Stray shines most when it lets you be a jerk like a cat
Quicksave The Cat
Tonight's Annapurna showcase brought news of many games, and among them was Stray. First announced at E3 last year, it's a gorgeous-looking third-person adventure in which you control a cat trying to survive in a cybercity.
The first developer walkthrough of Stray revealed that someone has given the cat a gun. Watch the trailer below.
Did you know that, if you die in your apartment, your pet dog will lie dutifully by your side while your pet cat will eat your lips and eyes? Thankfully the weapon provided to Stray's cat seems to only work on the swarms of greeble-creatures that pursue you, and not the robo-people.
There's a lot in the trailer above that looks like pretty typical Tomb Raider/Uncharted fare. Does it matter that I'm a cat if I'm still spending my time leaping across platforms, clambering up buildings, chatting with NPCs, collecting quest items, and running away from and fighting enemies?
It all looks beautiful, sure, but where I think it shines most is any time it leans into the cat-ness. There's a moment early on in the video where the player needs to smash a skylight to open a route forward, and does so by clambering up to a higher ledge and then knocking a paint can over like a vase off a mantlepiece. I saw it and thought, yes, that is how a cat survives. I hope you save the game by finding a big lap to sleep on and that the end-of-game boss is a giant roll of toilet paper.
Stray is due for release in early 2022.