STRAY Platinum Review

 

When I first saw Stray in a trailer, I knew I was going to like the game. I grew up around cats, currently have two cats in my own apartment, and love animals in general. I've seen several people over the past few weeks wondering why this game has garnered such a huge following even before release and why so many people are looking forward to the game. Eventually, it even becomes the most wanted game on Steam. Sony PlayStation has also secured the marketing rights and is offering the game day-one in the new Extra and Premium PS+ subscription. There's a good reason for that, Stray is absolutely amazing, will surprise a lot of people and will end up on many Game of the Year lists too. I am sure with that.

Story:

Stray has been in development for a very long time. As far as my research goes, the first prototypes were already available in 2015. The game is a third-person story driven adventure puzzle game with linear exploration and some bigger hub areas.

During your adventure you will encounter a small flying drone called B-12 (a little reference to the BLUETWELVE development studio). There are various melancholic scenes that make you think about our world. You will unravel many secrets, get to know characters and find out your own meaning in the world. Are there still humans out there? Why are there robots? Where are we? By carefully exploring the game world, you will learn a lot.

Gmaeplay:

The gameplay reminded me a lot of the games in the Uncharted series. There are jump passages that are performed simply by pressing a button. Often you look for objects that you can climb. There are also action scenes and sneak passages that are also reminiscent of the game series and loosen up the gameplay. The controls are easy to learn, intuitive and not overloaded.

Stray is not an open world game. It is divided into chapters that you can choose freely and play again at any time. However, there are larger "hub worlds" to explore. Here you can take on side quests, find collectibles, and uncover other mysteries. These levels were the absolute highlight for me. Here you will meet well-written characters. With a few exceptions, you can talk to any robot and learn more about the world. The puzzles are reminiscent of a point-and-click adventure. Here you will solve puzzles that will challenge you, but are never unfair. It rarely took me long to find a solution, but I always felt good to have figured it out on my own. You collect the quest items that will help you elsewhere.

I also think it's great that exploring is regularly rewarded. Anyone who goes through the world attentively will also be rewarded. There are 3 main collectibles that are scattered around the world and are also required for the Platinum Trophy.

If you are a cat lover, you will love this game and you might find your absolute favorite game right here. Anyway, I can't remember any game that brought me that close to playing an animal. Scratch trees, play with balls, nuzzle the robots, lie down in boxes, throw objects off the table and meow by the touch of a button (also in cutscenes). It's really awesome.

This world and what it looks like:

Yes, this world is absolute fantastic. I was standing there regularly thinking, is this an Indie game and not Triple-A? Details everywhere. I haven't seen one bad texture in the whole game. This game is stunningly beautiful. Again, the game reminded me of Naughty Dog. Everything is consistent and polished down to the last detail and worked out with a level of perfection that I only know from the big players in this business. Also, I didn't find any bugs in the whole game and I didn't have any crashes or anything like that.

PlayStation 5 Features:

I love the DualSense controller. Stray proves once again. You always wanted to destroy a couch as a cat? This also works with haptic resistance. You also can feel the rain in your hands. The controller integration is more than a gimmick and contributes positively to the gaming experience.

I played the game with headphones and absolutely loved the soundtrack. It's always appropriate and fits the the melachonic cyberpunk vibe.

The game also ran in a very high resolution at 60fps. I only had a slight stutter in one scene, but for the rest of the game I had no stutter at all. There is no flickering and the fast loading times are great.

Platinum Trophy:

Sray is the first game I've reached the Platinum Trophy before its actual release date. You cannot earn the Platinum Trophy all at once. You need at least two playthroughs. As previously detailed, there are several collectibles to find and a speedrun that requires you to beat the game in less than 2 hours. I had no guide to watch and was on my own. Exploration made me re-experience the game in a different way. If you play the game attentively, the two hours are doable. The number of missing collectibles is displayed in each chapter. Of course, the chapter selection will also help you here. I would rate the difficulty of the trophy with a 6/10. It took me 8 hours for my first run. To get the Platinum Tophy I had about 15 hours of gameplay.

FAQ:

Cat customization?

No.

Free on PS+?

Day one for Premium and Extra.

Physical copy?

Yes. Im8bit and retailer. September 2022.

Photo Mode?

No Photo Mode yet but you can press a button to zoom in. Nice for some great pictures.

Can you pet the cat?

No, but you can be the cat.

Verdict:

Stray is a wonderful experience from start to finish. Polished, insane visuals and a special meow button. You don't want to miss this game. Be a cat, play a Game of the Year contender for 2022 and one of the best Indie games out there.

10/10

Code provided by publisher