We have already concluded our journey through this fascinating world of science fiction and it has turned out to be exciting and also endearing. You want to know more? Find out everything in our analysis of Stray, one of the most outstanding games of 2022.
One might think that, in a video game starring a realistic cat (that is, nothing like the mythical pets that have accompanied the video game all its life), it is not possible to provide a work with much variety. That the result would be more contemplative than mechanical. However, after having concluded Stray, I am glad to have discovered that there is room for both styles in it, and that it keeps in the circuits of the walled city of him more variety which could be guessed at. And I say this because I have enjoyed both what Stray proposes mechanically, and the pure fact of simply being a cat. Act like a cat jump like a cat and see the world from his perspective. Dash between the legs of robotic city dwellers, jump to a safe area with great speed and agility, or simply meow and scratch a rug. The team of BlueTwelve He has studied cat behaviors at such a sick level that he has not only managed to bring our lost animal to life, but through his refined control he makes us as players interpret this role perfectly.
All this, as I said, without forgetting the rules of our environment. We can tour the city, go up to its roofs and explore every corner to immerse ourselves in its environment, but we also have objectives to meet, challenges, puzzles and situations to deal with. What’s interesting is that Stray doesn’t base his proposal so much on a system to delve into, but instead intends to offer varied situations that They flee from repetition. It even happens with the stage itself, which often alternates between open and linear levels as we explore the dark, but attractive, underworld that it presents us with.
The history of Stray is and at the same time is not the important thing. Our wayward cat’s target is a full-fledged macguffin: we’ve been separated from our cat family by falling into this confined and walled city and must reach the surface to meet her again. It is an excuse, yes, but it is because we are finding the true story step by step as we fulfill our objective, talking with the different robotic inhabitants that populate the place and who tell us a very different story: that of the decline of the human being and the reasons that led them to build these hermetic cities.
Seven lifes
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The surprises come from many fronts, because it is incredible to see how much can be narrated with so few words and through the perspective of a cat. BlueTwelve must be cheating a bit, of course, as he uses a cute little robot companion figure, B-12, that not only serves as a guide and translator, but also communicates with us with a human logic as if we were capable of understanding it. Although put like that coldly, it can break the suspension of disbelief, it works well to expose our objectives and help the inhabitants of the city, or sometimes complicate their lives with our pranks, all with the goal of returning to the surface and reunite with our family.
For all this, it is difficult to define Stray. I guess the easy thing would be to put it in that bag in which anything goes “adventure”, and there is definitely something like that, but its mechanics are very diverse. Sometimes we will have to explore large environments; in others, solve physics based puzzles of the stage, which are few and we would have liked there to be more, because they really work very well; there’s also persecutions in charge of some small creatures similar to the crabs of Half-Life, which destroy all organic or robotic life; even moments of well-resolved combat, through an ultraviolet light; scenes of stealth; even situations reminiscent of a graphic adventure where we must link several objectives and use objects from our inventory. All this in a cocktail that seeks to dose each ingredient to always leave you wanting more, rather than less.
It is amazing to see how much can be narrated with so few words.To this are added some secondary tasks, that help two things: spend more time entertaining in the adventure and, in the process, discover more details of the world. They are not the most stimulating, since they are the typical commissions at times; but they serve to collect more data on what has happened to humanity and what life has been like for these robots since then. The B-12 itself has a number of “memories” to unlock, so if you want to get the most out of the game, you will have to search the scenario well to find all its secrets. The difference between doing it or not doing it means passing from 7 hours long (even less if you go very fast) to 10-11 hours.
However, it will be difficult for you to advance quickly when you discover each of the sectors of this city. The inspiration with the walled city of Kowloon in Hong-Kong is clear, and not only because of the narrow and vertical streets full of neon signs, but also because of that concept of a city-wall that becomes more important as we progress. But exclusively graphically, is that Stray is a delight.
Any of the images I have taken, without the need for a Photo Mode to enhance them, have a degree of detail and sharpness that breathes life into every environment and every alley. Much appreciated the implementation of physics in objects that our cat can throw simply by passing by, just as cats do. Even this physics of kicking off with its hind legs, pushing an object in the opposite direction, is sometimes used for puzzles. Even we ourselves are an obstacle for the robots and if we get in their way, they will trip. Every time you arrive at a more open stage where calm is breathed, you will want to lose yourself in every corner and admire the work put in at all levels.
I wish more works as refreshing as StrayThe same can be said of our cat protagonist. It is amazing to see how he moves, how he responds to every action and how he perfectly emulates the behavior and details of a real cat. Even more surprising is knowing that it comes from the craftsmanship of his animators, working on his behavior manually to achieve this realistic behavior. Every detail has been taken into account, from the different meows, the traces we leave after a mischief, the way of playing or petting other cats and robots, or the behavior of the light in the cat’s eyes.
Stray has been one of the coolest experiences so far this year. Even if it seems too simple at first, I encourage you to keep going because of the game’s capacity for reinvention and variety. It is a captivating and endearing work, but this is not confirmed: it is also well designed and has been able to adapt the space to the possibilities of our feline to create an interesting environment to explore, explore and interact with. All of this while keeping you interested without having to fall into the temptation of using traditional mechanics that would not have fit his scheme, but instead looking for his own or adapting them to our cat hero. Although he is aware that, from the perspective of a realistic cut animal, there is a limit to what you can achieve in narrative terms, he still manages to convey the vicissitudes of this captivating decadent future. Hopefully more works as refreshing as Stray.
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