Trying every PS-Plus Extra game: Stray

Initially I said that I was not going to try any of the well-trodden and well-reviewed games that exist on the list but with this one I decided to break from my self-imposed rule and give one of the most talked about games of the past year a try. While I normally limit my playtime to just one hour unless I really love it as I did with Spiritfarer and Dragon Quest Builders I decided to play Stray a bit longer than other games that I wasn't in love with right away.

The thing I am looking for here is exclusively how good of a job the developers did in luring you in right away and also keeping you interested over the course of what I consider to be the most important part of a game, which is immediately when you start playing it.

This can prove difficult because you want to have the game explain to you how it is played but also not be bombarded with what I consider to be sometimes far too difficult controls in a game that doesn't have a past. When Witcher wants to use every button on the controller that is fine in my book, but when a game that I have never heard of like Bound by Flame tries to throw 20 different buttons at me in the course of 20 minutes, that is too much.

I hope that makes sense.

So in Stray you use very few buttons at all and this makes sense because you play the role of a stray cat.

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I'll say this right off the bat: I expected a lot of this game since it had been talked about so much by almost everyone who games. That being said, I wasn't as "wowed" as a lot of other people were. Sure the game is beautiful and tragic. Yes, the game has very responsive controls and they do a good job of making sure that it is evident where you can and cannot go and finally no, there are no horrible "invisible walls" that plague so many other games where I think the devs were just lazy.

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The game is very dark and does a good job of painting a great picture of a dystopian world after once again, humans mucked everything up. The world now is filled with cyborg-like creatures including some sort of rat-like creature that is out to get you. This is how they create tension since as a stray cat you aren't really meant to be doing a bunch of fighting.

I enjoyed the first hour of the game because there really isn't much in the way of things that you can do horribly wrong. You jump from place to place and work your way towards something in the distance. This is important at the start because your objective is shown to you without the use of any words and this makes sense because you are a cat. Later on in the game you discover a drone like companion that will help to spell the objectives out for you a bit more because simply wandering and meowing at everything is only going to take an adventure so far.

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This is all very cute and fun at first but then this is also where the game kind of lost me a bit. You will, in the first hour, find yourself in a community of sorts that is populated by a couple dozen cyborg like residents that are living their "lives" in the area that you cannot leave until you achieve some objectives inside of it. While I am not trying to say that I am some sort of elite gamer I also am not terrible. I found myself running around over and over in this area trying to figure out what the hell I am supposed to do next and after running the same gauntlet a half dozen times I decided to put the game down.

This could have been alleviated by me simply going to check a video walkthru online but honestly, I'm one of the people that don't really enjoy needing to do that in a game. I think that in this particular scenario they could have been a bit more helpful as far as defining what it is that you are meant to be doing next rather than just having you wander this contained area over and over again in the hopes that you are randomly going to stumble upon the item or information that you need in order to progress. Again, it might have just been something obvious that I am too stupid to see, but I really don't like endlessly wandering in an area of any game, no matter how lovely it happens to be.

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Because of this I can't simply tow the line like it seems everyone else is and say that this is the GREATEST THING EVER! I don't believe that it is that. I enjoyed the little bit of time that I spent playing the game and it certainly is a unique concept to have you take on the role of a regular cat and not one with some sort of anime-inspired super powers.

This is a good game and if I wasn't limiting myself to one hour per game I would probably think higher of it. As it stands now though I don't think it is as amazing as professional critics make it out to be. The graphics soon wear off on you and if you end up getting stuck like I did you don't really have much choice but to "cheat" and look online for an answer.

I would probably play this more in the future but since I elected to walk away after 1.5-2 hours I have to say that there are things I think they could have done better such as at least give you the option to have some help in determining what you are supposed to do next. Having a map would have been helpful but I have no idea how they would implement that since the game is largely vertical... you know, since you are a cat.

Recommended but not without its flaws

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Games I have tried in my journey to play every PS-Plus Extra game for at least an hour

• Windbound (survival game with rogue-like elements - not recommended)
• Magicka 2 (top-down humorous multiplayer hack and slash-sort with immense spell system - maybe recommended)
• Tearaway: Unfolded (charming casual 3D platformer with inventive graphics and gameplay designed for all ages - recommended for casual players)
• Spiritfarer (casual simulation / resource-management style game with an extremely good story - recommended for all)
• Observation (point and click survival sort of... interactive game of sorts set in space - found it very boring after just one hour and do not recommend)
• Gabbuchi (simplistic puzzle game that I feel is better suited to mobile devices. Not recommended on consoles)
• The Messenger (8-bit style action/platformer that is a throwback to original Ninja Gaiden. It's simplistic fun. Recommended)
• Megadimension Neptunia VII (typical JRPG with some adjustments made to combat for uniqueness. Could be fun and I lukewarmly recommend for someone willing to dedicate 50 hours to a turn-based RPG)
• Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 (monster truck racing game that will appeal only to people who are already fans of the sport - not recommended for any other people)
• Entwined (Visually appealing rhythm pace game that is very easy to pick up but gets repetitive after 30 minutes or so - recommended for anyone that can get it for free.)
• 2Dark (8-bit graphic survival horror/stealth hybrid. The game becomes extremely difficult really fast and therefore failed to hold my attention - not recommended)
• Virginia (interactive-cinema...not really a game and it is over in a couple of hours. Not recommended)
• Trials of Mana (simplistic action RPG that will definitely appeal to the casual gamer that is a fan of old-school RPG combat mechanics - recommended)
• Journey to the Savage Planet (FPS exploration game in a semi-open-world environment. The game is intentionally silly and I loved it - recommended)
• Resogun (arcade-style single-screen SHMUP that will get boring to most people after an hour or so. Not recommended)
• The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (point and click adventure game that doesn't work on consoles and is just irritating to play - not recommended)
• Mighty No. 9 (it's Mega Man but terrible. Definitely not recommended)
• Moving Out (delightfully funny moving company simulator. It gets boring and repetitive pretty quickly. Recommended for a short laugh)
• Last Day of June (a sad story done in 3rd person perspective that while an interesting story and/or life lesson, quickly becomes repetitive and dull. Not recommended)
• Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom (action adventure RPG with an inventive combat system that unfortunately becomes very boring very fast. Filled with bugs and invisible walls, I lost interest within the first hour. Not recommended)
• Hue (inventive puzzle-platformer that whose basic controls are the reason why it is fun. This is also the reason why it gets old after a couple of hours)
• Dragon Quest Builders (simple building game similar to Minecraft with a quest and story system built it. A lot more fun than I thought it would be and highly recommended)
• Bound: Shattered Kingdom (artistic 3D platformer with an unusual graphical style that has an amazing story. It's only 2 hours long but still very good. Recommended)
• Hohokum (an artistic and relaxing experience but ultimately it isn't really a game because there are no clear objectives. Not recommended.)
• Bound by Flame (basically a budget Witcher but fails in almost every way. This game was frustrating to endure for an hour. Not recommended )
• Stray (a simplistic and beautiful adventure / puzzle game that I think most people would enjoy. However, it isn't as perfect as professional reviews would indicate IMO)