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Stray


one-armed dwarf
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Played about an hour of this, which is not a lot but you're looking at apparently 6-10 hour runtime. Walking sim-esque, echoes of Miyazaki about it (Ico, Last Guardian), seems like a companion based puzzler with lots of pretty environment puzzles, but what I played was pretty linear. What might make it more interesting is it seems to have a strong environmental narrative focus on it, why are things the way they are. What is this city, what is going on with its inhabitants. I'll leave it at that, seems interesting but nothing mind-blowing really in the opening. I would have played more but I got about 2 hours sleep last night so I'm running on fumes. Will update with thoughts when I actually complete it I reckon

 

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It's a very pretty game, lots of screenshots and wallpaper material. At the same time I think the game is pretty enough that spoiling lots of views will rob people of the better parts of the game. So check out this screenshot of a cat hanging out in what is considered to be a pretty upmarket apartment in the cyberpunk dystopia

 

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FWIW, no HDR or ray tracing or anything like that. Lack of HDR is strange but I like the muted look tbh, don't really need the eyeballs seared right now. The game is so linear that the lighting they use is good enough as is. Runs at 60, these are PC impressions btw but I imagine it's identical to PS5

 

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I bought it on ShopTo and as I thought it was coming out this week I ticked yes to take the money straight away. I thought what’s the difference in a couple of days?

 

HOWEVER AS IT TURNS OUT 

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I’ve put about a hour or so into this, reached a hub like area & got the ‘Batteries Not Included’ style adorable companion bot. 
 

I am absolutely loving it so far. It’s chill as fuck and the environments are just so stunning and interesting. I also had no idea what it was, basically a light walking sim with small point and click style puzzles. Suits it perfectly. 
 

The little animations and the way the cat reacts to stuff is just incredible. Made me laugh a few times. Can be such a cunt in the way only cats can be. Such as pushing stuff off edges of tables and whatnot is just so fun. Can’t explain why. 
 

I bet it loses a lot if you’ve never had a cat or just don’t like them but for me it’s just brilliant so far. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Completed yesterday. Adored it from start to finish. Just a wonderful experience that finishes just before it feels like it’s about to outstay it’s welcome. 
 

Getting soft in my old age too, got a little emotional towards the end. Didn’t cry like a girl or anything, but I felt things. Not necessarily for a reason you may be guessing if you haven’t played it. 

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  • 1 month later...

Unexpectedly got a good 3 hours or so to play this last night as Char fell asleep at 8 :lol:.

 

I've made my way up to Chapter 5 so far. It hasn't made much of an impression on me so far, I love the art design, the cat controls really nicely, the graphics are astounding for a smaller title but the way it plays just hasn't really done a lot for me so far, it's more or less just walking forward pressing X a lot. Thankfully the hub in Chapter 4 finally enabled me to let loose around a little hub area which I enjoyed but it still hasn't wowed me at any point.

 

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Less of this shite please, Men cry too, it's 2022. There's nothing 'girly' about it.

On 31/07/2022 at 21:46, mfnick said:

Didn’t cry like a girl or anything, but I felt things.

 

 

 

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Finished this this morning and it really grew on me throughout the game. I think it was fair to say the way it plays at the beginning was very linear but the more you go through the game some more elements get introduced like stealth, chase sequences, points where you have to help an NPC out and a couple of really interesting hub areas to explore which breaks the game up nicely. 
 

I was never bored or anything like that, the game is pretty short (save file says 6 hours but probably took me a little more than this) but after the first couple hours or so it offers a lot of variety. The hubs are super cool spectacles which are surprisingly big and great to explore for a smaller game like this, filled to the brim with lots of really interesting endearing memorable characters which will stay with you. Chase sequences aren’t anything new but adds a sense of jeopardy into the game that wouldn’t be there otherwise, likewise with the stealth sections. Everything flows nicely and it doesn’t repeat much of the same activity in a short space of time if that makes sense. 
 

Graphically, it’s absolutely astonishing as well, I’m walking through the second hub town last night just absolutely aghast at all the futuristic signs, holograms and bright lights all over the place illuminating this area but also filling it with some unsavoury characters skulking down dodgy looking dirty alleys. I really was not expecting the game to look this good, it is astonishing and easily one of the best looking PS5 games I’ve played thus far. 
 

