Stray – Kitten saves the world

Do you love cats? Do you love cats. And cyberpunk? Not the one with Grandpa Reeves, but in general? For example, I love it, so I dedicated the whole of yesterday evening to the main hit of this summer – Stray. And, anticipating what is written below, this is the best game this year so far. Why this is so, and how robots can bring you to tears – you will learn about all this below.

You die, the cats will remain

Stray starts very sadly – the main character, a red nameless cat, while walking with his friends, who are no less kittens than him, accidentally falls into the abyss and finds himself in a very unusual place – a settlement of intelligent robots. These robots, or as they are called in Stray itself, are companions, and will help you get back to your friends. They, unexpectedly, became the main advantage of the game.

The context is this: zurkas, overgrown local mites, the product of an evil corporation, destroyed the human world, only robots were able to survive, which, however, invented their own language and created emotions for themselves. They remember that people once existed, but our species is already something of a myth or legend for them. At the same time, their role models differ little from human ones. It even gets to the point of absurdity: one of your robot friends will have an air freshener at home, there is an explanation for this – although droids do not smell, they know for sure that an air freshener is needed.

During your entire playthrough you will meet a lot of companions, and each will have its own unique mood. For example, granny-companion: she has already knitted 800 km of poncho and is also ready to give our cat one, but only if we bring her a wire. Or how about this twist: while walking around the first settlement, you can come across several advertisements, the essence of which is that a fellow musician is looking for sheet music. Having found at least one sheet of music, you can come to him, and he will happily play you what is written on the piece of paper.

And so that our https://wanejobetscasino.co.uk/withdrawal/ furry friend can understand what all these terminators want from him, almost at the very beginning of the game we find B-12, a small droid who can break open a door, shine a flashlight, and translate robotic language. B-12 will spend the entire game with us, remembering along the way who he really is, and it’s worth saying that his story can squeeze out a few tears from even the most brutal representatives of humanity.

The post-apocalyptic cyberpunk built by the authors is imbued with melancholy and hopelessness, and at the same time, the elaboration of the details of this world is amazing, because of which you are instantly immersed in it and thoroughly saturated with the peaceful sadness of the local ghetto and the repulsive brightness of the city.

It is clear that the authors love their world very much and do not want to leave “holes” in it. For example, the fictional language of the companions follows all the logic and rules of linguistics, which is why Stray fans are already close to deciphering it. Every question that arises during the passage will be answered. Sometimes comical, sometimes scary, but it will be. The developers used their not very extensive resources to the maximum, creating a thoughtful cyberpunk with their own face down to the smallest detail.

Love. Death. Kittens.

The first thing you will notice after launching Stray is the picture. The art design is not one iota inferior to the internal thoughtfulness of the universe, and due to the very good graphics based on Unreal Engine 4, the art here regularly makes you stop just to stare. Surprisingly, the picture is never “empty”: the interiors are filled with little things that can give food for thought about the universe and its inhabitants. Exteriors are also not far behind: the second large location – the city – becomes a real feast for the eyes. Cyberpunk-like dirty narrow streets flooded with rain, and illuminated only by signs of a nightclub and small shops – you wouldn’t expect this level of art design from a small summer indie game. And the same companions are well animated, their images are well-developed, which is why just by looking at the droid you can understand what he is doing and what his mood is.

In addition, the sound, or rather the soundtrack, is varied, but at every single moment of gameplay something contextual plays, which is ideally suited to the rhythm and atmosphere of the scene. And a pleasant bonus is that, even apart from Stray, local music, or rather its ambient part, will be a good addition to your playlist.

The only thing I haven’t touched on yet is the gameplay. And all because he arouses the least interest. At first, even the prospect itself surprises: you are controlling not a person, not a piece of equipment, and not even an anthropomorphic toad, but a cat. Its dimensions and nimbleness make it take some time to get used to the controls, but not for long. Fluffy can meow, scratch the door, rub against the legs of some companion and even… go to bed. However, all these are “filler opportunities”, for the most part you will just have to run and jump on all sorts of pipes and boards, because due to the change in perspective, conventional stairs are not suitable for us, and a pile of garbage and an external air conditioner unit are what we need. Only occasionally do the developers delight you with ingenuity from a gameplay point of view – not once or twice during the passage will you have the epiphany: “I’m a cat.”! I can just go through the bars instead of looking for another one.». Which, in any case, is also nice.

The gameplay of Stray, when tested, turns out to be what it seems Stray – not the most inventive platformer with elements that are logical for the genre, spatial puzzles, the main feature of which is the size of the main character.

Prize for the best cat

Stray has already become a hit this summer, and for good reason: a well-developed world, a dominance of original and interesting characters, a good picture and all this from the perspective of a kitten – what else is needed to become a candidate for the game of the year?

Considering what has been happening in the “big” industry in recent years, projects such as Stray are designed to save the average player from the most boring, monotonous service wankers, presenting a unique adventure within the framework of a detailed world that lasts no more than 6 hours, which is why it does not seem drawn out and does not have time to get boring.