Stray

| Rating: 4 / 5 – Buy it on SALE if you want five hours of feline parkour, cyber-neon vibes, and a dedicated “MEOW” key | Stray is what happens when a Studio Ghibli cat sneaks into Blade Runner, knocks over every cup on set, and then speed-runs the exit route. It’s a cozy cyberpunk postcard crammed into 6 GB—smaller than most day-one patches—yet big enough to make you pause, purr, and screenshot every neon alley. You’re not a magic lynx, a talking tiger, or Garfield with DLC lasagna powers—you’re just a regular orange alley cat who accidentally yeets itself into a robot undercity. That mundane heroism is the sell: squeeze through vents that would make Sam Fisher jealous, scratch rugs like you’re auditioning for DJ Catnip, and press the Meow button with reckless abandon (bonus: robots react with emojis). Gameplay splits between two moods: Linear chase-n-puzzle runs – outrun Zurk tribbles, lure drones into walls, and solve “Cat-lever” puzzles that mainly involve knocking precarious items off high shelves. No jump button; you Assassin’s-Creed auto-vault to highlighted ledges, so the only true boss fight is the camera angle. Open hub hangouts – vertical sandbox towns where you fetch sheet music for a synth-bard bot, hack safes, and vibe on rooftops like a furry Spider-Man. Optional collectibles and hidden stories stretch the ~5-hour campaign into “one more catnap” territory. Your drone buddy B-12 handles the talking, flashlight work, and exposition while you handle the adorable. Together you unravel a surprisingly heartfelt plot that starts “lost kitty” and ends “robots deserve sunlight too.” Expect wholesome feels with a sprinkling of existential dread—plus sudden horror beats when the Zurks swarm like bubble wrap with teeth. Catnip Pros Gorgeous art direction: neon puddles, rusted rooftops, and cozy robot apartments you’ll wish were Airbnb-able. Atmosphere so thick you can taste the rain-soaked RGB. Every cat trope lovingly weaponized: paw prints in paint, ankle-trip NPCs, mid-cutscene naps. Soundtrack is lo-fi chill meets synthwave purrfection. Hairball Cons Platforming is on rails; wannabe speedrunners may feel declawed. Story ends just as you fully master tabletop-pushing physics—call your therapist. $30 for ~5 hours might sting—use those nine lives to wait for a sale. Verdict: A short, shimmering adventure that nails the fantasy of being a curious cat in a world that desperately needs one. Play it, spam the Meow button, scratch every couch, then uninstall before your real cat sees you cheating with digital stray-felines.

Started the game crying about a cat, ended the game sobbing about a robot. Immaculate.

Stray is a game where you play as a cat. Just… a regular little orange cat with a tiny backpack. You fall into a forgotten cyber city full of flickering neon, rusted alleyways, and robots trying their best to be human. Your overall goal is to get back to your feline friends. Along the way, you’ll nap in cozy corners, knock over bottles for no reason, meow at strangers, and occasionally run for your life from unsettling sci-fi bugs! Normal feline activities. The city itself steals the show. Every alley feels like it has a story. Every robot you meet is quirky, curious, or quietly lonely. There's no giant plot twist waiting at the end, but the world-building and atmosphere do the heavy lifting. And somehow, despite everything being rusted and broken, it feels oddly hopeful. Yes, it’s a short game, you can easily finish it in an afternoon or over a couple of evenings but that’s part of its charm. It doesn’t try to stretch itself thin or overstay its welcome. It’s the kind of story that settles in quietly, like a cat curling up beside you, and then stays in your thoughts for days, soft, subtle, and unexpectedly moving. Definitely give it a try! <3

Stray isn’t just a game it’s a feeling. I felt like I was really there, a lonely cat wandering through a forgotten cyberpunk city, surrounded by cold neon lights and quiet, broken robots. The atmosphere is incredible — melancholic, cozy, alive. The music hits deep, and the visuals feel like art you just want to sit with. More than once I caught myself just standing still, listening to the rain or staring out a window. This game leaves a mark soft, like silent paws on a rooftop. Highly recommended.

