Summary
BlueTwelve and Annapurna’sStraywas everything it needed to be when it came out—a cute cat game with a surprising emotional depth in its story and character-to-character interactions.Straydoesn’t necessarily set itself up as franchise material since its story is fairly microcosmic and self-contained, but that doesn’t mean BlueTwelve shouldn’t keep its thumb on that pulse to capture lightning in a bottle a second time.
Straycould’ve easily been overlooked if it wasn’t for how greatly immersive it was in how it portrayed the cat’s movements and sensibilities. The same could surely be done for any kind of animal,whether BlueTwelve wishes to create another dystopian sci-fi world or not, and there’s limitless potential with such a premise while it is still largely niche and untouched. The intrigue of playing as an adorable cat hasn’t quite run dry yet and BlueTwelve is hopefully able to take advantage of that before it’s a concept that isn’t interesting or novel anymore.
Stray Has Greater Potential Than a Dystopian One-Off
Indeed, whileStray’s authentic cat protagonistwas undoubtedly its star and the indie game’s primary allure, its cyberpunk aesthetic, tone, and landscape were runner-ups in terms of a fascinating world-building approach. ‘Cyberpunk’ isn’t a niche subgenre anymore by any stretch of the imagination, butStray’s stood out as a wonderful backdrop.
Robot NPCs made for quirky conversations and creative fetch quests, let alone surprising and subtle pieces of social commentary like poignant depictions of police brutality.
Again, these aren’t emergent ideas, and yet they are presented in exciting and fresh ways, perhaps aided by the fact that it’s all seen from the tiny perspective of a cat. That won’t always be engaging, though, and BlueTwelve shouldn’t let too much more time pass before it capitalizes on how lovelyStraywas.
Stray’s Adorable Gimmick is a Hit or Miss
Straymight end up being perfectly encapsulated as a single game that managed to impress with elementary controls and a ton of heart. It could feasibly be difficult for BlueTwelve to iterate onStrayin any meaningful way now because either end of the spectrum could be egregious: either a sequel sticks closely tohow gameplay was designed inStray’s puzzle-platformerand is perceived as benign or ‘copy-and-paste,’ or attempts to add a bunch of mechanics and becomes overstuffed to the point of not maintaining the original’s charm.
EvenStraymight not have landed with everyone; if players didn’t find playing as a cat endearing at all it wouldn’t interest them in the slightest to play a highly similar sequel, for example. There’s no telling whetherplaying as a different animal inStray 2would have the same success or not. However, the marriage of all elements inStraywas cohesive enough to craft an experience that could be tough to outdo in a direct sequel.
That said, it would be entirely transparent if Annapurna simply wanted to cash out onStraywith another gimmick game that doesn’t have nearly as much substance and it would probably be best for theStrayIP and its adorable niche to be shelved indefinitely if that was the alternative. AStraysequel might not be a strong enough contender to go up against any of the2025 colossi likeGrand Theft Auto 6orMonster Hunter Wilds, but it could scratch an indie itch that turned out to be fairly quaint and enjoyable in its original outing so long as it doesn’t allow the original to pass into obscurity beforehand.
Stray
WHERE TO PLAY
Lost, alone and separated from family, a stray cat must untangle an ancient mystery to escape a long-forgotten city.Stray is a third-person cat adventure game set amidst the detailed, neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity and the murky environments of its seedy underbelly. Roam surroundings high and low, defend against unforeseen threats and solve the mysteries of this unwelcoming place inhabited by curious droids and dangerous creatures.See the world through the eyes of a cat and interact with the environment in playful ways. Be stealthy, nimble, silly, and sometimes as annoying as possible with the strange inhabitants of this mysterious world.Along the way, the cat befriends a small flying drone, known only as B-12. With the help of this newfound companion, the duo must find a way out.Stray is developed by BlueTwelve Studio, a small team from the south of France mostly made up of cats and a handful of humans.
