Who doesn't love cats? Who doesn't love games? Who doesn't love cat games? But there's more to this cat simulator than it seems and here's 4 reasons why.
Category
🎮️
GamingTranscript
00:00This is Stray, a beautiful, bold indie that is part platformer, part puzzle game and all
00:13sorts of perfect, especially if you're somewhat familiar with felines. Here's what else we
00:18learned during our preview about Stray's story, gameplay and it's astonishingly realistic
00:22feline protagonist.
00:28Stray puts you in the paws of a cat who has been separated from his family and somehow
00:32ends up in a neon-soaked world inhabited only by robots. Martin Rege purposely avoided telling
00:38us any real story details aside from the fact that this protagonist is a stranger in a strange
00:43land and is trying to make his way through it to be reunited with his feline family members.
00:49There are several levels that players will make their way through and although Stray's
00:53story progression is linear, there's room to explore and discover. It'll take about
00:577-8 hours to finish at what Martin Rege calls a normal pace and closer to 9-10 for more
01:02curious exploratory players.
01:05Think of Stray as yet another one of publisher Annapurna's brilliant linear storytelling
01:09feats that superbly blends tight and simple gameplay, sort of like last year's The Art
01:14of Escape. There's platforming but here it's more feline focused than about pulling off
01:19well-timed jumps. You can't really mess up as Blue Twirl felt doing so would be decidedly
01:24un-cat-like. Players can use the tried and true cat method of knocking stuff off shelves
01:30to help with simple puzzles and jump in a can attached to a rope as an elevator of sorts.
01:35Later on in the game you'll get an adorable backpack outfitted with a drone called B-12
01:39who can translate the alien language scattered around the environments, shine a light wherever
01:44it's needed and remind you of your objectives.
01:49In one sequence the cat slides down a swamp water filled reservoir on a cart, steering
01:54his way through it to avoid hitting walls and these weird little bug robots that can
01:59kill you. I asked for clarity from Martin Rage on this specifically but I'm only told
02:04there are several places where you can be killed by enemies but the cat, thankfully,
02:09instantly respawns.
02:10We're not aiming for a hard game, he reassures. Expect the story to progress with a nice,
02:15steady rhythm.
02:19Rage is a gamified love letter to cats, one that I reckon cat owners worldwide will flock
02:24to just to find out how impressively real this little cat is.
02:28During our preview we watch the protagonist push paint cans off ledges, lap up water,
02:33nap on a robot's chest, sleeping forms the majority of a cat schedule so that's obviously
02:38something you can do in the game, and do a sleepy stretch post nap.
02:42During the preview Martin Rage assures us that you can still be a cat and be very annoying
02:47to everyone, as he jumps up onto a surface where robots are playing some kind of tabletop
02:52game, sending chips flying everywhere. They beep angrily in response and over a minute
02:57later they're still picking up the chips as the little orange tabby trots on.
03:01There's even an opportunity to use the triggers on your controller to pull on the back of
03:05a couch, something every cat owner knows is a cat's favourite pastime.
03:09When playing on the PS5, the cat's purrs will emanate from the speaker in the DualSense
03:14controller, which will also gently vibrate so it feels like you have a cat in your hands.
03:21And the cat itself has been designed and animated with attention and affection by a sole animator
03:26at BlueTwelve known as Miko. Miko's sphinx cats served as inspiration for their animations,
03:32which are so lifelike and detailed they will amaze you, from its adorable little trot,
03:36to the very specific tip of the tail twitch that all cat owners know so well.
03:41The attention to detail is so impressive thanks to BlueTwelve's universal love of cats, not
03:45only are many of the team cat owners, but there are even office cats who wander around
03:50during production. Thanks to their incomparable in real life references, the team can see
03:55small details that aren't working properly to ensure this cat is like no other game cat
04:00you've ever seen.
04:01Having cats around us is really helpful because we get so used to seeing them move around
04:05we can instantly see when something is a bit off with the animation, or if a sound is not
04:10really convincing, or if a certain situation is too unrealistic for an actual cat, Martin
04:15Roger explains. When asked if they're paid fairly for their efforts, he quips, they're
04:20paying us, they're the boss of the studio.
04:22Stray releases July 19th for PS4, PS5 and PC.