Stray might not be the Purrfect Stressbuster, but it’s Pretty Darn Good.

“Man, I wish I was a cat.”

Fairy Godmother called, and she’s feeling generous.

STRAY, A LATE EARLY REVIEW

I was fortunate enough to test Stray out before mainstream bias ruined any expectations that I had for the game. Sure, there are other games out there that would let me derive crude joy out of impersonating a feline. For starters, A Street Cat’s Tale is a fantastic indie game where you learn to survive as a kitten, only to reach adulthood and curse the urge to grow up. Kidding, but the game lets the player make choices as the cat. Stray, well, lets you be a cat. In first person too. Granted, it doesn't have that laid-back 300 megabyte feel to it, but Stray is a beautifully designed game.

A Street Cat’s Tale

Playing as a cat is exciting on its own, but playing as a cat in a cyberpunk reminiscent world is invigorating, tense even. The first chase had me glued to the edge of my couch. I failed. Quite a few times actually, which made me question myself as a gamer. “YOU CAN’T HELP A VIRTUAL FELINE ESCAPE SOME ROBOTS?” Also called Zurks, the robots had me going at my controller for a good amount of time before I made it. I remember thinking, Damn, I thought this game would be chill. But that was me. My depressive episode at the time wasn’t helping either.

Stray is a great game. Really great. The circle button on my controller was slightly faded by the time I finished my first few hours with the game. What? Meowing is a treat, really. There’s a host of different meows, and as I type this, I wonder if I’m fixating too much on the mewoing. Nonetheless, I didn’t get to finish the game because I had to leave the city for a bit. Based off of the few hours I spent playing Stray, I was confident that I’d play it again. And I will. Achievements are ridiculously hard from what I’ve deduced, so I stopped trying. Yeah, I’m a casual, happy?

Give Stray a try. Sit back with your cat (if you have one). Grab some snacks. Don’t be selfish, get your cat some snacks too. I did, and he still gave me stank eyes. I love cats man.