Stray | The Completionist

[@ThatOneVideoGamer]

Thanks again to Ephemeral Tattoos for providing me with my made-to-fade Shovel Knight tattoo! If you'd like to see how you can get a real tattoo that naturally fades, check them out: ephemeral.tattoo/our-tattoos/...

[@kassmalz2069]

megaman zero when?

[@AndrewEhrenreich]

Stray actually helped me fix an audio delay issue I had between my ps5 and soundbar. Tweeked all my settings till the meow from my dualsense was synced with the speaker 10/10

[@erakfishfishfish]

That’s genius. I may try that to calibrate.

[@DanGamingFan2406]

The tonal shift from the first few minutes, to you falling into the city is such a gut punch. And it just keeps getting darker while you're playing as an adorable cat. It's a major contrast and the game makes it work pretty well.

[@agent_NJ]

That’s every indie game nowadays. It’s old and stale and imo ruins games by making them “too deep” or “too dark”

[@FlameRat_YehLon]

@@agent_NJ Nope. The game never ever got the chance to become deep enough. Before everything unfolds they were quickly wrapped up and you were constantly getting pushed to the next act, and even the ending is kinda abrupt. Also I would personally consider Stray being a AAA game, or at least it's made in the same way AAA games would be made, despite having an indie team behind.

[@snowanddeath]

​​​@@agent_NJI hate when people say nowadays. Whenever someone says it whatever they're talking about is never actually as recent as they think. I mean, that's been every indie game since the indie game boom started. Even newgrounds shit was either gross or emo. There's a good reason for it too: smaller teams and crowd funding mean these are more personal art projects than meant for mass appeal and money. It's not teams being dark for darkness sake, typically they have an idea that means something to them and choose to express it through games and typically that comes through as pain and stereotypically artsy shit. It's similar to why most poetry is about death. And like poetry you have mostly bad shit, but some good things come out every now and then

[@dom604]

5:54 "can't exactly turn a door handle.." You can tell he's never had a cat.

[@liriosogno6762]

Only one in 30 cats can use door handles

[@richardkirkland6805]

He may have meant "doorknobs", as cats can't open those as they can't get a grip.

[@PolkaSunia]

I'm not into 100% completing games personally but Stray had easy enough trophies and not an overwhelming amount where I actually 100% completed it! I absolutely love this game along with the soundtrack. You can tell that the developers put their all into making this game

[@WSendam]

That’s Purrfect 😸

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

I've only ever gotten the platinum trophy on the Horizon games, and Ratchet and Clank games. I wish I could get it on this game but... I'll just copy and paste the comment I already wrote about this: I was planning to get the platinum trophy in this game. But the speedrun trophy would be impossible for me. I don't play horror games, or even games with creepy/horror vibes. If a game I do play has a section like "if you walk into this room/area, something will jump out at you/chase you" or a section like "if you step too close to this thing, it will explode and/or attack you", I get REALLY freaked out in those sections and take them extremely slow. I can't just run in and throw myself into a dangerous situation. I have to stop for a long time and mentally prepare myself before slowly and methodically taking each step, making sure to do it as safely as possible. I don't think I could possibly get through some sections, such as the sewers, by playing this way, and still finish the game within 2 hours.

[@PolkaSunia]

@@ShizuruNakatsu yeah! That was me with the sewers! When I first played it, I inched my way through that area and I thought it was so dang long!! Especially when I got to the sections with the eyes. That was rough... Speed running it, I had to just keep telling myself "just run. run and don't think, just run!". That section flies by when you just book it haha

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

@@PolkaSunia Yeah I was debating if I should do that, but I don't even know if I could mentally force myself to do that xD

[@liamfeathers]

12:40 Actually there is a reason why the zurks never show up again, they were sent down to the lower city as a way to manage waste buildup. As you progress throughout the game, you ascend further up into the next city where they were not needed. This is a decent overview of the game but I'm surprised you missed an explicitly mentioned plot point

[@profbrain8474]

Yes, and the fact that the higher part of the city is home to the “well off” members of the robots society. They are safe above while the rest of the robots are kept in the dark below.

