Going Platinum: Stray Is Probably the Only Game I've Speedran for a Trophy

Speed of the puma

Platinum Trophy #39: Stray

Date Earned: 23rd July 2022

Dopamine Index:

I'm very fond of Stray. As a game, it's pretty simple, and isn't doing anything especially groundbreaking, but it was a real moment when this released, I think.

Not just because of the game itself, but because it sparked a massive love-in for cats.

For a time, as the world was beginning to recover from a very trying couple of years, cats dominated my social feeds; people were sharing pictures and videos of their pets reacting to Stray, so convincing was the in-game character.

I didn't join in at the time to my great shame, so to make up for it, here are some photos of our two cats: Pippi (black) and Mango (tabby).

We've had them since they were tiny kittens, and they're now just over 10 years old. They're sisters, and are a Siberian forest/ragdoll cross. They're extremely fluffy, soppier than they let on, and love to be stationary.

Pippi likes going outside, and Mango does not. Pippi loves being brushed, and Mango does not. Mango purrs very loudly, and Pippi does not. Neither of them had any notable reaction to Stray. They are hilarious and brilliant.

I was about to apologise for turning this into an excuse to write about our cats, but I feel like that's probably unnecessary. If any of you do have a problem with that, let me know and I'll ban you permanently.

Anyway, Stray is a neat little game, isn't it?

It sets up a really intriguing sci-fi world, and you explore it from the perspective of a small feline — one that has no real understanding of the strange place in which it roams.

Again, it doesn't do anything particularly surprising, but it's really a great exercise in world-building. You get the novelty of playing as a cat, you take a tour of a fascinating dystopia, and that's that.

In terms of Trophies, I remember getting many of them without really thinking about it, but there are a few that need a little more consideration.

One Trophy concerns the first time you're chased by those horrid little creatures called Zurks; you need to escape them without once being caught. I remember that being a pain point for many people.

For me, one Trophy I wasn't looking forward to tackling was 'I am Speed', which is rewarded for completing the game, start to finish, in under two hours.

I'm not a fan of these speedrun-style Trophies. I'd hate it if I attempted it, beat the game, and found out I'd gone over the time limit by a minute or something.

However, the difference with Stray was that a) it's relatively short anyway, and b) I had grown quite familiar with it, because I both reviewed and wrote guides for it. By the time all this work was done, it wasn't much of a stretch to blitz through the game. Plus, setting aside a couple of hours on a weekend is doable.

All in all, it's a very enjoyable game, and a fun Trophy list to fill out. Cats are great.

Cheers, Stray.

Do you have the platinum Trophy for Stray? Tell us in the comments section below.