If you’re not familiar with Stray, it’s a PS4/PS5 game where you play as a cat. It’s a very short game; the main story can be beaten in an afternoon. However, it’s available on PS+ (although going away soon), and can be purchased outright for <$30.
It’s the first time in a long time where I felt totally delighted by how innovative and different a video game was. First of all, playing as a cat isn’t just a cute gimmick. The level designs are all about navigating around slums using your size and acrobatic abilities of a cat.
Second, the world that the devs have created is so cool. It’s like some sort of cyberpunk version of Kowloon Walled City.
This game is not Elden Ring. But for an afternoon, it’s absolutely worth your time. I can’t recommend it enough. Especially if you are finding yourself burned out by the usual types of games. I hope the devs follow up with something else adjacent to this game!
I don’t use it as a pure metric that I base all my game buying decisions on, just one of many factors. If a game only lasts 10 hours but each hour was extremely memorable and enjoyable, that metric doesn’t hold as much weight. In the instance of Stray, the “dollar to hour” ratio might not be the greatest but I’m confident enough that I’ll thoroughly enjoy the play through so I’m going to buy it at its current price. I would’ve only paused more if the play through only lasted an hour or two though.