Feline dystopia pulls gamers into new perspective, gameplay

Imagine a game with a cat left in a world abandoned by the human race as a protagonist. The reason for their annihilation? Humans were wiped out by an unidentified disease and have been replaced with robot inhabitants. Does that sound crazy enough? Well, this little game would be known as Stray, an adaptation of the well-known adventure puzzle genre done by other games such as The Witness. Instead of making the character a useless aspect, Stray makes the character a unique aspect of the game and builds other parts of the game around it - which is partly why the game is so enjoyable.

In Stray, players can immerse themselves in the design of this underground world and its beauty as they climb around the city as a cat. The graphics are breathtaking, using lighting and shadows to create a truly captivating experience along with a world that is built with all kinds of different details and areas to explore.  From the design of the cities and landscape to the soundtrack, Stray forms one of the best dystopian cityscapes ever seen from a video game.

Even though the game is meant to be played with a controller, it can be played with keyboard and mouse as well. The controls are quite straightforward and not mechanically impressive, making it an easy feat for anyone who has played a puzzle adventure game before. The puzzles are also fairly simple, as the game is focused quite a bit on story and side quests. This is a game where both players who enjoy hunting for achievements, and just those looking to play through a good story, will enjoy.

The sound designer on the game is Ann Van Der Cruyssen, and it is apparent that she worked hard on it. The soundtrack does a fantastic job of drawing out more emotion and does an incredible job of assisting the visual nature of the game from start to finish. With a game like this that is driven visually by beauty and the emotions conveyed, one cannot imagine a more fitting soundtrack. There are multiple ways to experience the entrancing music, such as the option to search for it throughout one of the cities and bring it to an NPC, who plays the songs from the aforementioned score.

Stray’s development was a very long story, considering the game had a creation period of around six years. Throughout the process, the creators of the game, Colas Koola and Vivien Mermet-Guyenet, documented the nearly six years of development on a blog. 

“The gameplay experience was specifically inspired by the founders' cats, Murtaugh and Riggs, and the studio's in-house cats, Oscar and Jun. Murtaugh, a former stray cat found under a car in Montpellier, is the primary inspiration for the game's protagonist, while Oscar, a furless Sphynx, provided effective reference for animation,” they stated in a blog post.

The process of animating the cat into the game was actually accomplished by looking at the programmer’s own cat and using that as a reference. They were able to decipher how they could make the cat move and interact with the world in the game. The effort they put into this particular process is clearly shown through the smooth animations and the fact that hardly anything looks astray from reality in terms of movement.

The game was made by people who were passionate about expressing their love for cats and also willing to put in the time. The dedication to make the game have puzzles designed to be interesting specifically for that reason is clear and adds to the quality. The creators were able to walk the line of making it about an otherwise insignificant pet, yet not taking away from the game's design and action. The feel of playing as something the size of a cat makes the cities of the game seem vast and huge, without making anywhere seem inaccessible to the player. Along with that they also had massive inspiration for the graphics of the game from Kowloon Walled City, a city in China that is very densely populated and has a similar cramped look as the cities inside of Stray.

The story of the game is very well thought out; it unfolds through the game as players learn more about the story of the characters in it, and how the desolate world they inhabit has affected them. One example of which is seeing the progression of companion B12 as he learns more about his past, and bit by bit pieces what was his life back together. The other characters that are encountered around the game also have thoughts and personalities and perspectives that contrast some of the perspectives posed by major characters showing other sides of these underground cities. Some characters struggle with the idea of being trapped in these cities, whereas others are shown embracing it, as the player wanders through the streets. And while the dialogue doesn’t seem relevant to the overarching story, it is still tailor made in order to fit the world that the game has created. 

Stray is filled to the brim with meticulous and minute details, but one thing that can be difficult stems from its non-linear feel. The game might make some players confused on what they need to do to further progress in the game. The argument could be made that the game is not a good choice for someone who has not previously played puzzle games before. Other than that, there are very few problems, and it completes almost all the other game aspects beautifully.

by Will Amel

Published October 3, 2022

Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue 1