So yeah, ultimately, it’s a real novel little game with some charming, heartwarming characters and truly amazing graphical effects, if I had to compare it in tone it would be something like Inside and graphically more Cyberpunk 2077 or Deus Ex. I can’t really recommend enough. Especially as it’s free with Sony Pass. 
 

Going back in tonight to do a Speedrun for the last trophy I need then I’m done.


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  • 2 weeks later...

my physical copy finally turned up and I've put a couple of hours in. I got to the hub area and started to get very bored. I was fine at first but then the adventure game aspect just started to get on my nerves. Essentially it didn't click to me to show someone a 2nd thing to trigger something, something I'd already essentially half done so was thinking 2 steps ahead. Hopefully now I'm past that it will start to click a bit more

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  • 8 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Started this today, not sure how long I played but I got to the point where I have to check out the sewers, which I think isn't a spoiler for a game with this setting and aesthetic.

 

I think it's a really fine blend of what you'd call a walking simulator and a more classic action-adventure approach in the sense that it doesn't give your thumbs a workout but it also doesn't let them fall asleep. The contextual platforming thankfully works flawlessly, that's always an aspect that can go horribly wrong but they nailed it here. I think I might have jumped once or twice to a spot I didn't want to, which is significantly fewer times than something like Assassin's Creed can say in the same timespan.

 

The cat animations are obviously top notch but it goes beyond just the visuals. For example, if you ever properly observed a cat in real life you can immediately tell which platforms and distances the game will allow you to jump and which are considered too far or too high. Never thought watching our cats when out and about would have an impact on how I'd play a videogame, but here we are. The transitions between walking slowly, walking fast and sprinting are also incredibly well done. 

 

I kind of wish the game would lean even more into the environmental storytelling aspect. It's not quite a stylistic break, but I did enjoy the silent beginning more than the part with the chatty NPCs. I guess I'll see how this balances out in the end.

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Just completed it after almost exactly 5 hours, at least according to my save file. Seems about right though, it was three sittings overall and I usually never crack two hours at a time.

 

Anyway, this was excellent. As the game went along I came to appreciate the more active storytelling elements a bit more. It's not exactly what I was expecting (didn't watch anything bar the very first teaser) so my expectations differed a bit from the end result, but I came to love basically every aspect of it. There was one area where I stumbled either into a bug or a development oversight, but otherwise this was extremely polished and enjoyable throughout. I also never believed a cat could make a

Spoiler

prison break

so cool, but the little fellow absolutely nailed it. In fact there's a lot of stuff that only works because we're not playing a human for a change. Some of the more goofy, funny or lighthearted moments for example work and don't feel out of place because cats just are like that. It doesn't detract from its more serious themes, which a wisecracking human certainly would have. It's a shame that in a medium that technically can do anything, we are limited to control our own species basically all the time.

 

I also really liked the game's sense of place. It was almost Shenmue-esque (not only because of the Kowloon nods) in the way it took small areas and brought them to life through intrinsic detail. It doesn't have the 'living' NPCs but for a linear game with such a short runtime the illusion works and adds to the fantastic atmosphere. Some elements (like those seen in the sewers) might seem out of place on paper but for some reason I felt like it worked, in this context and in this world. I'd also like to point out that I adore it when games give you vistas that show previous areas you visited. It's almost a lost art form because everything is semi- or fully open world these days, but they used this to brilliant effect here, particularly when taking into consideration to what it leads in the 'finale'.

 

So, yeah, definitely one of my favourites this year so far. Hit basically all the right notes for what I'm looking for in a linear story-driven game. And I think in the same way RPG developers are looking with jealousy at Baldur's Gate right now, every big-budget triple-A publisher/developer should look at this to see how a good premise and flawless execution can result in an immensely enjoyable, condensed experience that does exactly what it sets out to do without overextending in terms of mechanics and development time. How triple-A publishers don't see a way out of their ballooning budgets when projects like this exist right in front of their noses, I have no idea.

 

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  • 4 months later...

I’ve started this now and I’m a little mixed on it tbh. It looks lovely, it’s ok to control but the gameplay itself is shallow. I know there’s not much you can do when you’re a cat but the little there is to do already feels stretched a bit thin after my maybe 3hrs.

 

I’ll keep at it. 

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