Stray looks even better than I was expecting in this gameplay footage

The story trailer stood out, but this is even better

Admittedly, I’m an easy mark for games with animal protagonists. But even if I weren’t, boy does Stray — a third-person adventure game about a cat exploring a city of robots — make a strong impression. The PS5 story trailer was a good start; this is even better.

The Stray gameplay walkthrough from BlueTwelve producer Swann premiered at the Annapurna Interactive Showcase this afternoon, and I’m so into the concept.

I get that picking up a bucket as a cat, leaping up pipes and ledges, and dropping it into an industrial fan to plug it up and find a way through won’t be the most compelling thing ever for certain players, but I don’t think we get the opportunity to do cat stuff in video games nearly enough — certainly not on this scale, with these production values.

Today’s video touches on the question of “How’s a cat going to communicate with robo-folks?” The answer is a little drone sidekick, who can also pick up items.

“Of course, a cat will always be a cat, and his adventures will be filled with friendly and playful interactions with his new world,” said Swann. One example: scratching a couch.

In the gameplay video, we also got a look at more action-oriented moments in Stray, including a chase sequence with grub-like creatures and a later moment in which the drone is weaponized and capable of popping the suckers with a flashing pulse.

Stray is coming to Steam, PS4, and PS5 in “early 2022.”