Full Stray Playthrough - Stray is Bae: Investigate Feline-Robot Conspiracy
4Here's my full playthrough stream of Stray in which I played the game top to tail and even got interrupted several times by my own cat who you can audibly hear chewing on my microphone.
Overall I would give this game an 8.5 or 9 out of 10. There are a lot of very positive aspects. The gameplay itself is compelling and addictive. Nothing ever becomes repetitive or boring. Both the cat and robot characters are lovable and adorable. The environmental detail is impressive and beautiful. Scenically it looked like a mix of Blade Runner, FF7's Midgar, and Prey's 60's chic towards the end. The game never hits you with any heavy-handed messaging and the story's emotional ups and downs feel earned and empathetic. The way they depict the cat and its behavior are spot-on.
Downsides would be that while collecting things and exploring are fun, the rewards never feel very worthwhile. The exploration and traversal are better than anything you get for completing the side quests. It would be cool if you could customize the cat's backpack or take the music tracks you unlock around with you. (In general the music is very melancholy and compelling.) The game is also very easy for a short game, and while it never needed manufactured difficulty to increase its length, I think there was probably a few places where there could have been more complicated or intriguing puzzles or more tense or inventive stealth sections. What's there is good, but it's fairly easy to muscle your way through.
I'd love to see other variations on this concept like a modern day one inspired by Goose Game where your cat is more mischievous and just causing trouble at country clubs and such to steal its kittens lunch or something. It might also be fun to control a team of cats and switch between them, solving problems for more complicated puzzles. I think they could make more of a meal out of the cat's clawing and biting attacks, which are nonexistent in this game but very existent in reality.
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