[@ketchup016]

I don't think he missed it, he just thought the game set zurks up as a big bad but really they're more like a mini boss.

[@bracco23]

The critique is not that the lack of zurks is not explained, but more that the in-story build up doesn't really match the actual play time you spend. The game is about a couple of hours long and in about half of that you are out of the zurks area, which is sensible in proportion, but in absolute it's not really much to make you feel like all the fear is warranted. you see the robots fear the zurks, but you never actually fear them yourself, i at least didn't.

[@liamfeathers]

@@ketchup016 @ketchup016 I do not think they were personally set up to be a giant threat, rather they were used to illustrate the consequences of a society that pushes away all of their problems with short-sighted solutions. It was foreshadowed even from the beginning that the zurks were not so much of an issue on the upper levels as evidenced by the fact that you do not come into contact with them until you fall to the depths. Thus as you ascend it becomes a natural progression that you would not seem them as much. Especially since their main food source of waste has all been dumped down below where they flourished

[@liamfeathers]

@@bracco23 I think it is natural for the player to not be so much afraid of the zurks, but rather it was their presence and large scale of growth in which it almost shallowed humanity whole that gives a sense of uneasiness to the player and serves to show a contrast between the segregated society of robots whose upper echelons did not have to deal with the threat while also giving the player a sense of accomplishment and perhaps relief as they begin to see signs of said humanity that they are familiar with that was permitted by the absence of zurks.

[@timsarai]

This game is a great example of a dev trying something completely different and (in my opinion) it turning out to be an absolute masterpiece. Me and my 7 year old and 4 year old boys sat there in one weekend not long after it came out and completed it. It’s very unusual for my boys to get so into something other than KZbin. This game is achingly beautiful in its visuals, soundtrack and story. It was game of the year for me and probably the game of the last few years, mainly for the memories of my boys loving it so much ❤

[@theguyinthere]

i want more of this game. this game left me with a sense of longing for more.

[@enthusiasticgamer88]

I loved this game. Might even have to replay for the speedrun to get the platinum. Such a refreshing new game idea, I hope we see Stray 2 or more cat games like this.

[@cuckoophendula8211]

If there'd be a Stray 2, my hope is that they'd have a mechanic where we could choose to have the cat to track a small fast moving object (i.e. rodent, laser pointer, etc.). From there, the player can choose to have the cat run after the tracked object.

[@hikaru9624]

Speaking as a cat person, if anyone were to ask me to describe Stray I'd call it an "experience game". By that I mean it's something you should experience for yourself, blind if possible. Once you've had that first time experience with the game it kinda loses something in repeated run-throughs I find. I sincerely hope we get more amazing games from B12 or whatever the Devs are called. And a switch port would be nice (bet they could do some neat things with the HD rumble). I kinda like how it only has one ending, reminds me of how games used to be when I was little.

[@callak_9974]

Most games only have one ending, so that's not something new.

[@jojoversus1100]

@@callak_9974 I mean he said it reminded him of games when he was little, so I don't think he was implying that having one ending was something new. God dude there is always that asshole who just has to open their rude ass mouth.

[@FlameRat_YehLon]

It kinda feels more like how human would act in the body of a cat, rather than how a real cat without knowledge of how anything works would act, though.

[@riza0.0]

Absolutely agree. It reminds me a bit of Outer Wilds in that sense. An experience, best done blind. Will never be the same again after the first play through but the most enjoyment I've ever gotten from a game. You feel like you can change the ending by changing your actions, but you can't really. Gives off a bittersweet vibe at the end. You end up realizing something is inevitable but still don't want it to happen. The endings of both games really hit me in the feels ngl.

[@TheTuubster]

If you like this game, check out "A Plague Tale: Innocence". Also from a French studio and "Stray" was clearly inspired by it. The tunnel chase sequence at 10:05 seems to be an homage to "Innocence", as there is the exact same sequence too.

