STRAY - The Story Explained 

i like the idea where a dystopian world ruled by Robots didnt have a robots rebelled and killed all humans. in fact it seems many of the robots are somewhat sad the humans are gone

This game released just a couple months after I lost my cat, and the line 'you were my friend, the very best I could've asked for. thank you' really hit different

I really like how the studio could probably have got away with releasing essentially a cat simulator and use the cute factor as a selling point, but instead developed such a fascinating albeit bleak lore for an immersive postapocalyptic cyberpunk world.

The word Stray actually has a lot of meanings for this game: 1. The protagonist is a literal Stray Cat 2. The Robots are the Stray that left by humans and they had no idea what to do to survive due to Zurks and also lack of lights 3. The world of this game that got abandoned by plague which killed the humans

If you listen closely, after Orange falls you can hear the rest of the family meowing far above, looking for Orange

Robots will never be perfect because they are made by imperfect beings. This game really knew how to portrait that.

I literally cried when I saw B-12 "die". But now, I know that he's fine, just inside the confines of a digital world once again.

What I really appreciated from the game was how they represented sentience. In the Slums, all robots have sentience, and the more you progress and the higher you go, the less sentience the robots have. At the top, the robots have no sentience. Pretty eerie if you ask me.

I like the idea that B12 is still “alive” in the network. The scene where they are overriding the final security lock on the work bench is very similar to the scene where they were initially uploaded into the drone body. It makes sense that rather than risking shutting down while working, they transferred their memory into the machine before the drone gave out and finished the protocol internally. That does give light that there could be a return to the character if there was a sequel.

This is such a creative, unique way of telling the dystopian world filled with robots story. The character designs and the personalities and relationships the robots have developed is a very fascinating story. I’m really glad that you played through it.

This game hit me hard bc the orange cat looks so much like my cat Kief that I had to say goodbye to a few months back, so this was like his final adventure for me. Definitely teard up at the end bc when the cat looked back at the city, it felt like my kief looking at me and saying goodbye. Love you buddy, miss you everyday.

I like to think B-12 knew that it would still be trapped in the system, but was worried that the cat would stay in the buried city with him. He lied and said he was done for, so the cat would move on and find it's family out in the Outside World.

Mike: "helping break him free Stealthfully and sneaky." The Cat: *Instantly gets caught and runs for dear life.* 18:57

I’ve realised just how sus Clementine’s note was. I thought it was pretty weird that Blazer’s name was written when Clem said she didn’t know the guy’s name earlier in the game. Looking back knowing that Blazer is a snitch, it’s even more sus.

The most surprising aspect of this game to me was how well they were able to do the world building and lore in just a few hours. Definitely needs a dlc or a sequel to explore the lore.

The moment when Stray breaks the 4th wall to slow blink at the player breaks my heart in the best way. I love you too little outsider! ♥️

Fun fact: the cat is blinking slowly at the end is actually means that the cat is trusting/loving us, the player (i couldnt remember the meaning of the slow blink, but the closest is the cat is trusting you) Edit: soooo someone in the comment kindly correct me that the meaning of the slow blink is actually thank you :D

I love the fact that the city we were in was the the 99th, meaning there's still hope humans are alive. Or more interesting things. Who knows what happend in those closed off cities.

The cat is such a good friend he never forgets to pick up b-12 when his system goes down at times,hes a friend that will never be forgotten sad that b-12 died tho

Why does this have more heartwarming and emotional story than most AAA leading games? Man, that was beautiful.

I loved playing this game it has such a good atmosphere even though it’s not a horror game I’m glad you reviewed it

Hilariously it’s more likely the bacteria formed a symbiotic relationship with some sort of mite (judging by its looks). Bacteria don’t really become multicellular without millions of years and a good reason (no competition). Whereas a bacterial/mite symbiotic relationship makes a lot a sense. The mite like animal can travel farther and the bacteria can break down anything. It also wouldn’t take as long.

my favorite small little detail before we find b-12 you can meow at the camera and the camera will like nod it’s js so cute

I like the ending, it is very catlike. The cat walks away with seemingly no notion or what just had happend, just like a real cat. The game makes you as a player project your human emotions. It really is a work of art.