Stray is one of those rare games that surprises you with how deeply it resonates emotionally, all while letting you live out the fantasy of being an adorable, agile cat navigating a stunning cyberpunk city. The visuals are absolutely gorgeous—neon-lit alleys, rusting rooftops, and a hauntingly atmospheric underground world, all brought to life with beautiful lighting and environmental storytelling. The animation of the cat is incredibly lifelike, from the way it stretches and scratches, to the charming "meows" and playful interactions with objects in the world. Gameplay is a mix of exploration, light puzzles, and platforming, all perfectly paced. The game never overstays its welcome, and every chapter feels fresh and engaging. The bond between the stray cat and the drone companion, B-12, adds emotional depth and storytelling that’s surprisingly impactful. This isn't just a game for cat lovers (though it’s a must-play if you are one!)—it’s a thoughtfully designed adventure with heart, atmosphere, and originality. Highly recommend for anyone who wants something a little different, a little emotional, and very, very memorable. 🧡🐈

If you are a cat person, this is a must game for you. The story is amazing, cat noises are the cutest and the whole world is absolutely gorgeous. Especially the way they used the light in Slums. Will definitely play it more than once.

The best thing about stray is the environments look pretty. The game-play, in general, is pretty horrid. You spend most of the game angling your camera around looking for things to interact with and hoping if you do it enough you'll find an interesting Memory to collect for B-12. Though, of course, there is always the chance you might mistakenly advance the story and then miss a Memory and need to re-do the chapter. It's a game that is more annoying busy work than anything. I never looked at the puzzles and thought, "Oh! This is clever!" If the game wasn't about "funny cat things" it would be largely forgettable.

Stray is a game about a cat who gets separated from its family. That’s how it starts. That’s what it pretends it’s about. That’s what the trailer sold you, what the opening scene establishes, and what your emotional expectations are built around. [spoiler]Then, halfway through, the game forgets. It becomes a shallow robot melodrama, and the cat—the only character you ever cared about—becomes a mute delivery vehicle for a dying hard drive.[/spoiler] [spoiler]You will not reunite with the other cats. You will not resolve anything emotionally. You will help some robots open a door and then walk away alone. And the game will not treat this as a tragedy. It won’t treat it as anything. It will act like the opening never happened.[/spoiler] This is not an artistic choice. It’s narrative abandonment. The game is beautiful. The animations are perfect. The sound design is rich. Yes, there’s a meow button. Yes, you can knock over cups. None of that excuses the fact that Stray betrays its own setup. Every “Most Helpful” review says this game is brilliant because you can purr. That’s the bar. But when you remove the ambient lighting and the serotonin hit of playing as a cat, what’s left is a hollow, cliché-soaked cyberpunk script with no emotional resolution. Stray isn’t bad because it’s short. It’s bad because it promises to be about something real—and then stops being about it. I am not mad that it ended the way it did. I’m mad that [spoiler]it didn’t end the story it began.[/spoiler] It could’ve been great. Instead, it settled for cute. And everyone lapped it up. . . like a cat. . . does. . . to. . . something. I'm not good at analogies.

It pains me to give this game a negative review but I don't like being held hostage by the games save system(or lack thereof). I lose a lot progress if I have to quit abruptly. IF they implement manual saving I'd buy this game again. Looks really fun otherwise.

i really liked playing this game! the cat is sooo cute and i really liked the gameplay. some levels were rough and took me a while because i was playing on a keyboard. i later switched to a controller and it went a lot beter. i ejoyed exploring the slums, the antvillage and midtown. it was also fun to do cat things (meow, scratch and sleep). its so cute :)

This is not a game for those who struggle with platformers. It's got a great story and a heartwarming protagonist, but is impossible for anyone who needs "story mode" in games. (I've been playing my partner through every chase.) There is no ability to adjust difficulty, and the checkpoints don't even happen every cutscene, so you have to replay them sometimes. And the checkpoints for the platformer parts are minutes or, if you're her, 20 minutes apart. It feels like this game only requires a few tweaks to make it a great story game, which is why it's caused so much frustration.