[@MalMarius]

The Stealth sections was some of the best parts of this game and the story made me emotional.

[@bbyjohn11]

Jirard there’s few creators I’ve followed for so many years where I can say I am proud to be a fan. Love your ambitions and how you’ve stayed true to your content. Cheers.

[@LLJVBass]

I hardly ever aim for completion, but I loved this cozy little game. I loved the speedrun achievement. It was a fun run

[@shawnheatherly]

It may not be worth 100%-ing, but it's absolutely worth experiencing.

[@MoonSpiritChannel]

Game is real cozy for sure. I'm not a cat guy myself either, but I'm not opposed to kitties. And this game, really makes me appreciate the type of cat things you're allowed to do. I do hope for another wholesome cat game like this in the future.

[@luliby2309]

Those Ephemeral Tattoos are awesome! That changes my whole outlook on tattoos. I love that non-permanent tattoos are now finally a thing.

[@DDRmassa]

That's really cool how you got your patrons to submit pet photos. Great way to involve your supporters and I haven't actually seen anybody else do something like that.

[@GabeWilliams]

Oh look a game i actually 100%ed. surpsisingly it wasn’t too hard for me. i adored the world of this game, and not just because i was a cat. The back to the future references was what really did it for me

[@AC03115]

Stray is personally my second-favorite game of the year after Elden Ring, as soon as I heard about it I was immediately interested since 1. I'm a sucker for ANYTHING involving Cyberpunk, and 2. The cat you play as in Stray looks a lot like my adorable cat Rusty, so immediately I decided I would play it as soon as it came out! I loved the atmosphere and presentation of this Cyberpunk world, and it was an amazing time exploring it all and talking to every NPC and learning their story. When the cat falls into the pit at the start I immediately started crying, I knew I was playing something special in that moment with how quick it was able to punch me in the gut

[@masterroshixd]

The beginning was just: CATS CATS CATS

[@NintendoCapriSun]

Definitely been meaning to check this one out for a while! Observation isn't exactly my forte in recent years, though. Oh well, still gotta try it eventually! Just not right meow.

[@coreymyers5321]

This game is one even my mom likes, and she only likes Pong.

[@StormyTalks]

I have seven cats, four that were outdoor rescues. I will always love cats. They have souls that are among some of the purest in the pet world. I've never known love the way I've known it from a cat.

[@GameEsthetics]

I loved every second of Stray.. Great game to just sit back and relax with, especially for free on the PS Essential list. It was also surprisingly beautiful in art direction and graphics. Great video as always Jirard, I hope you and your loved ones have a safe and happy holiday

[@machodgdon]

“Game of the year month” Wait does that mean Xenoblade 3 could potentially happen? My time is now!

[@Craxin01]

I played this game through 4 times in a row to get the platinum, and it never felt like a waste of time. I'm really glad I got this.

[@Scrubber89]

I feel sorry for "I'm not a cat guy, I'm a dog guy" people. They don't realise that you don't have to choose one and can actually like both.

[@fajaradi1223]

Then you add some budgie, love bird, or parakeet. Then some fish. Followed by land tortoise, medium size reptilians, hamsters or ferrets, and so on.

[@Zangetsu37]

I highly look forward to completing this game. Great video Jirard.

[@TigerStyleFanMIZ]

I don't play video games, but Stray has tempted me!

[@whisperingwooper1763]

Wow I absolutely loved stray! Maybe because I didn’t complete everything but I found the atmosphere so unique and playing as a cat was fun and the graphics are amazing!

[@KaeMcSpadden]

This game was amazing. It had a lot of great world building and allowed a lot of speculation.

[@ven6815]

Stray's world and story sounds shockingly similar to rain world's, with both having a cat protagonist, it's surprising how different their gameplay is, one is a chill adventure, while the other is a hardcore hostile ecosystem survival platformer.

[@wouterdutch4706]

I just beat this game a week ago, glad you did this one in the end!