I think the Zurks have a Weakness to UV light since they've never come in contact with it as in the end of the game when the roof is opened the Zurks die it's not bright light it's UV light if it was bright light the Zurks would die to your flashlight the light Doc's invention puts out is similar to that of a black light.

Stray is a very cinematic game

I have thought a lot about how the robots have evolved when the ones in the Hightown station havent and I think its actually because of B-12, he was in the network for so long that he begun to influence it and through it the robots, which started their evolution. He couldnt do anything for the Hightown robots because he couldnt access that part of the system, which would make sense because their overlords wouldnt want them to hack their way out.

stray has one of the best purrtagonists in game history.

I completed this with 95% collectables. Still my understanding of the plot is vague. This exact video I need

18:56 "Stealthfully sneaking like only a cat can" *Meanwhile the cat is spotted and is running for it's life*

I hope that we will get "Chapter 2" or "Stray: Reunited" dlc It would be amazing to play as the family of cats, and eventually find b12 again

there's so many layers to this game that I love. so much lore to be explored. I honestly loved my play through, my only issue was every chapter ended the same way as whatever companion you found had to do the "go on without me" cliche I understood momos cuz he had to hold the door open, and balcazar cuz he didn't really have a body, but Clementine easily could of made it to the sub way with the cat and b12 at the end

This game was a very positive surprise, as I hadn't seen anything about it. Initially I thought it would be a simulator and that made the story surprise me even more. Theories explaining the reasons for the creation of the city have become my new favorite subject! I would love a sequel exploring the outside and, maybe, finding humans.

I love this story soo much. You’d think that it’s alll about the cat but it’s not!

I just finished the game today and it left me in tears. I loved it. I hope it gets a sequel.

I am noticing a lot of people here seemingly have lost their beloved cat around the time this game came out. I am happy if the game brought you any sense of release, joy, or calm. I am so sorry for your all your losses. I hope you all have since adopted. A stray could use your love & repay you with theirs.

Stray is a absolute masterpiece ✨️

Petition to turn Stray into a book series: Sign here

My theory is maybe some robot had evolved to be humanlike, but there’re also some are like b12, which used to be human, transfered their consciousness into a robot body to keep on. I think the outsiders, especially Doc and his son, used to be humans too. Afterall the transferring pods seems to be mass produced, and the case of the scientist not only was one failed case, but he was a loner, isolated in the dead city thus he was trapped in the system without any help, so anything that b12 thought about the situation back when he was human might not 100% correct. The truth may was everybody in the dead city died of plague, except the scientist. In upper towns they had better living environments, enough for them to waited for the pods and purchased it. And not every transferring case failed, even if some of them failed, there’re still someone who was there to make it success at last. However the top priority was still having a healthy living body so people at the top may had fled away a long time ago

The story ends too soon. It needs a follow up game where Stray reunites with his family, Clementine and other robot companions. They team up to find out more about what happened to the humans.

My question is why is this cat so smart. I know cats do have their own intelligence but this cat seems to be more intelligent than the average kitty cat. I think that cats might be evolving into more intelligent creatures here. Just a theory.

The robots weren't the only ones who evolved. Looks like cats got an upgrade as well.

i always wondered why the stray seemed a lot more intelligent than the normal cat. did cats evolve to be smarter? is stray the only cat thats so smart?

The most amazing thing about this game is that the developers managed to create a protagonist that no one can hate. Stonks

Scene Selection 0:00 - Intro 0:51 - Part 1: A lost cat, in a lost city 3:14 - Part 2: B-12 5:08 - Part 3: How robots inherited the Earth 7:35 - Part 4: The Outsiders 9:50 - Part 5: The Zurk 12:52 - Part 6: A ghost in the machine 15:25 - Part 7: Clementine's plan 19:45 - Part 8: The chilling truth 23:27 - Outro

Some of the themes of stray seems to be striving for a better world and looking to the future.

I really hope they make a sequel to stay even if it is a short game where the cat makes it's way back to its friends

I have a thought, when b12 is killed maybe he didn’t die, but it did hurt to get transferred back into the network that’s how b12 opened the vault hatch also explaining the flickering at the end cutscene. Also great video, keep it up!

