Purr-fect world...
WE’VE GOT A FELINE YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS CAT SIMULATOR...
Stray
(PEGI 12) PS4, PS5, PC
★★★★★
I’VE lost count of the number of times I’ve thought, “after I die I want to come back as a pampered cat”.
And while the ginger kitty in Stray is by no means a fussed over feline, this ‘cat simulator’ has certainly given me a taste of what my reincarnated self has to look forward to.
Stray is the work of BlueTwelve Studio, a small indie team of developers based in the south of France, which makes the game the studio has created all the more incredible.
This third-person adventure follows the journey of an unnamed cat, which has become separated from its family and been plunged into a subterranean cybercity that’s home to nothing but droids and dangerous creatures.
The main aim of the game is to climb your way out of the city, and get home to your furry friends.
Seeing the world through the eyes of a cat is a stroke of genius, making the city around you – and the robots that inhabit it – feel even bigger and more threatening.
Such a simple idea, yet somehow utterly refreshing.
To survive in this neon soaked, Blade Runner-esque world you’ll need to use all the cunning wiles – and divilment – a cat possesses.
With humans gone, the city’s robot residents have filled the void, seemingly now ‘evolved’ to ape our lives. They go to work, form family units, and experience emotions while seemingly oblivious to the dystopian, post-apocalyptic world around them.
Luckily for the fluffy protagonist it’s not alone for long as the cat is joined by a tiny drone – B12 – which kits you out with a backpack that acts as both the drone’s recharge station and a store for the various items you’ll collect along the way.
It may be broken, but the city is stunning in its decay. Devoid of sunlight the underground world is awash with neon and warm yellow and white light, the rich shadows deep and dark.
Some of the robots are charming, and while kitty’s vocabulary is limited to mewls, hisses and purrs, you can still chat with the machines via your backpack. It was lovely to strike up short conversations with various residents, each sharing their stories – some funny, some sweet, some affecting.
Among all this is the chance to truly be a cat, from knocking random items off tables/ledges for the sake of it, to walking through paint and leaving tiny paw prints everywhere. You can nuzzle and tangle
yourself around the feet of passing robots, scratch at rugs and posts – there’s even a dedicated button to meow.
If you’re lucky enough to be playing on the PS5, the comforting purrs that emanate from the DualSense speaker, paired with the gentle rumble of the haptics give an added layer of reality.
Moving through the map feels almost like parkour at times, until you stop and realise this is how cats move. Leaping sure-footedly onto swinging beams, deftly traversing
rooftops and canopies as you move above ground.
You need to solve some environmental puzzles if you’re going to escape, some as simple as creating a bridge by knocking over a bit of wood, to more complex tasks like repairing machines.
It’s not just robot enemies you have to be wary of, there are also Zurks, creatures evolved from an experimental bacteria that move in packs and devour everything in their path. It was at the hands of the Zurks that I first died.
I have to say it was traumatising, my little cat’s body going soft and limp, a tiny mewl as the cat dropped to the floor. I had to take a moment to compose myself, making a brew before feeling able to get back into the game, determined not to be killed again.
Interestingly my own cat has been utterly fascinated by Stray. Drawn into the room by the meows from the PC, Lilly will often sit and watch in fascination, her little eyes following the movement of the cat on the screen – surely a sign the developers have got something right.
Running alongside the main quest are optional collectibles and questlines you stumble over, like collecting music sheets for a music bot, which then plays the melody back to you. They’re lovely little touches that all add to bringing the world around you to life.
This is easily the best game I’ve played so far this year, evoking laughter, joy and genuine tears.
After one particularly touching moment, I felt compelled to stroke Lilly as she sat transfixed beside me, only for her to move away, giving me a look of utter disdain for daring to break her concentration.
That’s cats for you.
Buy it: £30.85 from ShopTo.Net for PS5, £23.99 from store. steampowered.com for PC