Game:

Stray (2022)

Category:

Discussion

Duration: 3:41

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A dedicated gamer's YouTube channel celebrating gaming. The good, the bad, and the two polygon. Logical Leveling talks about everything gaming: news, upcoming games, and reviews. As well as some of the more obscure topics, like the impact of a certain game and why a game failed. If you're a lifelong fan of video games and everything about them, this is a home for you.

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#stray #adventuregame

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Ok, let's see what happening in gaming. What the?

Stray caught the public attention earlier this year and has been gaining momentum as the release date nears. But what do we know about the cat game taking over social media? Stick with me as we go through what we know about Stray.

But first, if you like the video, please remember to give it a like. Let me know in the comments if this is something… up your alley? And subscribe if you want to see more. Now, let's peek into the world of Stray.

Stray has a unique premise of playing as man's feline friend. A third-person game set in an atmospheric world populated by humanoid robots. Stray is primarily a puzzle game where you will explore the world by solving puzzles through the actions of a cat. This is an original idea as actions that are the norm in games become puzzles. Opening a door or vaulting over a ledge is usually a button prompt but become puzzles to a cat. 

This isn't a platformer, though. While you will be limited to the actions of a cat, jumping, carrying items, and knocking things over, the challenge in the game will come primarily in trying to solve puzzles. There won't be any bottomless pits or moving platforms testing your jump timing. If you're looking for a catformer, you'll have to stick to Mario for now. 

There will be more to the gameplay than just puzzles, though. In one of the trailers, we see a stealth sequence where the protagonist hides in a box, waiting for a robot to pass. Stray will also involve a few set pieces, such as a section where the player runs towards the camera, in a Crash Bandicoot fashion, to escape a horde of mice. The developers behind the game have also pressed the importance of exploration. Secrets hidden off the beaten path encourage players to navigate every aspect of the world.

What will primarily push the player forward, other than Stray's unique gameplay, is the narrative. Uncovering the mystery of the world. How did we end up lost? Will we be able to find our family again and even the broader, more obscure aspect like who are these robots? Where did they come from, and where did all the people go? We won't have to figure everything out alone as we have our little companion B12, a nod to the development studio behind the game BlueTwelve. B12 will be able to help us get past our feline limitations by being able to talk to the droid denizens and pick up objects that would normally require opposable thumbs.

This is one of my concerns, as the narrative might have to do the heavy lifting. While the premise is unique and not something we often see in gaming, I'm not sure if playing as a cat would be enough to carry most players through the length of a game. Instead, it will be the drive to uncover the narrative and mystery of the world. This is BlueTwelve's first game. But it is published by Annapurna Interactive. A publishing studio familiar with narrative-heavy games, such as What Remains of Edith Finch and Kentucky Route Zero. So while I think hitting the narrative will be essential to the success of Stray, I'm optimistic that they will.

One last aspect I wanted to highlight is the animation in the game. If the main schtick of your game is that you play as a cat, you will have to make it feel right. And a big part of that is how the cat behaves on screen. We've all seen enough cat videos online to know how nimble they are. And BlueTwelve clearly put a lot of effort into replicating that. The cat in Stray moves through the world as you would expect any cat, something I can't imagine was easy and yet so crucial for the game. If BlueTwelve put this kind of attention to detail in all facets of the game, I think we're in for a fun escape with Stray.

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