Stray is for gamers and cat-lovers alike. You play as a ginger cat that has fallen into a decrepit, neon-lit robot city from the surface. It’s clear BlueTwelve Studio did their research when putting this game together because they showcase cat behaviors in a fun and engaging way. Being able to traverse terrain the way a cat does is magical in and of itself since they’re little acrobats.
The minute details of seeing our furry protagonist’s eyes shine from certain angles, being able to meow at will just about anywhere and at any time, and drinking water from saucers collecting rain really add to the depth of the game and are sure to leave you with goofy grins and warm hearts.
8 Kitty Colony Activities
The feral cat colony we are introduced to taking shelter from rain appears to be a close-knit group of felines. Whilst they weather the storm, our protagonist stray can interact with them before they snuggle up on a piece of cardboard to go to sleep. They affectionately play and groom each other, denoting the familiarity they feel with one another.
Ginger cats (which tend to be predominantly male) usually form these colonies. Three out of the four have some form of orange fur, so it fits the habits of real cats that these ones would band together.
7 Kitty Cat’s Got Claws
When it comes to feline defense mechanisms, Stray has the four Fs covered: Fight, flight, freeze, and fidget. After its fall, our kitty cautiously examines a badly damaged robot and jumps way back and begins to approach it slowly. The initial jump that many cats do (especially when presented with a cucumber) is to create distance from a perceived threat, unknown or otherwise, and the slow approach is to measure the threat level.
This defensive posture’s variation can be seen when the cat encounters a hoard of Zurks and arches its back to make itself appear larger with its pupils dilated, ears laid flat against its head, and hisses in a display of aggression. When that seems to have no effect, the cat makes the next logical decision and books it. Upon escaping the onslaught of Zurks, our kitty quickly scratches itself in an attempt to self-soothe and decompress from the stress of running for its life.
6 Kitty’s Cute Accessories
Cats usually don’t appreciate having some kind of clothing item put on them because they like to be in control of their environment and what happens to them. The backpack being put on our furry friend by B12 causes the cat to flop onto its side and lay there. Not yet adjusted to the bag, the cat is clearly uncomfortable because it staggers low to the ground as it walks because it wants the backpack off of it.
However, like the champion our furtagonist is, it’s able to walk the bag off like nothing shortly thereafter.
5 Kitty’s Cordial Engagements
Although they are solitary creatures at times, our kitty cat hero is a socialite. The numerous vocalizations the player can make for the “A Little Chatty” trophy to nuzzling against five robots for the “Cat’s Best Friend” trophy are examples of feline social behaviors. Cats learned to chirp and mew to communicate with humans, and in the case of Stray, lure Zurks to your location.
Rubbing against the robots is a form of scent marking as cats have prominent scent glands along their sides. The purpose of this marking is to create a sort of kitty-coded rapport with the lucky recipients to denote familiarity and comfort with them. In addition to caressing the robots, the cat purrs contentedly as it does so.
Another form of scent and territory marking is denoted by the cat being able to scratch various surfaces from carpets, to couches, to vinyl as there are scent glands in feline paw pads.
4 Kitty’s Compulsory Nap Time
Naps are an integral part of life, and you can even get a trophy called “Productive Day” for napping for over an hour in the game! As far as sleeping behaviors are concerned, cats may feign sleep while remaining awake and vigilant to their surroundings with perked ears. They do this because they are both a predator and prey species.
Our stray is able to nap where the wind blows it, indifferently napping next to Morusque while they play their instrument, comfortably curled up near the robots by the drum fire, on a mattress on the rooftops under the synthetic stars, inside a cozy nook on a bookshelf, while purring all the while!
3 Kitty’s Carefree Trotting
If there’s something cats have a natural knack for, it’s walking places they probably shouldn't. An example of this would be walking on keyboards, both technological and musical. Cat videos of the furry creatures jumping onto pianos abound as they jump off shortly thereafter because the noise startled them.
Our brave little stray prances where it pleases, walking fearlessly over piano and computer keyboards alike, playing a special feline sonata and inputting amusing gibberish to B12, respectively. Cats walking over computer keyboards may be due to their desire to be a part of whatever it is their human is doing for attention and just to be near them. They may also sometimes sleep on laptop keyboards because it is a warm surface.
Interacting with a paper bag causes the cat to wear it over its head and become disoriented as the movement controls become inverted. This interaction, which unlocks the “Curiosity Killed the Cat” trophy is an ode to feline curiosity. Normally this interaction would also be distressing to the cat because it needs to be able to see its environment.
2 Kitty’s Cheerful Capering
Cats love to play, and Stray nails this playfulness. Certain areas act as sandboxes for play whether it be knocking books over, batting cat toys or pool balls around, jumping into boxes in the name of exploration and subterfuge, and even rolling a basketball into a bucket for the “Boom Chat Kalaka” trophy. Our kitty friend can even get the “Télé à Chat” trophy for channel surfing on television by batting the prominently glowing red button on the remote.
Knocking paint cans and bottles off ledges can also be a delightfully devious pastime as you can leave behind some paw prints after stepping in mess. Disrupting an intense game of mahjong also earns you the “Cat-a-strophe” trophy. While idling, our stray does some trademark cat things like batting at bugs on the ground. Of course, a cat has to get some primping in so our purrtagonist also scratches and cleans itself.
1 Kitty’s Confidential Contusions
When the stray first falls from the surface into the city below, it limps when it awakens, our heart strings tightly tugged as we can do nothing but helplessly witness its plight. In nature, cats usually hide their pain when hurt. This is because they tend to be fiercely independent, don’t have other pack members to take care of them if they fall ill, and because they will appear as weak and easy pickings to other predators.
If a cat shows noticeable signs of pain, then the poor baby must really be hurting.