Given the size of the team that worked on it,Strayreally is an impressive game. It’s also an incredibly enjoyable one, providing players with ample opportunities tounleash their inner kitty. For as fun as the game can be though, it’s not without its flaws, some of which will hopefully be fixed in the coming weeks and months.
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To be clear, one or two of these problems likely won’t be a dealbreaker for everyone, while others arise so infrequently that many players probably won’t even notice them during their time with the game. Regardless, though, they do still exist and may lead to someStrayplayers coming away from the experience a little disappointed if left unchecked.
Better Enemy AI
Aside from a brief window spanning the game’s sixth and seventh chapters,Straydoesn’t really feature any combat in the traditional sense. As a result, much of its difficulty is derived from puzzles and chase sequences, with the rest coming fromstealth-based gameplaysections. Sadly, however, the stealth mechanics inStrayare a little wonky, to say the least.
While being actively chased by security drones,players can simply hide inside a cardboard boxand wait until the drones give up and fly away. Likewise, stepping inside a barrel will lead to the same outcome, even if the Sentinels still have a direct line of sight. This lowers the stakes quite a bit, which isn’t ideal given how low-stakes the game already is.
More Side Content
ThatStray’s main story can be comfortably completed in under two hoursis actually incredibly refreshing, especially in an era in which many developers pad out their narratives for the sake of providing players with a false sense of value. However, there just isn’t enough side content inStrayto fully justify its price tag, even if the game is cheaper than the average release at launch.
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Antvillage, in particular, feels incredibly threadbare, while Midtown and the slums could both do with a bit more side content here and there. The lack of any real reward for completing what little side content the game does have is equally disappointing, withcosmetic badgesand trophies about all thatStrayplayers can expect for engaging with non-story-related content.
A Customizable Kitty
Frustratingly, the aforementioned badges needn’t be completely useless. There’s no reason why the developers couldn’t give players control over which badges they wear and where they are placed on the cat’s B-12 charging jacket. If they really wanted to push the boat out, the team over at BlueTwelve Studio could make it so that certain badges had special effects, like increased speed or decreased visibility in stealth sections.
It would also have been nice had players been given the ability to customize the cat itself. This needn’t have been quite as extravagant as otheranimal-themed gamesthat do have customization, but the ability to change the color and length of the cat’s fur and maybe even its eye color isn’t exactly a huge ask, nor is wanting additional jacket styles beyond the two that are currently included in the game.
General Bug Fixes
To be clear,Strayisn’t an overly-buggy game and is certainly nowhere nearas bad asCyberpunk 2077was at launch. Given the small size of the team that worked on the game and how ambitious the title is, this is actually an incredibly impressive achievement, though there is still some work to be done in the coming weeks and months.
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There are certain points in the game in which it’s possible to get trapped behind pipes and other objects and a moment right at the end of the game where one of the moving boxes can force players clean out of the map. Thankfully, the game’s checkpoint system usually serves as a quick fix in these somewhat rare instances, though it would be nice if they were patched out entirely at some point.
More UI Options
When it comes to things like mini-maps and quest markers, modern gamers really have been spoiled. Some would argue quite literally, as these quality of life features are now so prevalent that many gamers find it almost impossible to live without them. This, in turn, could lead to some players giving up onStraylong before they reach the end, which would be a real shame.
It is certainly worth noting that some players will actually find the lack of hand-holding to be quite refreshing, particularly fans of theShenmueseries. LikeYu Suzuki’s magnum opus, however,Straywould be far more accessible with a propper mini-map and quest markers and so it would be nice to see this feature added in a future update. It needn’t be the default setting, but allowing players to choose how firmly their hand is held would undoubtedly lead to more people buying and enjoying the game in the long run.
Strayis available now on PS4, PS5, and PC.
