Stray

[Beebo Brink]

So here I am 3 1/2 years later and I FINALLY bought Stray.

I played for about 10-15 minutes, until I ran into the Zurk horde and then I immediately bailed to read up on how to get through this part without dying. Well, I'm resigned to dying at least a few times. It's just pixels.... it's just pixels.... it's just pixels.....

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

So here I am 3 1/2 years later and I FINALLY bought Stray.

I played for about 10-15 minutes, until I ran into the Zurk horde and then I immediately bailed to read up on how to get through this part without dying. Well, I'm resigned to dying at least a few times. It's just pixels.... it's just pixels.... it's just pixels.....

As games go this one isn't super long - but I loved it so much! Take your time with it, when you get to parts where you're free to explore.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

I played with it a while just to watch my character move. I'm not really very good at actually solving these kinds of puzzles.

 

[Beebo Brink]

I played with it a while just to watch my character move. I'm not really very good at actually solving these kinds of puzzles.

I'm not either, so I just cheat by watching a play-through video.

 

[Beebo Brink]

As games go this one isn't super long - but I loved it so much! Take your time with it, when you get to parts where you're free to explore.

I finally made it past the zurks (without cheating or mods!) and into The Slums, where I've been wandering about for hours. I suspect it's taking 3x as long to do simple puzzle tasks as more experienced players, but just wandering through the alleyways is so entrancing. I'm poised to move on to the next chapter, but I still haven't picked up all the sheet music or enough energy drinks to buy a memory relic.

I'm dithering over trying to stay in the Slums and finish those chores or just march onwards. The game definitely warrants several playthroughs, so I could pick those up on a 2nd round rather than slow down now. Decisions, decisions....

 

[Soen Eber]

So how are the cats responding to it?

 

[Beebo Brink]

So how are the cats responding to it?

No reaction whatsoever. Soooo disappointing!

 

[Essence Lumin]

I saw Beebo's post about trying Stray. I said Oh yeah, I've been meaning to try that. But the game starts with a notice that it is best played with a controller. I decided to look around the web while I still have my two hour steam guarantee and found this which only applies to Chapter 7 - Dead End.

Yep, just hit this fucking bug myself. The game was on sale, so bought it and got as far as Dead End with no problem.
I found two settings that make this damn run possible to get past though!
Go into *Settings* and find the *Controls* tab. First, change *Run Mode* from *Hold* to *Toggle*. This keeps the cat running non stop after hitting Shift once. This frees up a finger, plus you never accidentally slow down and get swarmed. Second, change *Shake Mode* from *Rapid Tap* to literally any other setting. I chose *Single Tap*. That way you only have to tap Alt once to free the cat, it's way faster and doesn't sometimes fail because Alt wasn't tapped just the right number of times.

So the game is fine except that chapter which is doable but might need some key rebinding or settings changes.

 

[Beebo Brink]

I saw Beebo's post about trying Stray. I said Oh yeah, I've been meaning to try that. But the game starts with a notice that it is best played with a controller.

I'm playing on a PC and had no trouble in my encounter with the nasty little zurks once I made those same configuration changes. The "Toggle" mode for Run is especially helpful, as is "Single Tap" for shaking off zurks.

The second zurk scenario in The Rooftops chapter looked way more difficult and my attempts failed pretty quickly, so I cheated by watching several different gameplay walkthroughs. There are a few tricky places, but if I can just keep from panicking, and keep a clear idea of where I'm going, I can probably get through this chapter as well. It's less about outrunning the zurk, and more about tricking them to go in the wrong direction, then running around them.

 

[Beebo Brink]

OMG this game is HARD!!

I'm up to Chapter 8 The Sewers (out of 12 total), and it's enough to give you nightmares. Not to mention I'm highly unlikely to make it to the end of this chapter without dying dozens and dozens of times.

I wouldn't have made it this far without a mod that allows me to slow down gameplay speed during crucial moments. Instead of buying the game, I probably should just have watched the chapter walkthrough videos. That would have saved me a lot of wear-and-tear on my nervous system....

 

[Beebo Brink]

For anyone who is interested, I did make it to the end of Stray eventually. In fact, in very short order I played it all the way through a second time and enjoyed it even more upon repeat. Knowing the general outline of the game -- and where the really scary parts are -- allowed me to relax and explore without my previous anxiety. I also had a much better handle on the controls, so I didn't even need to cheat with a speed-mod to get through the harrowing escape sequences.

The ending was lovely, with some bittersweet moments, but overall upbeat nonetheless. I've played the last chapter over several times because I love the wrap up of the story so much.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

I kinda left off at some point, long enough that I feel I need to start over and refamiliarize myself with the controls, thanks for the inspiration to drive back in.