Most games in recent years have followed the same formula of a big open world with activities to experience throughout it. While these said activities are numerous, most don’t add anything to the overall story of the game. 

Unlike the rest who follow this overused formula, BlueTwelve Studios has made a game that is a breath of fresh air from this tired out recipe: Stray, an adventure game that’s main character is a cat. 

To most, Stray is just another gag game that will be forgotten before the year is even over. However, after playing Stray, it’s easy to say that it is one of the most creative games of the year.

Perhaps the most impressive thing is that a game about a cat has a 10/10 rating on Steam. Stray has these high ratings because of the dynamic world the story is told in. On the surface, all there is to this game is a story about a random cat who is trying to find its way back to its family. However, this game really takes the phrase “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” to a whole new level.

After the Cat gets separated from its family, it goes into a part of the city that has been abandoned. You can feel a darkness and sense of dread about the place as you walk throughout the forgotten city.  Near the end of the level the player encounters enemies called Zurks which are small and agile creatures that attempt to devour the Cat. 

After escaping the Zurks the player finds one of the most important utilities of the game, a tiny robot named B-12 who helps you communicate with the robots and acts as your inventory. Even though B-12 acts as a tool for the Cat, the developers made sure to give him an interesting story of his own. 

B-12’s story acts as a side quest from the main story that consists of you trying to restore B-12’s memories by scanning things around the world to learn more about B-12’s backstory and the lore of the world. 

After recovering B-12, the majority of the game takes place in underground cities populated by robots. The first city the Cat goes to is more of a slums area filled with neon lights and rooftop apartments. This is where the general format of the game is laid out for the player. 

This gameplay consists of the Cat going through the different cities that occupy this underground world to talk to robots, solve puzzles, and other catlike things to figure out a way to get back to the surface. 

What really makes this game phenomnal is the environment, as all the cities, even though they are filled with robots, are filled with life. 

Exploring these areas feels much different from any other game as you’re playing from the perspective of a cat. Not only are you able to explore cities with the agility and size of the Cat, you are able to do all the things that come with being a cat, including knocking things over, scratching carpets, and meowing. 

Even though these things seem pointless in the grand scheme of things it was a nice lighthearted break from the occasionally grim story. In all honesty these things were some of the funnest things to do in the game. 

             This is purely because of how the developers made these actions interact with the world. From being able to ruin a chess game between robots and seeing their reactions to knocking things over on people. All the things you did had some type of effect on the world around you.

Even though Stray has a lot of great things going for it, one thing that holds it back slightly is how the jump system works. All the jumps in the game are button prompted so this leads to movement feeling a little restricted at times 

Even with this slight criticism,  Stray has ended up being one of the most innovative and creative games of 2022.