Gaming/Features

Cats have always had a cosy home in video games. Whether partnering with them like Monster Hunter’s Palicos, dressing like them in Super Mario 3D World or letting them fill up the house in Neko Atsume (Japanese for “cat collection”), the bond between gamers who spend unbroken hours at their computer desk and the felines who occasionally approach them for a head pat is strong. Stray, the highly anticipated game from Annapurna Interactive, will finally put the player in their paws for a strange sci-fi adventure.

Stray follows a small orange tabby cat who’s a long way from home. This mysterious city — a labyrinth of slums seemingly abandoned by humans — is best navigated on four nimble feet. As a cat, you can swiftly scale walls and rooftops, dart away from monsters and menacing machines, and instantly melt the heart of the androids that inhabit this odd metropolis. Stray is a game where it helps to always land on your feet.

You may be a teeny tiny part of this city, but even as a little kitty, you can still leave your mark. On top of solving puzzles, interacting with the environment can change the way it interacts with you. Sharpening your claws on surroundings, taking cat naps or knocking over bottles and chess boards will alert the lonely androids that inhabit this place to your presence, opening new opportunities or even the chance to make new friends you can play with. Tagging along on your journey is B-12, a helpful little droid who can translate and communicate where a cat usually cannot.

Overcome dangers and be dangerously adorable when Stray struts on to PlayStation and PC July 19.