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!
It’s available on PC and there’s a sale on Steam too, 25% off, biggest discount so far. Been looking to pick it up.
That’s the version I played and I strongly recommend the game in whatever form you can get ahold of. It’s so wonderful
It was a short game but it did more in 8 hours than I’ve seen some games cover in 60 and I’ve never felt that invested in wanting to make sure the protagonist is okay
Eh, I found it decent. For $30 bucks, it didnt give me nearly enough play time to make it worth it for me. For $60 there are games that gave me 300+ hours worth of play time. There wasnt any replayability. However, I did find it a cute concept and the cat was absolutely adorable. And it upsetted me whenever the cat took any damage, so I did grow an attachment to the cat. But over all, it just wasnt for me
Can’t recommend playing it on Steam Deck enough. Amazing pick-up-and-play game that looks incredible on the screen!
I agree, it’s great on the Steam Deck. I played for a bit on my laptop and it was fine there but it was a much better experience on the Deck.
Seriously! I absolutely loved it. It was so nice just getting to explore and puzzle things out. A good balance of that plus a few intense moments. Just an awesome experience!
I’m rather new to Playstation. What do you mean with ‘it’s going away soon’? If I have a Playstation subscription and ‘buy’ it (for free, as part of the subscription) can I keep playing it? Or do I need to complete it before a cut of date?
As long as you download it now, then you can keep the game as long as you’re a member of PS+. So if you even think you might play it in the future, download it now. Once it rotates off the subscription, then it won’t be available for download anymore (but people who already downloaded it can keep it).
Slightly off topic but do you find PS+ worth it? I’m toying with getting it at the moment
Thanks for reminding me! I was really enjoying that game but got distracted by other things and forgot about it. I need to go back and finish it
The game is absolutely ameowzing. =.=
I’ve been thinking about picking it up in the current Steam sale. Roughly how many hours do yo think it takes to complete at a pretty slow/casual pace? Mainly wondering if it’s worth $22.50 as I’ve read it’s a somewhat short game. Was going to wait for it to come down closer to $15 but I’m ready for a new casual/cute game now so I could be convinced to get it sooner rather than later lol
I’ve never quite understood the “dollar to hour” ratio people seem to crave. Games are the only media that people apply this “rule” to. I’ve never heard of someone talk about the Dollar to Time ratio of a book, or a movie, or tv series. They mostly just talk about how it’s a good or bad series. Maybe I’m off base, but I just find it weird.
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.
Not sure of the exact hours, but I finished it over the course of three evenings after work. I think it’s worth that price, though: the gameplay is unqiue, the visuals are beautiful, and it’s an immersive and emotional story.
I’m only a little bit into now but I already feel like it was worth the money. Thanks for the feedback, looking forward to the rest of it
Have fun, real heart-warming story. Especially relaxing after a long day of work!
Awesome, so glad to hear you’re enjoying it! :)
I’d say it’s worth $22.50
5-6 hours if you are a seasoned gamer, 10ish if its a newer realm for you.
Thanks, that’s helpful to know.
I played it just as a fairly competent gamer. I didn’t 100% all the things (but there are only a few like that IIRC) and it took me 6.5 hours.
I completed it over a weekend . It’s pretty short but also an enjoyable experience if you’re into walking sim kind of games. Theres some light platforming and puzzling but it’s mostly just about looking around the environment and interacting with stuff. The game will take longer to complete if you really take your time and look around more. I think you could probably blast through the game in a few hours if you wanted to.
I really loved Stray. It was short but I didn’t feel cheated, I just felt like they could have done more. There were some sections I felt they could have expanded on and I was always hoping there would be DLC or another story or something set in the same world.