Let me start by saying Stray is the most emotionally manipulative thing to happen to my soul since Toy Story 3—but this time, it’s a backpack-wearing ginger cat traversing a dystopian robo-slum instead of a cowboy doll facing the furnace of existential dread. You don’t play as a person. You don’t even play as a dog, like some noble war companion. No. You play as a cat. A four-legged, trash-sniffing, plant-knocking, meow-at-your-command feline god. And somehow, it works. This isn’t some cutesy cat simulator—this is CyberMeow 2077, where every hop across a ledge and every "MREOW" is one step closer to unraveling a glitchy, neon-drenched mystery that no litterbox could ever contain. The plot? You get separated from your feline squad in a crumbling vertical hellscape that looks like Blade Runner if it was designed by Ikea after a depressive episode. Your new friends? Rusty robots with abandonment issues and surprisingly poetic dialogue. It's like hanging out with Siri if she had PTSD and a need for cuddles. And the platforming? It’s smoother than a shaved sphynx. Forget Lara Croft’s pixelated backflips—this is Tomb Raider if Lara could scale rooftops by silently judging gravity and saying “nah” to physics. The cat doesn’t jump, it ascends. The controls are so fluid, I started questioning why humans even have knees. There's also a drone buddy named B-12, which is basically your flying Alexa with the personality of a war-traumatized Tamagotchi. Together, you solve puzzles, hack doors, and occasionally die from futuristic face-huggers that look like the result of a Hot Pocket left in the microwave too long. And yes, there's a meow button. Just... a whole dedicated button to scream into the void like a true feline anarchist. I used it every three seconds and somehow, it always felt necessary. Final thoughts? Stray is what happens when you mix melancholy, machinery, and whiskers into a pixel-perfect cocktail of adventure and emotional masochism. It’s a post-apocalyptic, low-stakes epic—if Cyberpunk 2077 let you scratch rugs instead of corrupt government databases, or if Paw Patrol dropped acid and became anti-capitalist. In short: I came for the cute cat game. I stayed for the existential dread and the chance to knock over a hundred cans of paint in high-definition. Highly recommended. Just don’t blame me when you start meowing at strangers and reconsidering the structure of modern society.

⇢ Content ⇠ □ Seriously Lacking □ Feels Like It Is Missing Something ⊠ Just Right - Kept Me Engaged □ SO Much You Can Do ⇢ Graphics ⇠ □ Awful □ Satisfactory ⊠ Beautiful □ Absolutely Stunning ⇢ Sound/Music ⇠ □ Had To Mute It To Play □ Didn’t Really Notice It Was There ⊠ Some Nice Songs □ Great Soundtrack ⇢ Story ⇠ □ There Was A Storyline? □ Not Easy To Follow The Story □ Pretty Standard ⊠ It was Engaging and Very Well Done ⇢ Bugs/Glitches ⇠ □ Unplayable □ Annoyingly Frequent □ Hardly Noticeable ⊠ None ⇢ Replayability ⇠ □ Won’t Touch This Game Again □ Only To Get Achievements □ Maybe After Time Passes ⊠ Would Love To Replay ⇢ Value ⇠ □ Not Worth It At All ⊠ Only On Sale □ Worth Listed Price □ Would Pay More Than Full Price ⇢ Overall Rating 9/10 ⇠

great story and world, i want more cat game like this pls

Stray isn’t just a game it’s a feeling. I felt like I was really there, a lonely cat wandering through a forgotten cyberpunk city, surrounded by cold neon lights and quiet, broken robots. The atmosphere is incredible — melancholic, cozy, alive. The music hits deep, and the visuals feel like art you just want to sit with. More than once I caught myself just standing still, listening to the rain or staring out a window. This game leaves a mark soft, like silent paws on a rooftop. Highly recommended.

Adored this game! it was challenging enough to be enjoyable but not frustrating and the story was amazing. Love the kitty adventure :)

This is by far the best game I've ever played. The visuals are amazing, same with the story. All the characters have their own unique personality, I'm sure almost everyone will find a robot that they love.

