5 Things Stray Gets Right About Cats

Featuring a cat as its main protagonist, Stray follows a cat’s journey in a post-apocalyptic world filled with robots. The idea of the game is unique and has won the gaming community’s hearts. At this point, it has become the best user-rated game on steam for 2022. Stray gets a lot of things right about being a cat, and we’re here to discuss all those aspects! 

Since the developers, Blue Twelve Studios, is a group of cat lovers, they have put a lot of effort into keeping our protagonist’s actions as natural as possible. Replicating the realistic movements of a cat’s ears, whiskers, tails, and body is not an easy task.

Many people have found a striking resemblance between their cats’ habits and the actions of our game’s feline protagonist. The game’s popularity has grown so much that a particular account on Twitter is now dedicated to posting videos of people playing the game with their cats.

Parkour

Cats are naturally agile, and although it is a well-known fact, we never cease to be amazed by their natural ability to climb, jump and always land on their feet. From the beginning of the game, Stray focuses on this ability that allows us to navigate the terrain of this post-apocalyptic world.

The best part about this is that you never have to walk from one place to another like in regular games. You use routes that might only be available for our majestic feline companions. This dynamic navigation is what makes the gameplay exciting and wholesome.

Apart from this agility, the developers have also paid close attention to the basic habits of cats typically associated with their agility. For example, cats never jump without looking first. This means that whenever a cat is about to make a high jump, they look at the platform first.

Even more minor details like this were replicated precisely in the game where the cat starts looking up once it is near a platform it can jump on. This extra effort to make you feel like you are right in control of a real cat in Stray should be appreciated more.

But of course, Parkour is an important aspect of the main gameplay, so getting it right was vital. It can help you find the mysterious safe passwords and vending machines!

Sleeping

If you are a cat owner, you might already know what we will be talking about. Cats sleep a lot, and in fact, they can sleep from 12 to 16 hours in a day. They are pretty laid-back creatures which, to be fair, are quite agile, but they also need their rest. It is something that is deeply rooted in every cat’s routine.

When you’re not busy collecting notebooks or badges, you can rest at multiple points in the game to recreate this behavior. As you press the button, you watch your virtual furry companion make themselves comfortable in a corner and then fall asleep.

When you do this, some relaxing music will start playing in the background while the camera zooms out to give you a broader view of your surroundings.

Now since this is a platformer, there isn’t any action going on around you like the games in the FPS genre. Stray is one of those few games that can be played to have a relaxing time after a long day, and honestly, what can be more relaxing than a sleeping cat? 

Knocking Things Over

Moving on to something every cat owner fears, cats that knock things over from shelves and tables. Let’s just say that we don’t need proof to know that cats have an impulse to throw everything and anything that has been elaborately placed on shelves and tables.

This is something that is a part of their playful and mischievous side. Although it can be troublesome, we all know that it is what we love the most about our cats. And that is something that Stray absolutely gets right about cats!

Considering the small number of developers that were working on this project, they have really outdone themselves in incorporating this behavior into the gameplay. Given that the environment in the game is full of interactions, you will find multiple randomly placed objects on ledges, tables, and bookshelves that can be thrown off by interacting with them.

These small interactions bring new life into the game. It never gets boring to knock stuff over, be it paint buckets, bottles, or even stacks of books. Now we can finally understand a cat’s urge to throw things, and the reason behind that urge is because it is simply fun.

Sometimes this destructive nature of a cat can help you complete certain quests in the game! One such example is getting the cassette tape; if you want to find out more about it, consider reading: Stray: How To Get The Cassette Tape.

Kneading

Everyone loves their cat, but sometimes the laid-back side can be a bit too much to handle. Cats have a tendency to scratch on furniture, curtains, carpets, and anything that feels funny to their claws. Many people refer to this as Kneading or simply “making biscuits.”

As you progress through the game, you will be able to explore the indoor setting of multiple houses. There will be many instances where you will be prompted to scratch furniture, walls, and carpet at the various scratching locations in Stray.

So, even though it is one of the dislikable characteristics of a cat, it is nice to see the developers have paid great attention to smaller details about cats and got them right in Stray. Then again, it is one of those things that make this game feel special and realistic.

If you’re struggling to find all of the energy drinks in Stray, consider checking out: Stray Energy Drink Locations & Uses. They’re useful for unlocking memories in the game. 

Playful Interaction

Interaction with inanimate objects is a big part of the gameplay in Stray, be it using buckets to solve puzzles using stray digicodes, playing with tennis balls that are randomly placed on the floor, or even sleeping. Interaction is the key to making a game full of life.

One of such cool features is when you interact with paper bags and put them on your head. This causes your controls to malfunction as you struggle to get the paper bag off the cat’s face.

While interaction with non-living objects is essential, you also have the option to interact with the other cats and robots around you. The developers have also copied a cat’s instinct to mark its friends with its smell.

In many instances in the game, you can walk up to robots and cats to rub your fur against them. This is a cat’s way of marking its friends and territory using its smell. Of Course, we all love it when a cat walks up to us rather than treating us like a stranger, and it is nice to see that in the game as well.

With that, we wrap up our list of things that Stray gets right about cats! The game is a good change of pace from all the crazy action RPGs that we get to play, and hopefully, more studios will dish out such types of accurate games!