A furry vehicle meows, purrs, snoozes, and claws on objects...
Stray In a nutshell:
The innocent, pure, adorable, soft, and untamed orange cat founds itself in a devastating, hideous, and vicious city that is all decayed, murked, and surrounded by elements that appear to be relics of a once-human population.
You play the cats character trying to return home and as you exert effort, you team up with a small drone, B-12, that connects to a harness and emerges helpful for you to hack terminals, act as a translator between the city’s robotic inhabitants, and unravel the challenges through a city sealed off from the world, efforting every inch and step to make it to the outside world to where we have come from.
Stray Is An Extension Of Real-World Of A Never Wanted Adventure That Is Propagated As A Virtual Experience
| Release date | July 19, 2022, 1AM PT / 4AM ET / 9AM BST |
| Available On | PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation 4 (PS4), Windows PC |
| Game’s goal | Get back to the surface, where it belonged |
| Time to finish | 5-10 hours |
| Price | $29.99 |
Stray meaning: In literal terms, stray means to move aimlessly from a group or from the right course or place. However, in this connotation, a cat which is a stray animal finds its way through deserted streets and avoids the dangers as it travels through the mysterious ruins.
As mentioned, the Stray release date is July 19 on Steam. Since it’s a timed console exclusive for PlayStation, you won’t be able to play it on Xbox Game Pass.
Here’s the release time for each region:
- UK: 5 pm (BST)
- Europe: 6 pm (CET)
- US East-Coast: 12 pm (EST)
- US West-Coast: 9 am (PST)
Stray Steam. Is Stray Free On Steam?
Annapurna Interactive’s feline adventure game titled, Stray, comes to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Steam at the beginning of the week. PC users have to pre-order the Stray game via Steam to play the title.
The stray game will be available on PS Plus Extra and Premium at launch. Stray will be free for PS Plus Premium subscribers. If you are not a member of PlayStation Plus Extra or Premium, you can pre-order Stray via the official PlayStation Store Page.
The question that “Is Stray going to be free on Steam” has certainly a NO answer. However, there is currently a discount for the Stray game on Steam which brings the price down to $11.99 from the original price of $29.99 USD.
By no means is Stray launching as a free game overall.
A Lost Adventurer Which Is Just One Foot Off The Ground Is Trying To Get Home
Stray Review
A cats narrative
…“Stray, a cat game, originally for PS5, PS4, and PC, is a delightful adventure in a dark, fuzzy, all-crumpled but unbroken, sewers of a dilapidated cybercity”.
I was not left unnoticed. I was a tiny orange guy who lived with a family of cats in full green and sunlit ruins. Life was good–playing, sleeping, and exploring.
I am not a magic cat, not a mutated sci-fi cat, not a super athletic cat–just a normal, cute critter displaying some sort of intelligent awareness like you cats do.
But, I became the victim. My peaceful existence shattered. I wanted to enjoy more of myself in a world of my own. It did not happen–(sad meoww) unfortunately.
I missed a routine jump off a pipe…and found myself plummeting into the sewers of a dilapidated cybercity. My loved ones watched helplessly as I vanished into the darkness.
And, here my journey starts which I never wanted…
I see no grass, no lights, nothing. I’m all alone in these devastating garbage-strewn bowels of a long-forgotten city where I have no clue about the rusty pipes, iron roofs, filthy streets, neon signage, robotic denizens, or a mysterious swarm of bug-like monsters that munches on fricking everything.
Much of my time initially is wasted just running around a very vertical city doing silly cat things like scratching and clawing on furniture, knocking things off tables, snoozing in a comfy corner, curling up into a ball, jumping and climbing over every tangible, tactile surface.
Despite A Bittersweet Story That Juggles Around Me, There Is A Rich World In Here That I Enjoyed Learning All About
I could parkour across the city that was heavily pampered with neon signs, towering apartment buildings crumbling in despair, cramped alleyways, jumping from one unit to another unit by pushing planks to create walkways, and rolling into barrels to use them as a step.
I tried to talk to as many robots as I could. I loved seeing what their computer screen faces would display if I meowed excitedly around their spindly metal legs. So much so, that the robots who have lived in the city for untold decades feel compelled to pet me.
