The lowest tiers are poor and disenfranchised, while those living higher up exist in a bougie haze of consumerism. The city is structured as a vertical dystopia - a widespread sci-fi concept in pop culture from J.G. In Stray, much like real cat thinking, there’s nowhere to go but up.
#STRAY GAME PRO#
I’m playing on PC with a Nintendo Switch Pro controller, which robs me of the PlayStation rumble function for purrs and meows, but on the other hand, probably saves me from having to constantly dislodge Oni from my hands.
#STRAY GAME MOVIE#
There are several running gauntlets where I have to flee waves of Zurks, which is upsetting for me as a human, but prime movie time for Oni, who is unrepentantly vocal about his small pixelated doppelganger and the chittering creatures surrounding it. The inherent catness of my behavior is a constant delight, and feeds back into my unwavering devotion to my little guy’s safety, like an unmoored eye of Sauron watching for danger around every corner. I can push objects off of shelves, scratch on doors to be let in, carry items in my mouth, and trip over unsuspecting robots. There are a few cozy spots to sleep, including a nice warm robot belly, and I deeply enjoy rubbing up against strangers’ legs and watching their little face-screens blip out a heart in response. Movement is pretty familiar if you’ve ever watched a cat: acrobatic leaps from perch to perch, the butt-waggling low crawl, and a couple of occasions for a back-arching yowl and hiss. Besides the Zurks, there are cops, perilous sections of cat parkour, ominous organic growths all over the city, and a strange new horror in the sewers.įrankly, BlueTwelve could have set this in a Victorian steampunk slum and it still would’ve had the same effect: constant care and concern for our little orange friend Soon, my small personal goal to escape folds into a bigger narrative about survival in a police state, under a conspiratorial veil about whether “Outside” even exists. Among them are Outsiders, a small minority that believes in the myth of a blue sky. We meet a community of robots - “Companions” who once served now-extinct humans and continue to go through the motions of humanlike life. It can also help me hack into simple door panels and communicate with others. (Sometimes literally at other times, I get tased.) In the Dead City, I befriend a flying drone called B12, who gives me a cat-sized backpack to help recharge its battery and store key items (thanks to unspecified technology, B12 can dematerialize objects like bottles and notes and remake them on demand). Stray’s premise is simple: Get home or die trying. Image: BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna Interactive via Polygon There is no grass, and there is no light.
I land in a heap, crumpled but unbroken, in the garbage-strewn bowels of a forgotten city.
My loved ones watch helplessly as I vanish into darkness. My peaceful existence shatters when I miss a routine jump off a pipe and find myself plummeting to my doom. Stray is mostly a straightforward platforming game with some puzzles sprinkled in in lieu of combat, there’s a focus on the catlike ability to sneak, evade, and escape. It’s a short tutorial area where I play around with the cats’ lifelike movements and vocalizations.
#STRAY GAME FULL#
I’m just a tiny orange guy, and life is good - full of playing, sleeping, and exploring. The game opens with a family of cats living in lush, green, sunlit ruins. Most people don’t like to see animals get hurt, so there’s an instant sense of emotional and psychological investment, compounded by a default instinct to protect the baby. (Thank you for your service as Sassy, Sally Field.) I’m reluctantly conscious of the fact that the constant presence of Oni, a tender little coward who wouldn’t last five minutes outside, informs my perception of Stray’s protagonist I suspect that many cat owners - bless toxoplasmosis - will form a similar connection. It’s not quite the same premise, but the same strain of emotional anguish watching sweet animals brave treacherous circumstances. Stray isn’t just an adventure RPG - it’s a psy-op made for people who love cats, especially if you grew up watching Homeward Bound. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule.
#STRAY GAME TV#
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