Stray by BlueTwelve Studio - Immersive Cyberpunk cat gameplay

[Don Salieri]

My gf bought this game, she likes it so far (30 mins in), I watched her play and I have concerns that it's not that interesting as for example SOMA or some shit I hope it turns out ok, because it's not cheap.

Tel Aviv, listen up, you got a girlfriend, right? Not some guy with a five 'o clock stubble that you found on ResetEra. I'm going to let you in on a little secret, women like things that look pretty and they like cats. This makes it interesting for her, like giving a cat a ball of yarn or your dog a bone. Unlike what a schizophrenic like Morgoth or Soyer would tell you there are real differences between men and women. So if you don't find it interesting but she likes it then everything is right in the world. Let her enjoy it and leave pseudo-intellectual jerkoff games like SOMA to your garage of guilty pleasures.

 

[Bad Sector]

Fun fact regarding that 1000sq km part, that most of users will probably know, but maybe some of you dont: many open world games used to be confined to a 8x8km2 area due to the fact there was not enough space in a 32bit variable to contain the exact position of a thing that would be further than that from the center of the map.

8km x 8km should be fine, even 16km x 16km should be fine as both have submillimeter precision. Higher than that you probably need some workaround to avoid visual glitches. But even then a 32bit number is enough to contain an approximate position (exact position is impossible with floating point numbers as they are all about approximations with the error increasing as values become larger).

What might be an issue is with physics though, not because 32bit numbers aren't precise enough for an exact position but because the math involved often require very small values and mixing very large values with small values loses precision and you may end up with zeroes where you needed small but still not zero values (e.g. having stuff get stuck or floating).

The common workaround for both of the above is to "move" the origin (basically move all objects so that the new origin is closer to the camera) and limit physics interactions around the origin (even 1km is perfectly fine there) - in a game like Bethesda's games' where the world is split into cell that could be done by having each cell use its own origin and whenever you change cell move all objects around that cell (but i don't know if Bethesda does that - though if they do, it might explain some physics bugs in F3/NV with stuff randomly flying towards horizontal directions if they didn't update all physics values when changing the origin).

 

[Great Deceiver]

Would rather have an open ended cat game where you explore, claim and protect territory, and generally just mess with people/dogs/etc...

Not open world, but seriously awesome and very creative game from back when creative games were still allowed to exist.

 

[The Decline]

Would rather have an open ended cat game where you explore, claim and protect territory, and generally just mess with people/dogs/etc...

Not open world, but seriously awesome and very creative game from back when creative games were still allowed to exist.

It says it's in playable status for RPCS3. Might take a look at that.

 

[Üstad]

The most cringe-worthy part I noticed is right at the start; you start on a rain-sheltering platform with three cat-bros, and you must interact with each cat to get them to lie down on the piece of cardboard so that you all sleep off the rain.

And each interaction is a typical 'playful cats are playful'-animation that YT is chock-full of. Lying on the side playing with the other cat's tail, rubbing up against the other cat while licking their face, etc. Putting these 'OMG SO CUTEZ!" things right at the start of the game demonstrates just how weighted the game's content is towards gaming journalists.

Soon you're separated from your catbros and must find a way to reunite with them... but the ProCatonist is easily distracted and soon ends up doing other things.

And the ending is abrupt and leaves things unresolved open for a sequel/DLC... and my money is on the latter.

Hoes mad.

 

[Sukhāvatī]

Would rather have an open ended cat game where you explore, claim and protect territory, and generally just mess with people/dogs/etc...

 

[Great Deceiver]

Would rather have an open ended cat game where you explore, claim and protect territory, and generally just mess with people/dogs/etc...

Not open world, but seriously awesome and very creative game from back when creative games were still allowed to exist.

It says it's in playable status for RPCS3. Might take a look at that.

It runs perfectly in RPCS3, I still play it from time to time. Give it a try.

 

[Theodora]

Positive review from ShillUp.

 

[Zlaja]

So, let's summarize this:

- Ugly looking cat (can't change appearance)
- no jumping allowed unless you get a prompt on screen
- no dangerous plattforming
- no bloody cat duels
- no cool cat powers like night vision
- no dogs to troll

 

[lightbane]

- Ugly looking cat (can't change appearance)

Mods fixed it! Somewhat.

Ie:

 

[Zombra]

It's OK if y'all hate adventure games - I hate them too - but being mad that an adventure game isn't a hardcore combat platformer is the stupidest shit I've seen today.

