5 things to know about Stray, the upcoming cyberpunk cat game

Stray, one of the most anticipated games of 2022, is finally going to release later this month, and fans are incredibly excited to get their paws on the title. The PlayStation exclusive disclosed its release date in early June, following several delays.

The gameplay trailers for Stray have done an excellent job of piquing the players' interest regarding the unique protagonist of the title, the perspective of the main character, the setting of the game, and more. This article provides players with the five things they need to know while they wait for Stray's launch on July 19.

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5 aspects of Stray that will interest players

1) The furry purring protagonist

The unique aspect of the upcoming indie game is its protagonist. Players will be stepping into the world as a ginger cat who is lost in a futuristic city inhabited by robots. The injured and lonely feline has to deal with the struggles and obstacles of the alien world while trying to find its way back to its family.

The gameplay trailer shows the ginger cat with a backpack. The cat will also have a flying drone called B-12 accompanying it. Players will be able to call upon B-12 for help. The drone is also adept at various actions, including translating the language of the robots and storing items found.

Gameplay footage available shows the efforts that the developers have poured into Stray to capture the grace and mannerisms of its feline protagonist, be it knocking over bottles, licking paws, or purring.

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2) The unique perspective

Continuing from the last point, playing as a cat also offers a unique perspective for players to experience while exploring the city. The protagonist is far different from the common bipedal human characters that players are usually acquainted with.

Thus, the feline protagonist of Stray will surely offer players a different point of view of exploring an urban setting, negotiating puzzles and obstacles, and completing objectives.

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3) The cyberpunk setting

Cyberpunk esthetics remain a fan favorite in any work of art, with Citizen Sleeper being the latest successful example of the genre. Cyberpunk is characterized by a high level of technological sophistication, the presence of oppressive hierarchy, and a dystopian future.

The world of Stray (Image via PlayStation)

In Stray, players will be stepping into a world of similar esthetics, populated with robots, sentinels, and drones, albeit as a cat. Gameplay footage revealed by the developers showed the ginger cat interacting with various robots and their reactions to the cat.

Stray boasts a clever play of shadow and light, among its warm hues and flickering neon lights. Players will surely be delighted to navigate the setting of the mysterious and forgotten city, especially as a cat.

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4) The anthropomorphized robots and the lurking Zurks

As mentioned earlier, Stray’s world is filled with various kinds of machines, including anthropomorphized robots with their own quirks and nuances. The trailers showcased a number of robots with quirky faces and dresses.

The game will likely have memorable robot characters, some of which have already been featured in the clips shown. One of the distinct ones among them is Morusque, who is a streetside musician with a guitar made out of a petrol can. The robot will play music for the players once handed a music sheet.

But the game also features other machines that are a lot less friendly. One of them is crawling swarms of rodents called Zurks that try to physically overwhelm the cat. While the initial encounters will have the protagonist running away from these hordes of creatures, the cat will later have the option to turn the tables and eviscerate them with a purple light.

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5) PlayStation exclusive

Stray will be available on PlayStation 4 & 5 along with Windows. The game will be available on PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium memberships on day one. Given the hype surrounding the indie title, this will be an excellent addition to the array of titles already available on the ever-growing library of PlayStation's subscription service.

The pros and cons of console exclusivity is a highly debated topic, with players having weighed in on either side of it. Whatever may be the case, Xbox users will have to wait for the time being to get their hands on the game. It's been mentioned that the title is a console exclusive for a limited period of time; so it is likely that the game will be launched on other platforms in the future.