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!
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
I guess it depends how heavily you weigh the value of a game on time invested vs creativity, gameplay, innovation etc.
Yup. Unfortunetly im at a point where I just like to sink lots of time into my games. Especially now that $70 seems to be the price standard. Replayability is proably one of my biggest factors when deciding on a single-player game. I originally bought the game for my wife, but I bought it, went to work a 10 hour shift, came back, and she was already done! So then I played it and finished it in almost the same amount of time. $30 for that just seemed… sorta like a rip off. Granted, I know its an indie game and it wasnt advertised as some huge game. But those are just my thoughts on the game
Nah I hear you. Value gets confusing when games like TOTK exist, or Hades. I guess if a game’s length is unsatisfying it doesn’t leave a nice taste. Especially so if you’ve spent a few quid on it in today’s financial climate.
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.
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
Glad you enjoyed it. I thought it was alright. The first hour is more interesting than the rest of the game, which I felt got a bit tedious towards the end. Still, it looked really nice and it was a nice break from the usual Gruff white dude protagonist.
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’d say it’s worth $22.50
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’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
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.
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.
I dunno, I felt like it didn’t overstay it’s welcome. As I’ve gotten older and gained more commitments I do enjoy games that I can actually complete.
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!
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