I'd like to see what the Outsiders do now the city is open, and if the actual assistant of the scientist could be repaired and be of any help.

Honestly I love how this game has so many parallels with current events such as Zurks being similar to the bacteria being created in the real world by current world scientists to destroy waste, and the Walked city being reminiscent of the Current climate change solution being thrown up lately

omg the last part where “someone familiar” living in the network shows himself again is so sad man

Just finished this game. Loved how the robots were basically humans, with names personalities and hobbies. I’m going to make the guess the reason the slum and midtown robots were kind was probably because their humans were kind to them. Notice how they all have cute and silly names as opposed to the control room robots that are simply named “helper #”. It’s refreshing to see that the AI didn’t turn on the humans and that it was just a disease that killed them.

Aside from our adorbs protagonist, the story of this game is really good! I enjoyed watching the gameplay.

10:45. I loved them because thats a play on Doc and Marty (whose middle name is seamus in back to the future (he even wears the vest and chromatic hat). The gun is even called the defluxer and runs on 1.21 gigawats lol

mike:"stelthily sneaking like oly a cat can" also mike: *not being stealthy at all and running directly into multiple drones sightlines and running for his life *

We played the Italian localized version and I'd like to praise the localizers for their very good job. Many names of places, songs and things in the story have been localized in Italian with plenty of references to Italian pop culture, sometimes with funny results.

This game seems really awesome! Also those large eyes on the walls was absolutely terrifying!

Kinda sad that B-12 didn't get to see the Outside 😢

Just an addendum; the Zurk are not affected by "bright light", rather they are more specifically affected by "ultra-violet light".

This has become one of my favorite games of all time. My husband bought it for me as therapy to help me overcome the death of my 12 year old cat, Harley. I miss her so freaking much....but this game hurt in a good way, and reminded me that we will sacrifice our own happiness to make sure our furry friend is take care of. Putting her down was one of the worst moments of my life. Also - haven't the humans in this game been gone for over 6 million years? It says how many days they have been human-free in the last city you go to, and it's roughly 6 million years. ....but that wouldn't make sense, because no structures would last that long.

I think that the story has such a deep lore to it, so many secrets, do you plan to make a lore video maybe? I absolutely love your lore videos, i would love to hear your thoughts about Stray ☺️

i just wanna say,this is probily the best game ever created.i played this last night and most of the time was just me looking around and talking to the robots.the storyline is not only just pure amazing,its clever too.and the puzzles are fun yet not hard.this genuely is just such a great game.everyone in their life needs to play its just soo good dude!

This game is a masterpiece. With a complex story, amaizing gameplay, and the cutenes of the protoganist, this gane is a hit for 2022. Its gonna stay in history

Literally bought this as a cat game for my daughter and was blown away by the depth. It’s not little nightmares but anyone that likes a dark dystopian horror will love this!

Amazing I just finished playing this beautiful game

I still don't think that B 12 is the only human to down load there mind into a robots body. I still think that all the other human like robots did the same thing. So they can continue to work for the big shot company's that made the robot bodies in the first places, after all that most have cost a lot of money to do so. and the organed robots never j at all there still the same as they where when they where made a very long time ago. I think that all the human like robots where human at one point in time but forgotten every thing as time went by. Just like B 12 also did, but he slowly remember thanks to the cat tacking him to old plaices that he forget about because he hasn't being there for so long since he was trap in side a computer Network for so long. Also that company is very evil and greedy to say the least, they know that it was going to make them a lot, a lot of money by doing so. As time went by everyone forget why and who they really are and stared to do things to past the time and as they where doing so they slowly for get more and more as time went by. As for the eye things I think that they are aliens from an other planet and it was them who made the humans sick and any other animals where mutated like the cat is, jure he looks normal but look how intellagined he is for a cat? Normal cats cant do what he did that's for jure?

I just love the game’s environment and the small little things throughout.

imagine a open world dlc of stray that starts at the end of the main story, man it would be cool

Interesting how the Surface become "unliveable" for the humans but the cats are able to live normally and didn't get extinct Maybe related to their 9 lives (haha) or animals are just different but who knows since we don't see any other animals other than cats

I know cats can take really long falls and be fine, but when you see the scope of the place you fell into, it is pretty high up...

