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The RPS Advent Calendar 2022, December 21stHere, kitty kitty
Here, kitty kitty
If you want to open today’s door on the RPS Advent Calendar you’re going to have to jump and pull on the handle, or scratch on the door until someone comes to open it for me. Unfortunately, today you don’t have opposable thumbs - but you’re way better at climbing, which is going to come in useful.
You’re a cat lost in a big city. Of course, it’sStray!
STRAY | Launch TrailerStray demonstrates that a sufficiently intelligent cat could solve most of the world’s problemsWatch on YouTube
STRAY | Launch Trailer
James:Why are there not more games where you play as cats? It’s perfect: whenever we start playing something completely new, we sniff around environments, attack anything unfamiliar that we think we can take, and if there’s a loose object next to a ledge, you know damn well we’re pushing it off to see what happens. We act, essentially, like cats.
The cat itself is a darling, nameless but filled with character through some wonderful animation work. Any moggy parent will recognise the little wind-up before big leaps, the way their sides puff out when breathing heavily, or the focused trot of a brisk walk. And many interactions exist solely for the purpose of letting you be a cat, doing cat things, like scratching up sofas or snoozing on cardboard.
If you’re not a cat person, that’s fine, as there’s plenty to get out of Stray besides cooing at the little orange darling. Exploration is a consistent focus, but Stray is never afraid to introduce new twists – stealth, puzzles, outright platforming, even a bit of shooting – then swap them for something else before it gets too repetitive. If anything, I wouldn’t have minded a little less action, please. Blasting parasites with a UV ray isn’t nearly as much fun as wandering through the neon-tinged streets of Stray’s ravaged walled city, scampering over tin rooftops and bunting against the remaining robotic denizens.
Don’t get me wrong: I adore this game. It’s affirming and tense and funny and sad and so, so powerfully atmospheric. It’s the only game, in my two-decades-and-change of playing, that I’ve started, finished, restarted, and finished again in the space of a week. Anyone with an affinity for singleplayer adventures, even if they don’t also have one for soft kits, should try it.
In case you too find yourself overwhelmed with emotion at this game, I simply can’t leave you withoutone of my favourite YouTube videos from this year, which uses MATHS and SCIENCE to determine whether Stray has a happy ending. Spoilers incoming, obviously, but if you have finished the game I urge you to give this one a watch. James immediately declared it headcanon when I shared it with the RPS Treehouse, and if that’s not recommendation enough I don’t know what is.
Katharine:I’ll tell you what else you should watch. This lovely GIF, on repeat, until the end of time. You’re welcome.
