[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stray.]
The storyline of line of travel cat backpacks and Stray merch, and a ionate fan base. What makes Stray stand out from other animal-based games is how believable the gameplay is. As a cat, there are many opportunities to do cat-like things, such as knocking items over and taking naps, a gameplay gimmick that could carry a sequel as well.
Inspired by the real-life Walled City of Kowloon, Stray is set in a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk city. The city is the core of Stray, as the setting emphasizes the developers intent to tell a story through the environment. Long after humans have gone, robots become the main inhabitants of Stray’s setting. These robots are in strong contrast to the player’s orange tabby cat character, providing a strong juxtaposition between the natural fluidity of the cat and the inorganic mechanics of the robots. Stray's robots do, however, exhibit sentience through their changing face-screens and behaviors. Stray's friendly robot companions also combat the loneliness of the game a bit by allowing the cat to (sometimes) rub up against their legs, with some offering side quests as the cat continues the main journey.
Though one of the most endearing games released this year, gameplay for Stray is relatively short. Apart from the main storyline, there are only a handful of side quests for players, leading some to question whether there will be additional DLC at any point. Stray would certainly benefit from DLC that adds more side quests, robot storylines, and puzzles. DLC could also add more customization options to the orange tabby cat, as some Stray modders have put players' own cats in the game. The biggest problem, however, is that there just isn't much for the player to do after beating the main storyline. While DLC might add more length to gameplay, it won’t be able to answer all the questions left after Stray’s conflicting ending.
Stray's Ambiguous Storylines Could Be Beginnings For A Sequel
Throughout Stray, the storyline remains mysterious, with a limited amount of information being revealed. For example, it’s never made altogether clear why Walled City 99 was built or what the extent of the catastrophe that caused human extinction was - is this city is an isolated incident or part of a worldwide occurrence? Even after B-12’s memories start to re-emerge, the major plot lines remain unclear. All this leads to a rather ambiguous ending to an already strange and mysterious plotline. After beating the game, Stray's orange tabby cat simply walks on, leaving players to wonder whether or not the cat actually becomes reunited with the felines from the beginning of the game. Not knowing what happens to the orange tabby cat at the end of the game is just one of the plot lines still nagging at players.
BlueTwelve developers intentionally created an intricate and enveloping city setting to explore. This emphasis on design and setting could explain why parts of the story line seem underdeveloped - perhaps the actual world building is the first step into a much larger universe that Stray is introducing. Having started as one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year, Stray has quickly become Elden Ring's competition for game of the year. It makes sense for developers to at least consider creating some kind of Stray follow-up, whether it’s a literal Stray 2 where the player is still a cat, a follow-up focused on the scientist who created B-12, or even something else entirely.