[@albertosauce9872]

I was only planning on finishing it but my wife was watching with me and convinced me to do all the side quests which didn’t take too much longer and I’m really glad I completed it

[@sopranophantomista]

I played Stray when it initially came out, and all your critiques are valid. As someone who doesn't usually complete games, though, I found the trophies that I did get charming and heart warming. I didn't do the speed run, and I think one other trophy, but I did spend time working on the Can't Cat-ch Me achievement, and it was a really fun challenge for me.

[@squeethemog213]

Stray is a game that isn't really my thing but I am glad so many people enjoy it. We need more existential dread cat games XD

[@AZTenor94]

5:39 Cats can play fetch too. One of my cats and I play fetch almost every day.

[@Sock66]

Legit the only way that intro could rock any harder is if you get some Japanese guys to sing in German over it.

[@litten4112]

The zurks not showing up after the sewers does kind of make sense, as the stuff zurks evolved from were in the slums, where most of the trash was, while midtown has no idea whats going on, as they never had that problem

[@stephanier.680]

I adored this game! I hope they make sequel in the future.

[@calvus3210]

JESUS CHRIST A LITTLE LATE IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO ALL YEAR

[@MrZRACER]

platted this 4 times across 2 accounts and got faster in the speedrun each time. A delightful game. Glad that it won awards.

[@Tp_hedgelinghog]

I really preferred the rating to be near the end of the video, but you do what makes your work easier.

[@FlameRat_YehLon]

I'd say the otherwise. This game does NOT simulate being a cat very well. The camera height is definitely at human level, which rips away a lot of the immersion, but is probably a trade off to make all those action sequence work (as otherwise you won't be able to see far enough), except still isn't enough to make those sequences not annoying because a cat just controls differfently. Also, many of the puzzles relies on that the cat is actually controled by a human, rather than that the cat would be able to perform the same without all the knowledge of how things work anyway, which just doesn't feel like acting as a cat, but rather acting as a human that has its mind trapping inside a cat body, except there are indeed puzzles/mechanics that does make the player act like a cat, for example all the paint can stuffs, or that you totally didn't intend to mess up the mahjong table but "acidentally" did it anyway. And, as a bonus, how could this game claims to simulate being a cat when there isn't a pee button? I mean, cats do pee, right? And all these aside, just level design wise, my main criticism is that there are too little things that the cat can jump on. It's weird seeing all the hints that's supposed to help the player get through the puzzle, when there's literaly not another route the player can take that leads to a dead end. I'd say the devs could have just "un-spike" most of the AC units and have the player figure out how to get through the puzzle with just those hints.

[@definer0]

As a PS+ game on launch it was a very enjoyable experience

[@Waywren]

Yeah, fair enough. I love beardkitty tho

[@AndresLionheart]

This game was fine. It also wasn't nearly as good as the Game Awards made it out to be. I was indiferent to this game, but since it now took away from the awards that Tunic should have gotten I feel a little worse about it.

[@Lawrencejwest]

I can't wait to see their Elden Ring video lol

[@AngelavengerL]

I just wanted to see him meet his clowder again! It could have reused assets from the first scene, so i don't know why the devs didn't give the more satisfying ending of that.

[@slopesgameroom]

I never really cared for the game that much. Love the artstyle more than the actual gameplay itself. Thankfully videos like this exist!

[@aaryscare214]

I had a fun time with this game. It was the first game I played through on Steam Deck. I enjoyed the robots you get to help and the world that was built.

[@MavMatt]

My lil Rogue at legit 0:01 ! Let's goo! I love it when you do modern independent games like this. I just bought this because of your video. Keep at it!

[@TheDapperDragon]

Hearing a fellow needlephobe describe getting ink as a good experience is actually very helpful. I have some tattoos I want to get, in honor of my family, but I'd rather fist fight a lion than get a needle, so, thank you for being a voice of 'needlephobes, tattoo's aren't the same.'

[@mattsully2238]

As a nurse, I always chuckle when patients tell me they don't like needles. I always respond, "well, I'd be worried about you if you tell me you did like needles."

