Stray is a game about a cat and that’s all I need to know

While today’s Annapurna Interactive Showcase, the French developer BlueTwelve Studio has finally given us a detailed look at their first game. Stray.

Stray puts you in the furry body of a stray cat who has mysteriously arrived in a desolate, futuristic city inhabited by humanoid robots. Along the way, you’ll explore and solve puzzles like only a cat can, and navigate an inhospitable world using the cat’s natural acrobatics and wit. Despite its dirty trappings, the game doesn’t always take itself too seriously.

“It was important for us to give an insight into all the playful interactions that [the cat] with his environment ”, explained producer Swann Martin-Raget via PlayStation blog. “Some of them are useful and help solve puzzles as you progress, and some are only here because cats are cats – and as most cat owners painfully know, no sofa can be left unscratched.”

Stray‘s fuzzy hero eventually comes into possession of a small drone that allows him to communicate with the city’s robot residents and interact with the environment. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of taking attention away from the cat, the good boy he is, but there is something very adorable about the harness he wears to control his flying buddy.

Since it is of course a video game, Stray will eventually be expanded to include more combat-oriented elements. But from what we’ve seen so far, it is clear that the special moments of the game will take place in the silence between these encounters, when the cat is simply looking for collected rainwater to drink or dozing on a pile of pillows next to a musician busking. At least I’m looking forward to something like that.

I don’t think I’ve ever been as fascinated by a title as I am Stray, and this afternoon’s demo, although short, only fueled my hunger for this beautiful looking adventure game. Stray comes to Playstation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC in early 2022 and I need it, like, now. (But asReally take all the time in the world.)