WARNING! WARNING! There is ONE SPOILER IN THIS ARTICLE! It is already labeled! You have been warning!
For this week’s GOTW, I have chosen a game that was one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played.
That game is…
“Stray”
When playing “Stray,” you play as a ginger tabby cat as you can see from the photo above.
You fall into a city that is walled off from the outside world. In this city, the population is robots, machines, and mutant bacteria (which is disgusting).
The whole game, you are trying to find your way out of this city and back out to your friends that are outside of the walled city.
“Stray” was released in 2022, so it hasn’t been out for too long. When I first saw this game, I was like “I gotta play this game.”
However, at the moment I didn’t have a good computer, especially one I didn’t think would run the game well.
But my boyfriend bought me the game for my birthday last year and I think I immediately played that game later that night.
You can play “Stray” on Steam, Playstation, Xbox, and Mac.
To give you a better description of this game, you should check out their website, which is linked below.
When I played this game, I knew I didn’t have to follow the storyline the whole time. However, the storyline is just as good and if you try to veer off and do something else, you somehow find yourself right back on track.
I can be a silly cat, a serious cat, a fighter cat, or just a very sleepy kitty. Some people assume you need to follow the story mood but you’re a cat, LIVE!
One of my favorite moments of this game is meeting B-12, who is a flying drone that helps you communicate, be your longer arms and legs, and be the companion your cat needs to get through this area.
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
B-12 was a human scientist who tried to upload his consciousness to the whole city’s network. Now he didn’t fail but he also didn’t succeed. His memories were corrupted and all he knows is he has to go outside.
So B-12 and our cat team up and leave the city.
B-12 does give our little kitty a harness, which helps us collect items, communicate with the robots, different technology that helps it, and a lot more.
There is one thing about this game that makes me uncomfortable.
That being the mutant bacteria.
DISGUSTING!
The fact that it has eyes, affects rats and it is just red and gross and just ew.
Different areas of the city
The Lower Level includes the Dead City and The Safezone.
Dead City.
The Dead City is exactly how it sounds. It’s completely dead (except for the zurk, which are one-eyed creatures who eat everything and anything).
Here’s what the zurks look like.
The Safezone.
Now the Safezone is safe. There are no zurks, no one who wants the cat to leave. There are friendly robots here who we can meet, who can help us find our way home.
This is one of my favorite places.
Sewers.
The sewers are not considered to be at the lower level of this game. This is a dangerous area to be in, it’s filled with mutant bacteria and zurks which makes this area DISGUSTING!
When I went into this area, it was so gross. There were eyes EVERYWHERE and all this gross mutant bacteria.
My least favorite place.
Here’s two pictures from my gameplay.
Next, we have the upper level. On this level, there is the Midtown and the Jail.
Midtown
Midtown is probably one of the best places to look at. There are neon signs and neon buildings everywhere. Midtown is the largest city in this game and it has all types of places, like stores and entertainment areas.
Jail
The Jail is just like it sounds. It ain’t fun, you’re arrested and good luck getting out.
The real question: HOW DOES A CAT GET ARRESTED? That’s part of the story mode so I’ll let you figure that out.
Anyone who breaks the law is arrested by the Peacemakers (sometimes called Peacekeepers) who are the robot cops in this game.
Next, we move onto the Control Room Area.
Control Room Area
In the Control Room Area, there’s the most important area, the control room.
This area only has the helper robots, which clean the whole area.
A lot goes on in this area towards the end of the game so I won’t spoil anything. Just be prepared to cry if you’re sensitive and have real emotions.
Finally, we have the Outside.
Outside
The Outside is everything outside of the Walled City. Pretty self-explanatory.
The photo I did want to use, I couldn’t because it would be a big spoiler.
My favorite palace in this whole area is located in the Sewers and is a large village called the Antvillage.
The Antvillage is a gorgeous place. There are many robots there who are just surviving. It’s just a super cool place that’s very calming after taking that big trip into the Sewers.
Here’s a clip from my gameplay.
For my cons and pros of this game, there are 2 negative things to say about this game.
- The mutant bacteria is DISGUSTING!
- I wish the game was longer! It went by so quickly and I wish I could’ve spent more time playing this game.
But overall, the whole game is so fun to play, especially because I play as one of my cats.
Here’s a picture of my cat irl, his name is Tiger.
If you’re looking for a fun, art-filled game, “Stray” is that game to play.
Not only do you get to play as a cute cat, but you get to explore all different kinds of places.
For Crystal’s rating, I rate “Stray”…
5 out of 5 gold stars!