[@trapsaltnburn]

Let me add my voice to that, then! I'm TERRIFIED of needles. But I've got 4 tattoos, and I find the tattooing process to be a whole different animal. :)

[@taha.elkasimi]

Keep up the good work girard !

[@BrokenGodEnt]

Any trophy hunter should play this game. I REALLY took my time. Talked to probably every NPC. Searched every nook and cranny. Found everything except one collectible by myself which took a fair bit of time... and still only played for 9 hours. And that includes the 1 hour of sleeping for that trophy. If you followed a guide instead and did everything as fast as possible I'm guessing you could get the platinum in about 5 hours if you count the hour of sleeping.

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

I still need to play this one, it is just such a wildly creative game :) Really appreciate it's innovative take on gameplay.

[@DadCore]

Stray is what got me interested in video games again. I just bought a PS5 and this game and it’s been great!

[@mac__attack8609]

I highly enjoyed this game! Played it with my husband and we passed the controller back and forth. He also really enjoyed Stray. It was a great indie title! Now. I firmly believe this game should be only purchased at $20 or less instead of the full $30. That’s just me.

[@Long_Shot_Media]

I enjoyed my initial play through but will definitely agree it does feel very lackluster going through it more than once & I was kind of left wanting/expecting more out of it. The ending also left a lot of open questions so even after completing it I was left feeling slightly disappointed, which is kind of sad as the concept was really awesome. The other thing that felt off was the almost quicktime-esq jumps, it would've been good to be able to jump when ever you wanted not just when you had to.

[@tortoiselover7215]

0:08 that's literally my cat

[@tortoiselover7215]

@@ChicCanyon It wasn't my cat, just very similar.

[@BassManNv]

Might have to pick this up if we get a decent discount soon on Steam, etc.

[@The-EJ-Factor]

I can’t wait for you to play Tunic if you are doing game of the year nominations!😅 I came more obsessed with it than this game, mainly because how much more interesting the language is in that game, and how much more fun the fights are!

[@gokuss9999]

"The Calisto Protocol is just okay and that's disappointing" "God of War Ragnarok is a complete masterpiece" "Stray"

[@rodger2275]

Cool video about a stray cat Video game. Nothing else is a this video made my day. When I feel sick, I'm stuck at home.

[@ob1slam]

Stray should never have been nominated for game of the year.

[@JustinLeeper]

Yeah, I agree. The “cat things” thin out later, to be replaced by action/adventure tropes. I wasn’t digging the ending so much. But it was a cute, enjoyable playthrough.

[@Sketch89]

I love this game, I’m indifferent to cats tbh. But this game was cute, somber, and wholesome 🥺 I wish there were more tho!

[@draculactica]

god, this was such a cool little game. even though it definitely has a lot of zelda/action-adventure DNA in its gameplay, it was still a breath of fresh air to me and felt very original.

[@joshramirez7]

Third purr-son perspective. Come on, missed opportunity! And btw, dogs are far more annoying than cats. Dogs need constant attention, and cats need attention when they damn well please need attention. Loved this game as a non-completionist. Short and sweet, need more like it for sure. Great indie title.

[@AlphaphenomenonGaming]

Did a full playthrough on my channel and loved it. Great game, I agree. Finish it once on your own pacing and enjoy it. Lots of fun.

[@dominicstevens5851]

FoR tHe AlGoRiThM

[@F2t0ny]

The concept of a one year tattoo sounds really cool.

[@PuppetMasterIX]

Even with the superfluous speedrun achievement, this was mostly a pretty painless Platinum to go for... with the one exception of Can't Cat-ch Me. That single trophy took me like 45 minutes worth of attempts. Very frustrating compared to every other trophy in the game.

[@Domdrok]

That end screen with the bearded cat, lol

[@brendanvandoren9635]

Your intro always makes me want to restart Video Game High School

[@coreymyers5321]

I love that intro!