Stray is alright, but nothing too special. I surely enjoyed the game, especially the environments are beautiful and full of detail. It's a blast to walk through the cities and nature and the controls are really good. The story is bare bones but enough to keep you entertained. Besides the previously mentioned points the game does not have much to offer though. It's a walking simulator on steroids, that takes (if you ask me) to long to finish. Overall the game is good and playing a cat is done really well and a original concept. But because the gameplay is otherwise so limited and the game starts to feel a bit repetitive after a while, I recommend it only on a sale.

This game is a gem. I went into it 100% blind, I thought it was just going to be a cozy cat simulator and nothing else.... I was not prepared to experience one of the best atmospheres in any game ever. From the environment to the music, it is immersive through out its entire run. The game itself is actually very short, you can finish it in about 90 minutes if you only focus on the story, but there is so much to explore and play around with that I'm sure you'll spend more than just two hours playing this game. I'm not going to spoil anything, you deserve to experience it on your own. I will say, give the 100% run a chance, it is one of the more fun 100% games I've done.

nice game , fun , anyone who loves the feline folks will love the game

I decided to do all the achievements just because of how much I love this game. The characters, the story, the chuckles, and the heart strings being pulled. Some say it's too short and sure, if you just run through it without exploring (which is the whole point) it'll be over pretty quickly. Just an awesome game in every aspect and great for anyone of any skill level.

A little short, but you get to do cute cat things and fight aliens... Oh and hug robots too ! A good moment, nice scenery and pretty immersive. A bit expensive considering its overall length.

Love it! :)

I loved the first 5 hours of the game and fell in love with the cat and the world. However, I hated the parts that involved escaping the zurks and left the game during the rooftop sequence. Maybe, I’ll come back to it again some day.

Stray is a beautiful and emotional game where you play as a cat in a futuristic world. The story, atmosphere, and visuals are amazing.It´s a very good game.

A short puzzle - exploration game for a couple of evenings. Cute characters, good visual style.

I was expecting a lot more from it for that price but overall I enjoyed playing as a cat. The puzzles were pretty simple and platforming is whatever. The game's main appeal is playing as a cat, which it nailed, and the atmosphere and setting, which is also pretty good. Would recommend getting it on sale. It's only about 5 hours long, idt it's worth 30 dollars.

One of my favourite games of all time, even if I've only ever really spent a few hours playing Vs the thousands of hours I've put into other games. It's well worth a full play through, it's a fantastic example of shos-don't-tell storytelling and it's super atmospheric all the way through. I hope they make a sequel, but I understand if they choose not to.

This was a truly endearing game that gets truly emotional along the way. Its vibes reminded me of a certain old-school point-and-click adventure game, Machinarium. Puzzles were smart and fun, without being overwhelmingly difficult. I also appreciated the fact that the more stressful, action-packed chapters would intertwine with ones more focused on problem-solving and exploration. Overall worldbuilding and story is absolutely stellar. Traversing the videogame world was an absolute joy and it felt extremely immersive. The story, characters and overall writing are very good too, and I found myself getting teary-eyed several times.

This is such a beautiful game with an amazing story and a wonderful world of its own. I wish I could play this game all over again for the first time.

This game is beautiful. Has a fair amount of heart to it as well. A nice journey to go on and feels like the right length. 7/10

it's quite natural to adore cats to me, but it's hard to understand cats. Gimme a change to be a cat, and I'd be more cat-ish than a cat

such an interesting concept, both visuals and sounds were so good playing this was truly captivating.

Seriously a fantastic game. 10/10 !! AMAZING the ambiance, the story line, the deep feels hit hard.

LOVED the game visuals were amazing and a story that does make you not want to stop playing.

One of my new favorite games. Very fun and cute mechanics. Very emotional and touching story. Incredible sound design. Would highly recommend playing

Cats. Need I say more? I wish this went on a bit longer. A lot of adorable cat antics, running (and trying not to get caught!), and problem solving.