I see a puzzle-solving sequence when I advance through the city. The robots I talk to are unorthodoxly impressive. The emoji-screen faces look a little disturbing at first, but they are some impressive creepy robots with warm bellies that I can use as one of my cozy spots to sleep. When I rub against their legs, their little face-screen blip out hearts in response. An angry face would flash if I caused any mischief to them.
Along my way, I befriend a robotic, small drone called B-12 that connects to my harness. It helps me guide the way, can hack terminals, translates the language of the city’s inhabitants, and unlocks the “untold” queries called memories to learn more about this place.
Moreover, the mechanical robot lights up its neon signs with arrows pointing me in the right direction. It also bleeps the mechanical whir of security cameras as the bad things track me trotting by.
I mostly learn through the old memories and bits and pieces of information I glean from the surrounding. Therefore, I keep on scouring the area for clues to glue together the mystery of the city’s past.
When I get tired, I curl up for a nap, sometimes just sit and vibe listening to the city and delightfully breathing and purring. I also meowed a million times to search for another cat.
Moving around as a cat is not always a breeze. For example, I do not have a dedicated jump button to do any kind of acrobatic jumps. Rather, I can press a button to jump over a tactical, tangible material when prompted.
I have to be in the right position and you also have to adjust the camera so I can hop to the spot I want. Sometimes the movement animation can cause jerk which can hinder my nimbleness. I can sometimes become fussy when trying to navigate back down to the ground level.
I am also not clear why I can jump to one surface but not the other, and I think that it could improve with just some tweaks to the mechanics.
I Have My Own Faults But It Can Be Forgivable
I come across bug-like enemies that call themselves Zurks and I am supposed to fight back and avoid them at all costs. Thanks that I have with me B-12 that helps me with it. The chase scenes are exciting but also frightening for me. I also have to avoid security drones and puzzles where I have to lure the enemy AI to my side.
I can kill Zurks.
I can fight back against the nasty pieces. I am thankful for the repeated backpedaling and shooting and the digital abilities that the B-12 posses. However, my B-12 quickly devolves and then runs back to recharge it over and over. I find this really fatal to my life.
I also have plenty of optional collectibles and questlines that I enjoy stumbling upon. Sometimes it is sheet music for a musician bot to play back to me, while other times there is a combination of clues that take me to another place.
My relationship with B-12 is Stronger and Better
One thing’s for sure. I had the freedom to the superfluous cat actions as your cat does. For example, I could scratch the door to open it or wake someone up by knocking something off a shelf. Similarly, I could meow anytime I wanted. However, that has its own consequences like an alert to a guard or siren maybe which could have been lethal for me if I hadn’t hidden in a cardboard box.
I Am A Good Being In A Devastated World
I am simple to understand. I let the realization grip you through strategic manipulation of the love for cats. It feels like a delusion to me when I gently stalk to casual lope to trotting run amidst the detailed neon-lit alleys of decaying cybercity.
I did enjoy being a cat, but I can surely stretch my systems and mechanics to improve my ability to jump or maybe challenge myself with more complex puzzles.
Still, I ensured that each idea makes room for the next–like a gentle flow. More than that, I engraved an adventure game with smoother purrs, cleaner mechanics, and silly cat behaviors like curling up for a nap. You should love me.
I am a stray cat. I roam cluelessly, defending against unforeseen threats and solving mysteries along my way, and protecting myself from droids and dangerous creatures. Lost, terrified, and separated from my feline friends, I must untangle an untold ancient mystery to escape the long-forgotten city and get my fucking ass out of here.
I Am The Nicest Thing In An Almost Surreal 4D World Of Vicious Creatures
I Will Leave An Impression That’ll Stick With You For Ages
My emergence, origin, and ill-fated jump were no coincidence. I had to transmit a message in a clean and visually appealing story or a movie called Stray. I don’t make striking statements about man’s arrogance or its limited innovation. Rather I walk you through a living, inhalable city where machine-resembling human beings have captured the place and formed their own society.
When you mix that carefully plotted narrative with the gameplay that lets you do silly cat things on one mush of a button, you have an experience, or perhaps there’s something wild about it and that wildness scratches an itch that will stick with you for ages.
Are you going to play this game?
Let me know in the comments below!
