Stray has become the cult hit of the summer 2022 gaming season. You play as a curious cat in a cyberpunk world, jumping from platform to platform and teasing an atmospheric story. Stray convinced gamers with his creative concept and chill vibes. But after about six hours, the whole experience is over and there’s not much reason to play it again.
Fortunately, Stray isn’t the only easy animal game out there. If you want to tell environmental stories, explore a strange world, or just spend a little more time pretending to be a cat, we’ve rounded up a handful of unusual titles that draw inspiration from our furry, finned, and feathered friends. Here are 10 games to play after Stray.
cat quest
Cat Quest is one of those games that it looks exactly like. You play as a ‘catventurer’ in the fantasy realm of Felinguard, wielding a sword and a collection of magical spells, including ‘Lightnyan’ and ‘Flamepurr’. While Cat Quest is a small game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, it is indeed an open world RPG where you can explore colorful cities, collect powerful gear and complete a variety of side missions. Like Stray, you can complete Cat Quest in five to 10 hours, and there isn’t much replay value. But you can always jump into Cat Quest 2, which is the same premise, performed on a slightly larger scale.
Ecco the dolphin
Ecco the Dolphin came out in 1992 for the Sega Genesis. But thanks to digital reissues, the game is quite easy to play on modern systems. Since its debut, Ecco has been a cult classic, thanks to its unusual premise, demanding gameplay and bizarre story. You control a playful dolphin named Ecco as he swims, jumps and occasionally comes up for air. Early on, you’ll explore colorful coves and seas, battling jellyfish and puffer fish. But as the game progresses, the plot takes a sharp left turn into ancient Atlantis, time travel and Lovecraftian horror. Ecco the Dolphin is much more difficult than Stray, but you still play as a charismatic animal on a strange quest.
Goat Simulator
Goat Simulator is one of those games that is extremely easy and extremely difficult to explain at the same time. On the one hand, just read the title. Goat Simulator is a game where you play as a goat, and you simulate things a goat might do – run around, spit, headbutt things, and so on. On the other hand, the title doesn’t indicate how strange the game gets. You can cling to a race car with your tongue, blow up gas stations for a ‘Michael Bay’ feat or establish yourself as an evil overlord on a throne of skulls. Whether you love or hate the game, you’ve probably never played anything like it.
trip
Journey is probably the biggest piece on this list, as it’s the only game where you don’t play as an animal. Instead, Journey casts you as some kind of shapeless humanoid figure in a red hood called the Traveler. Like Stray, the game relies on wordless storytelling and mild platforming challenges to propel you through a series of intriguing environments. The big difference is in the scale. The world of Journey is absolutely huge, from the distances you travel to the creatures you encounter. The game is more about atmosphere than storytelling, but if you like abstract stories there are still a few emotional beats to hold on to.
man eater
If playing as a cat is a little too relaxed for your taste, you can always try playing like a shark instead. Developer Tripwire Interactive called Maneater a “sharkPG,” and that pretty much sums up everything you need to know about it. You play as a bloodthirsty bull shark seeking revenge against a gang of fishermen who killed her mother. You start in brackish waters, eating catfish and fighting barracudas. But eventually you can turn yourself into a bio-engineered killing machine, facing great white sharks, sperm whales and other apex predators. The game is much crazier than Stray, but also much more action packed.
Night in the forest
Like Stray, Night in the Woods throws you like a cat in a largely nonviolent, linear adventure. However, if Stray is an experimental art film, Night in the Woods is a hipster indie film. You play as Mae, a high school dropout who returns to her hometown and tries to uncover the truth behind a mysterious kidnapping. Although Mae and her friends are all anthropomorphic animals, the story is much more down-to-earth than the art style would suggest. Night in the Woods is all about growing up, building relationships and coming home again – although there are also some decidedly sinister things going on, which put a bit of strain on the story.
okami
In Stray you play as a cat; in Okami you play as a wolf. I think that makes Okami a lot cooler by default. Inspired by The Legend of Zelda franchise, Okami casts you as Amaterasu: a Shinto goddess who takes on the appearance of a white wolf to seal a demon named Orochi. Inspired by Japanese art and mythology, Okami has a striking aesthetic and a playful tone. It’s much more of a traditional video game than Stray, with lots of enemies to fight, upgrades to collect, and puzzles to solve. But with Stray behind you and Breath of the Wild 2 in front, Okami is an easy recommendation to fill the gap.
Tokyo Jungle
Tokyo Jungle is one of those eccentric PS3 exclusives that has developed a devoted cult following, but never caught on with the larger gaming population. Now gamers have a second chance to discover the game, thanks to its inclusion in the revamped PlayStation Plus series. Tokyo Jungle casts you as a variety of animals in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, each of whom must hunt for food, evade predators and fight for supremacy against other animals. Part survival game, part sim, Tokyo Jungle is a bizarre mishmash of ideas – and if you have an affinity for the bizarre, it’s worth checking out. Although you don’t play as a house cat in the main story, you do play as a lion.
Tunic
Tunic isn’t much of a stray animal sim as you play as an anthropomorphic fox instead of a regular old four-legged friend. But if you enjoyed Stray’s minimalist storytelling and “try it and see” approach to gameplay, Tunic offers some similar features. At first glance, Tunic is just a riff on The Legend of Zelda, right down to the protagonist’s titular green garment. But Tunic is a little more inscrutable than the series it inspired, with a made-up language that slowly starts to make more sense as you discover new gameplay mechanics. Tunic should appeal to fans of Stray who are not averse to a little swordfight.
Untitled Goose Game
“It’s a beautiful morning in the village, and you’re a terrible goose.” The description of Untitled Goose Game is essentially also the manual. In this sim/puzzle game you control a humble white goose who terrorizes a quiet English town. In each area you will be given a list of objectives to complete – “wet the gardener”, “steal the old man’s wool hat”, “steal a pint glass and drop it in the canal” and so on – and you must complete it. reach them without colliding with the townspeople. There’s also a special button to honk, just like meowing in Stray. Untitled Goose Game is anarchic and weird, but it’s also oddly charming.
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