It's a neat story with wonderful, detailed environments. Relaxing and fun to explore the world.

Cool simple feel good game with atmospheric location and nice science fiction backstory. Strikes nice balance between being very gamy and natural in space design. Gets slightly gamy and repeatetive at the very end but over all very solid. Great game to chill with a loved one. And ofc you play as a kitty :)

good game with cool visuals the story is relatively short but well-paced ig, the places you get to see are really detailed though i wish there were more to explore. also the cat is really cute heh heh 8.5/10 would recommend

its a very cool game def recommend to everyone its chill and a good not stressful game. also the art style is really cool and i love the concept.

An adventurous ginger kitten finds themself helping the robotic descendants of humanity living in the slums of an oddly beautiful dystopian city, with hopes of one day returning to their family. There's a lot of exploration and interesting lore in this game, and although there's no combat, there are enemies in the mutated plastic-eating bacteria known as Zurks. The character designs are unique, despite being robots, and you grow to care about them throughout the story. The kitten is well designed and animated, and the NPCs react to them as you'd expect anyone to react to a cute kitten.

i LOVE this game it is so beautiful and the gameplay is just so fun and unique

Get this game on sale. Don't get me wrong, Stray is a lot of fun. But the mechanics feel somewhat barebones. You get a UV light early on that acts as a weapon and when it's lost there's just no replacement. The experience is still fun if somewhat shallow. If you can get it on sale then it's worth it.

Beautiful story and visually pleasing. The game is short, yet it has replay value. Buy it on sale and you won't be disappointed. Runs well even on lower-end systems due to size.

I know game reviews are supposed to communicate proper criteria to evaluate a game’s value or worth. I also know I’m feeling emotional on a Monday at 10pm. So, if you don’t want to read an older sibling’s ode to their younger sibling, be warned. This game healed something in me that I didn’t know needed fixing. In less than 15 hours. I played Stray with my sibling who now lives across the country from me, a little over 17 hours away. We’ve both always been super close, we’re both cat lovers, and we love a good story! So, understandably so, we loved Stray. Though, I don’t think I understood how much we got from playing this game together until recently. Companionship, persistence, love, and loss. A lot of my adolescence I only really ever had my sibling. Obviously, a lot of tumultuous stuff I experienced as a kid would only be understood by the only other person present for it. I think a lot about how B-12 was found among a civilization long gone, almost like a beacon of hope for our protag in the game. I also think about how civilization persisted in the robots, despite everything being bleak. There’s a lot of metaphors and connections I could draw here between the game and my life. I think there’s a really niche aspect of society this game could heal. I not only suggest playing the game in general, but if you’ve been through some stuff with a sibling, call them up and play it with them. I mean, I’m sitting here thinking about it fondly, like, 3 years later almost. I guess what I’m trying to get across here is that you should play the game with someone you love while you have the chance. Companionship, persistence, love, and loss. Despite the horrors, we persist. We love, even when we lose. Dat just life bb TLDR: game good but especially with siblings. Play it.

Awesome game from start to finish. Had several wow moments that did not expect. It is not a complicated game nor difficult, is very enjoyable to sit, relax and just play with good visuals, great music and rich story... NGL, cried a little.

YES I DO RECOMMEND IT IF YOU WANT TO CRY YOUR EYEBALLS OUT,I AM STILL CRYING BEAUTIFUL STORY AND GAMEPLAY THE FINAL CAPTER IS GONNA MAKE YOU CRY FOR SURE,PLEASE MAKE STRAY PART 2 AND MAKE IT HAPPY NOT SAD PLEASE I WANT TO SEE MY BABY LIL CAT BE HAPPY AND HAVE FUN ADVENTURE THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME CRY(don't worry guys I oke I just love the game 1000000000 out of 10)

i love cats and when i found this game i was in love yes, i cost money but its worth it.

PURRRRRRfect game. The world is stunning, the atmosphere is immersive, and the emotional story is told with minimal dialogue but maximum impact. Smooth controls, clever puzzles, and a touching narrative, Stray is a MEOWst-play!