@007feck]

This being a game makes me realise that I must be getting too old for games

[@Singularity12]

You can’t play this game without a cat next to you

[@b.b.s7545]

I can't have pets at my current place and love Interest is allergic to cats 😭

[@afroahmed3989]

now that's a game i see myself playing for the next 3 years

Number one reason to get a PlayStation.

[@NekoiNemo]

The jumps are contextual, not free? Well, damn consoles, ruining the freedom of movement... That severely reduces my anticipation of this game... Thanks for the warning

[@muhali5136]

If it was a souls like game i would play it