I am in awe of the people who made this as well as always thankful of your breakdown! Because of your wonderful research I have played more video games within the last year that were beyond just distracting but we’re actually entertaining! Thank you as always for doing such a great job.

I love at 18:55 he says "stealthily sneaking, only as a cat can" while getting seen by every sentinel in the room

It's sealed city 99 isn't it? So there are at least 98 others? Then there's the possibility of more humans, just scattered.

Ive been waiting for so long, i checked every morning when i woke up for this Lets GO

I lost it when B12 Died and the cat went to cuddle next to him. I started this game when my cat was with me, and I ended it when my cat passed away. In the final days when my cat passed, she would cuddle up to me extra close every day for long hours of the day. The end just brought up all those memories... Took me a couple of months of on and off playing...

I am so happy I am very interested in the lore

I’m so glad you made a story explained video for this. The game was amazing

I love the Back To The Future reference they built in with Doc and Seamus. Doc tells us that his anti-zurk device, known as "defluxor" (flux capacitor?), needs 1.21 gigawatts to operate, and Seamus, who is wearing Marty McFly's orange vest, is named after Marty's ancestor in BTTF 3.

The spiritual aspect of this game flys right over everyone’s head

I always love your videos, I may not always comment, but you are the one who keep my theories at bay

This game reminds me of the Love, Death, and Robots episode 2, Three Robots.

The robots have human a consciousness. The humans uploaded their conscious to the robots to to overcome death (either for natural causes or for after the bugs were created maybe they thought the bugs wouldn’t try to eat metal) . The bugs were made to eat the trash that was filling the underground city, but they soon started eating more than the trash and the Robots were wiped out as the bugs evolved and multiplied.

Let’s get this man to 10 Mil, he makes Amazing content and has to be one of the best horror theory RU-vidrs on the platform, been a fan a while and he certainly deserves it.

Loved seeing a summary of Stray's story through your narration style.

when I first heard of stray I was hyped as I loved cats and robots. I thought that the gameplay for Stray was a bit short and I was a bit sad when B-12 sacrificed himself as I will miss him very much. So that's why I hope that this game will get a sequel in the future.

Definitely cried when my boy b-12 died man.. Shoutout in the end- he let us knoww he still here in the ending!!

Ill never get over how the creator of this game ACTUALLY had a plan, a story plot, lore, AND the main character doesnt even have to say a single word to make the game make sense, its adorable and creative af

I love this game. I truly hope they make a stray 2 where b-12 maybe is okey and we are set on an adventure to find our cat family

Love this video it's so amazing! I can't wait for more videos about stray

I just finished playing stray myself and i am so sad its over. I actually did not know what it was until Mike's first video of it. I am so greatful for discovering such an amazing game!

I've heard about Stray before, and I didn't think it was that fun until I watched this amazing video! Keep up the good work!

See, this is why I need Story Explained vids like this; that opening to this game would have killed any and all drive to play the game and just encourage me to cuddle my cats and cry.

The cat in this game was inspired by the real cat belonging to the cofounders of Blue Twelve and it's named Murtaugh,by extension the cat in Stray is also named Murtaugh

I loved playing this game so much and the ending brought me to tears, it was created so well and with such an incredible storyline that when i finished playing all i wanted was more, or perhaps just a final scene where our incredible little cat finds his family again.

Such a good game too! And at first I didn't quite understand the computer screen turning on at the end, but after watching this explanation video of Stray it put a big smile on my face realizing B-12 is still alive! :D

18:56 "Stealthily sneaking, like only a cat can" *almost gets shot by one of the sentinels* Mmm yes 'Sneaky'

thanks for making this video. Even though watching your playthrough helped me understand the lore, this video tied up the lose ends to questions I had and stray is my new favorite story game

I love the added detail of the cat acting like the backpack is a great weight upon it My cat does the same with a simple harness LOL

I’m glad I went into the game blind it was so awesome to see each area with a fresh pair of eyes and no idea what I was getting into

GOOD VIDEO, the important thing is that the kitten is safe and with his family