Stray Review (Synik)
TLDR: An intriguing world that is hindered by restrictive linear exploration and a letdown of an ending. I want to spend so much more time in the world of Stray, but that goes against the games design.
PROS:
➕Graphics
➕Interesting game world
➕u r cat
➕Wholesome robot interactions
CONS:
➖Llinear - little exploration
➖Disappointing conclusion
Content (Game world/Narrative) –
Game world is pretty good. It’s a dystopian future that reminds me a lot of Nier Automata. Not only because of the robots, but because of that feeling of something lurking beneath the surface that you’re trying to discover. This spills over into the narrative, which is not nearly as strong as Nier.
Gameplay (Mechanics/Difficulty) –
Perhaps the weakest point of Stray. The gameplay is very minimal, really jumping and movement is all. Any other segments that require interactivity are easily done because you can only interact with the relevant things, meaning the game puts a giant button over what you should be interacting with. Very on rails.
Graphics (Quality/Technical) –
Great, but there is some graphical blur, I have included a screenshot here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3458785179
Look closely at the cat and you can clearly see some small ghosting occurring. This is with the game fully maxed, and motion blur off. At the worst, this is just a bit distracting from an otherwise great looking game.
Technical aspects - runs great. No issues and maintained a consistent 60 fps at 200% resolution scale.
i9-13900KF | RTX 4090 | 64GB RAM | 1440p @ 240hz | Windows 11 installed on SSD
Audio –
Good. There is no voice acting, but the music fits in super well with the setting.
Replay Factor (Longevity) –
Not much. Nothing aside from achievements.
Final Verdict –
Stray is a game about the smartest cat to ever exist in the history of the world, in which you play as said cat. In Stray, your goal is to get to the outside world through helping a civilization of robots and by completing a short series of small puzzles.
For my biggest negatives, I would say its the conclusion and the linearity of the game.
To summarize why I don’t like the conclusion, I would say that the ending is unsatisfactory. Yes, there are some definite moments that tug on the heartstrings, but overall, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Spoilers:
You spend the entire game working to get to the outside, only to have literally zero interaction with it. I would have even enjoyed a super basic frolic while the credits ran, but you get NOTHING. It just makes it feel like all of the work you did and all of the friends you’ve lost along the way, has no major payoff.
In regards to the linearity, Stray is very restrictive in where you can actually go. You can only jump to specific places, no where else. It’s kind of like a platforming game where you auto-jump to designated areas. Though I can understand the nightmare involved with letting players jump freeform as a cat, this version just feels very constrictive. Even if the pre-defined jumping wasn’t enough, there are only a handful of areas that you can actually deviate from the main path and explore. This is a very beautiful world and I would have loved to explore it in a more meaningful way.
For the positives, I would continue on with the game world being my favorite part of Stray. It’s almost like a more Japanese-esque Nier Automata, but with a focus on wholesome robots just living out their lives huddled in blankets. I loved it when I got to the big city and was able to explore and take in its inhabitants.
Unfortunately, the linear nature of the game knee-caps what is otherwise a stupendous game world. I absolutely love what was created, but not the biggest fan of how I can interact with it or how it ended.
As such, I do recommend Stray, but definitely not at full price. Get it on sale. This is only about a ~6 hour game, so take that into account for a dollars-to-hours ratio.
Recommend?
Yes
You can find my curator page here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Synik_GR