Today's Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2021 stream featured gameplay footage of sci-fi cat game Stray, a title currently in development from developer BlueTwelve Studio. The developer and publisher originally unveiled the interesting project over a year ago during Sony's PlayStation 5 reveal showcase.
A puzzle simulation game, Stray takes place in a highly detailed urban center, a forgotten city wherein players assume the role of a cat. The third-person adventure noticeably boasts more than a fair few charms, but there's darkness rotting beneath its underbelly, too, due to the decaying nature of the cybercity. For a long while, BlueTwelve Studio has remained silent, leaving those curious about Stray's development to wonder whether it would still see the light of day. Potential fans need not wonder any longer, though.
The Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2021 featured a good chunk of Stray gameplay, walking players through what the feline protagonist will have to contend with on the adventure. As explained by the developer who narrates the more than four-minute-long video, the titular stray cat will find itself lost in a cybercity, injured and separated from family and friends. Puzzles litter the "unfriendly" environment, all designed with the cat's perspective in mind. Needless to say, players are in for quite the unique treat when Stray hits PC, PS4, and PS5 platforms sometime in early 2022.
Partway through the adventure, the cat will encounter a character named B-12, a drone who offers assistance while puzzle-solving and helps the furry creature communicate with the inhabitants of the strange city. As noted in the gameplay video above, this otherwise unlikely union will play an instrumental part in how players learn more about Stray's intriguing setting.
Stray is the first game from BlueTwelve Studio, the France-based group founded in 2016 specifically for the development of this particular project. That studio founders Koola and Viv took inspiration from their own cats while conceptualizing the inventive game shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.
At the time of writing, there is no telling when and where else BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna Interactive may showcase the exciting puzzle title. But, at the very least, Stray's early 2022 release window suggests the wait to learn even more won't last very long.
Stray comes to PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on an unspecified date in early 2022.
Source: Annapurna Interactive via PlayStation/YouTube