 

[HansDampf]

Free jumping at least? If the procatonist weren't a cat, nobody would be talking about this game.

 

[Zlaja]

- Ugly looking cat (can't change appearance)

Mods fixed it! Somewhat.

Ie:

They only changed the look of the fur/hair. I was referring to the cat's ugly uncanny lookin' mug.

It's OK if y'all hate adventure games - I hate them too - but being mad that an adventure game isn't a hardcore combat platformer is the stupidest shit I've seen today.

An adventure game doesn't have to be a boring "walking simulator". Also, the game does have platforming. It's just that it's all contextual and devoid of danger of failure.

 

[Zombra]

Also, the game does have platforming. It's just that it's all contextual and devoid of danger of failure.

That's ... not platforming.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Subjective opinion: meoew miauw best game ever 10/10

More objective opinion:

The gameplay is so simple, some light puzzles there, exploration, but it’s so simple and lighthearted at the very least it’s a nice pallete cleanser in between bigger more demanding games, and the atmosphere and setpieces are spot on. If you don't like cats, i can say quite confidently this might not be the game for you, so try it with a discount and get a relatively well polished experience.

 

[vibehunter]

Another game that encapsulates why Steam reviews are so shit. Overwhelmingly positive for being "le heckin caterino" game. All negative reviews (the actual real reviews) spammed with the clown emoji.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Immersive​

Do you get to puke all over shit, wake owner up at 6 in the morning with claws and go "oh would you look at that wow how did that happen!? Feed me.", fuck up the neighbourhood cats, torture small animals for fun?
Yeah didn't think so.

 

[Zombra]

Another game that encapsulates why Steam reviews are so shit. Overwhelmingly positive for being "le heckin caterino" game. All negative reviews (the actual real reviews) spammed with the clown emoji.

It's fascinating how Steam reviews are developing different dialects. The more "memeable" a game is, the more its rating skyrockets as thousands of people race to the bottom trying to hit the most childish one-liner in hopes of getting a million upvotes. I've noticed a different but similar trend in console ports hmmm. But don't give up on them completely.
Prestigious games generally still get prestigious reviews, positive and negative.

 

[Zombra]

Immersive​

Do you get to puke all over shit, wake owner up at 6 in the morning with claws and go "oh would you look at that wow how did that happen!? Feed me.", fuck up the neighbourhood cats, torture small animals for fun?
Yeah didn't think so.

"Immersive" and "realistic" are not and were never the same thing.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Can the cat die at any point in the game? If so I wont play it. Otherwise it looks neat and I'd be interested.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Another game that encapsulates why Steam reviews are so shit. Overwhelmingly positive for being "le heckin caterino" game. All negative reviews (the actual real reviews) spammed with the clown emoji.

a game being highly positive does not also imply the game is for you
the people the game is marketed towards seem to like it, so reviews are doing their job

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Immersive​

Do you get to puke all over shit, wake owner up at 6 in the morning with claws and go "oh would you look at that wow how did that happen!? Feed me.", fuck up the neighbourhood cats, torture small animals for fun?
Yeah didn't think so.

"Immersive" and "realistic" are not and were never the same thing.

So does the gameplay feel cat-like or could it just as well have been a gerbil or whatever?

 

[Tel Velothi]

Hopefully this game will become GOTY over Elden Ring...

 

[Machocruz]

Although the trend of single men owning (only) cats is suspect, I have no problem with cats or the idea of playing as a cat (Tokyo Jungle was one of the greatest surprises of that generation, and one of the last proper, memorable AA games) but there is something very soyful about this game and the hype. I didn't see anyone with normal t levels streaming this on Twitch, I'm sure there had to be a couple on there though. And it seems like they pulled some themes out of a hat and combined them e.g. "cat", "cyberpunk", kind of like Horizon did with "robots", "natives" and "dinosaurs". Very gimmicky. Cat's aren't sophisticated enough of a creature for a cyberpunk world to even matter or have anything much more to offer than a modern world setting, I would think. And apparently they didn't even give cats their due as you can't climb, claw, slap, devour, or piss on every thing possible.

Would be more interesting to play as a cat in ancient Egypt, where they were revered, and how that would look from its perspective. See how I'm able to think beyond pop-culture and memes? Today's game developers should try it out.

 

[Zombra]

So does the gameplay feel cat-like or could it just as well have been a gerbil or whatever?

I've only seen streams but the animations are super catlike and the setting has a strong sense of place. I could easily see myself becoming absorbed.