Stray

More like a post-apocalyptic virtual tour full of fascinating locations. The game is simple, short, and straightforward, yet quite relaxing to enjoy on an evening after work. However, it’s quite annoying not to be able to move and jump freely in 2022.

The good:
- Realistic and frankly charming simulation of cat movement and behavior
- Chase sequences are very enjoyable, sometimes challenging, and have the most "cat" feeling in the entire game
- Beautiful environments, good albeit hand-hold-y environmental design
- Has a short but incredibly effective emotional hook at the beginning of the game, as the cat is separated from its family falling into a ruined city! unfortunately...
The bad:
- Instead of exploring the ruins looking for an escape, you're mostly doing fetch quests for robots with bad dialogue
- The story is a pretty paint-by-numbers tale of /environmental devestation/, /inequality/, and /resistance/, all themes that require a lot more detail and substance than this game offers, and none of which really relate to the central value proposition of roleplaying a cat
- Platforming is mostly on-rails, with no challenge as the cat cannot fall
- Environmental puzzles have very obvious solutions and mostly feel like time wasters
The ugly:
- French developers using Asian imagery to define an area called "The Slums" is simply not it. It would be one thing if this was just a mindless application of the cyberpunk trope (still bad to be clear), but this is especially egregious compared to "Midtown", which is established to be a wealthier location and drops these trappings. This adds a horrific racial stratification to The City that I don't think the developers thought through, at all.