[@wariodude128]

You know Jirard, there's a number of games where you get to play as an animal. So maybe next year you could have something like Animal Control Month. I'd recommend Snake Pass and Gato Roboto as two games for that theme, but I'm sure there are loads more.

[@xenofanchronicles9626]

So all it took for him to play a Xenoblade game was for it to be nominated for game of the year, about time I say

[@RadicalEthics]

i need that crab in a cab plush

[@metagrossking4141]

currently watching with a cat in my lap

[@TortuousFlame63]

Just FYI, your intro is so f*@*ing epic!!!

[@antonybrisson4090]

Still can’t believe that was nominated for goty…

[@666magic]

I'm completed it day one and enjoyed it. I understand the criticism though also.

[@raxadian]

This is why some people want DLC for this game. The later third of the game feels like it was cut short.

[@pheonixfire9517]

Tbh, not realy... The story explains itself really well and the Zurks not being a thing, higher up, is explained too.

[@philippeamon7271]

Of course, it's "leaving something to be desired", you wanna have a Minimum Viable ProdCat, to deliver a cohesive story, so you can franchise and expand in the sequel(s)

[@shadowleviathan]

I got the platinum for both PS4 and PS5. I found this game very enjoyable. Except when my cat was blocking my screen.

[@TheCreepypro]

a very well done indie game that deserves accolades

[@roraito3369]

It was a great game, one of the few games that i actually enjoy playing

[@TheRealSal51]

Dog you just don’t get it. Such a easy platinum and a fun completion for cat lovers.

[@psmitty840]

I'm the "cat guy". "Mr Steal Yo Cat". I speak cat fluently, Jackson Galaxy ain't got sh*% on me! I have 3 cats, I chose 1 of those, the other 2 chose me over their previous owner. As the cat expert who attracts cats from up to a mile away passively, this game had AMAZING attention to detail for all things cat. The derpy wobble and drop the cat does when you get B12 strapped to you the first time? Take a piece of cloth and tie it slightly-snug around a cat's chest. They will immediately do that exact motion. The jumps, the scratches, the grooming and meows... all impeccable. What they did best was allow you to experience the cat frame of mind. Can I push this thing over for no reason at all? Yes. Can I trip this walking humanoid for the egregious crime of walking upright? Yes. Can I take a nap when I should be doing literally anything else (like playing a game)? You bet your fuzzy, neutered nuts you can! Basketball? F*&% it... sure. Looking back though, it's a lukewarm experience overall. 6/10-ish range. Disappointing in the fact that the exact same world could have been used better.

[@PowerPandaMods]

The bearded cat at the end is NOT okay.

[@DJIronChef]

Beard mode always engaged

[@silentsmokeNIN]

My first time seeing the new intro. Holy balls

[@WolfPhoenix0]

If you liked Stray, I highly recommend folks to check out a game called The Spirit and The Mouse. I liked it even more than Stray! Seriously, it's such a hidden gem. I haven't seen anyone talk about it!

[@savy4266]

Beard cat does exist Beard cat does exist Beard cat does exist Beard cat does exist Beard cat:

[@CorynSilver]

I'm having ptsd flashbacks to "Can't Cat-ch Me"...

[@hayleyjensen3356]

One of the few times I've actually disagreed with you, Jirard! This was well worth getting the platinum for me. Pretty painless too, other than that one hit-less trophy. Good video though! As always, thank you for sharing with us!

[@buttermilk5364]

You don't really get awarded for completing it though.

[@hayleyjensen3356]

@@buttermilk5364 I just enjoyed the journey

[@buttermilk5364]

@@hayleyjensen3356 different floats for different boats

[@hayleyjensen3356]

@completionist65 are scammers barely trying these days or something?

[@cydragon2.099]

so finish it is the the replayable rank... i'd replay Stray more but i have other things to do (and yes when possible i wouldn't mind replaying Stray)

[@VaellinTheBard]

This is a game that should be finished and not completed but you absolutely should do the extra quests and explorations and some of the trophies. I would actually say everything but 3 achievements: (speedrun, dont take damage, and dont kill any zurks).