For many, FromSoftware’sElden Ringseems like an obvious pick for Game of the Year. Not only isElden Ringcurrently the best-selling new video game release of 2022, but it’s also the highest-rated game of the year so far, in terms of critic reviews. However, a newly-released game may be givingElden Ringa run for its money, as “cat game"Strayhas burst onto the scene and already has a higher user score than FromSoftware’s open world epic.
StrayandElden Ringcouldn’t be more different. WhereasElden Ringfeatures an enormous open world full of intense challenges,Strayis a small, compact, mostly linear experience with virtually no challenge to it at all. It focuses entirely on making players feel like they’re playing as a genuine cat. It seems this is exactly what many gamers want, asStraynot only has high critic review scores, but it has high user scores to match.
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On Metacritic, both the PC and PS5 versions ofStrayhave higher user scores than the PC and PS5 versions ofElden Ring. On PS5,Strayhas an 8.8 rating, whereasElden Ringhas an 8.0. On PC,Strayhas an 8.8 rating, whereasElden Ring’s PC rating is much lower, at 7.0. It should be pointed out that there were some issues withElden Ring’s PC port at launch that have undoubtedly dragged its user score on that platform down. Not only that, but there are thousands moreElden Ringuser reviews than there areStrayreviews, so it’s not necessarily a fair comparison, but it’s still interesting to consider.
Regardless, it is still a clear indication thatStrayis being well-received by the gaming community. Not only isStraydominating the Metacritic user review pages, but the game has also proven to be quite popular on platforms like Steam. In fact,Strayis the highest-rated Steam gameat the time of this writing in terms of user reviews.
It will be interesting to see whatStray’s incredibly positive reception means for the game’s future. Perhaps this will convince the developers to expand onStray’s game world with a DLC expansion. Alternatively, maybe the positive word of mouth will translate to strong sales and justify the development of a full-blownStraysequel.
While fans wait for news onStray’s future, they can check out the various mods that have been released for the PC version of the game to expand their experience. Most of theStraymods released so far have been humorous in nature, like the one thatturns the cat into CJ fromGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas, for instance.
Strayis available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
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