#stray vg

[lovelylovelyartist]

The fact that I can hit the ol meow button whenever I like including during cutscenes is really fucking funny. there will be some serious shit going on and my orange ass is just sitting there meowing my lil head off. very on brand for an orange cat, must say.

[lovelylovelyartist]

[Video description: footage from the game Stray. an orange cat is walking through the dance floor of a night club, and approaches a humanoid robot wearing an orange coat doing a very robotic dance. end description]

Go white boy go!

[lovelylovelyartist]

It is a fucking hate crime only one of the robots can pet the cat, just saying. Everyone should've been giving him scritchies and pets and there should've been an on screen prompt to bap or try to chomp when the cat was done being pet

[lovelylovelyartist]

[Video Description: Footage of the game Stray. an orange cat approaches a humanoid robot with a screen for a face sitting on a couch. A speech bubble comes from the robot, reading "Enjoying yourself, Little one?". when the bubble is dismissed, the orange cat rubs its body against the robot's shin, to which the robot gives an enthusiastic thumbs up, with a heart displayed on their face. End Description]

Same buddy same. this game perfectly captures the " :o !!" feeling when a random stray cat chooses to love on you.

[lovelylovelyartist]

Final thoughts on Stray

Spoilers below the cut

Okay. I've been able to take a few minutes and process the game

I'll start by saying, this was an amazing experience. it was beautifully written, extremely well crafted and animated, was a pretty quick play (just under 8 hours before achievement hunting) and I loved every bit of the worldbuilding. It was an interesting world that I wanted to learn more about, and I wanted to spend more time in. it was unique in that I don't think I've seen a game quite like it in aesthetic- the fact that there were plants that had been adapted to survive without sunlight, that's probably my favorite thing about this setting. most of the time cyberpunk/futuristic settings don't have a lot of greenery, or if it does it's the main part of the story. in this it was significant but it was never officially a part of the plot.

The mannerisms of the kittycat, I loved too. the fact that as soon as the drone's backpack is put on him he flops and does the Cat Army Crawl, it's extremely good. every instance where you get to Be A Cat (ie, claw on things, drink from puddles, rub up against legs etc) is so amusing to me. They even got the backturned ears that my cats do when they're clawing on a door! Its something small but its such a nice touch! and the meows were all varied, which was cool too.

My only complaints (Besides the really Really bad physics engine) are that there are some questions of the story that feel unanswered. And to be fair I haven't collected all of the memories (That's next, so if this's resolved when I find those memories, I'll edit this to reflect that). The Zurks? What WERE they? I don't think it was ever fully cleared up wtf the lil skinbags were. And the big Tower of Eyes thing, I have nothing but questions. My theory is that they're a part of the Plague that is discussed at the end, the plague that killed off all humans. maybe instead of killing the humans, it morphed them into that? who knows.

Also, the fact that we don't officially find out whether or not the kitty cat finds his family is kind of sad. I get it, it's up to the players interpretation, but at the same time, I like the idea of closure, yknow?

(for what its worth I think he found his family. or at least I choose to believe that in my heart)

Okay back to good- The Companions.

I adored them, through and through. The fact that each of them had a name, had a style, had clothes and cleaned and made art, and took care of plants, and danced, it made me genuinely happy. Someone else said it better than me in a post here, something about the fact that the companions collectively decided to continue the good parts (and the bad) of the humans legacies, the things "they would've wanted" was very poignant. And the fact that humanity died, not with a bang but with a whimper- that's powerful too.

TL;DR, Play this game. it's such a great game. Do be aware you can die, but play this game. It's an Experience.

[lovelylovelyartist]

Okay so I feel the need to say, While yes the game has some serious issues with the physics and/or fallen through the map, there has not been a single glitch or issue that has truly impeded progress. it affects the mood of the game a bit (I'll be completely honest.. it does kind of take me out of the story when I jump on a desk and shit goes flying, or things that should have like, actual weight to them crash around like they're made of paper) but mostly it adds to the enjoyment of the game. it's fun knockin stuff around and being a menace to society. i just wish a little bit that it wasn't apparent during tense moments.

[lovelylovelyartist]

[Video Description: Footage from Stray. an orange cat jumps down from a desk, up onto another desk. as he lands on the second desk, a small white box is rocketed from next to the cat against a nearby wall, it bounces from the wall to the floor. end description]

This game makes some. uh. interesting physics decisions.

[lovelylovelyartist]

Hhhhhhhhhhh dont touch me Im not okay,,,,