Even before it released, Stray was a fan favorite among the gaming community. Between its feline-inspired gameplay and cyberpunk aesthetic, it gained momentum as one of the most wishlisted games on Steam; even breaking records for concurrent player numbers on the platform upon its release. That attention has quickly turned to fans wanting more out of this relatively small experience, whether DLC is in Stray's future or BlueTwelve Studio embarks upon a sequel.
The latter arguably makes the most sense, as there are plenty of loose ends for BlueTwelve to cover and attempting to expand upon the self-contained story of Stray might detract from its original experience. But if BlueTwelve is to attempt Stray 2, the questions on players' minds is how a sequel might improve the experience, or where the sequel's story would go based on its predecessor. Spoilers for Stray ahead.
The Premise and Ending of Stray
Stray's story feels like it is a narrative of two halves: firstly, the lead cat that players meet is separated from their family, establishing an impetus for players to find a way back to them. Secondly, players progress through a city while the story of what happened to its former humans inhabitants unveils itself. By the game's end, what happened to the city is sufficiently explained save for a few details, but the cat is never seen to reunite with his fellow felines, leaving his story incomplete.
This has been the biggest driver behind fans calling for more, as they became attached to the cat in Stray, only to not receive a satisfying conclusion to its story. While this has led some to believe BlueTwelve is purposefully leaving itself room for a sequel, some are not so convinced given the indie studio hasn't commented about Stray's future. One thing that everyone appears to agree on though is that more Stray is needed, and if possible it should definitely receive a sequel.
What Could Stray 2 Look Like?
The obvious narrative a sequel should continue is that of the cat attempting to track down and locate their clowder. Yet owing to the cat's inability to communicate or interact with complex machinery, a sequel needs secondary characters to complement their journey. Following the assumed death of B-12, the cat would need an equivalent in order to reachieve or even improve upon the first game's mechanics.
Should BlueTwelve find a means of resolving this, the question would become what kind of story should Stray 2 tell. Players will now be familiar with a general lore of the world, from robots gaining sentience to Zurks evolving in humanity's absence, but not much specific detail has been provided. The city that players navigate through is called "Walled City 99," suggesting at least 98 other cities exist with very little of the outside world shown in-game. A sequel could further explore how different the outside world has actually become in the post-apocalypse.
A sequel could also dive deeper into the lore, with some players hypothesize that the plague which wiped out humanity came from a virus common among cats that was scientifically embellished - meaning Stray's plague was caused by cats. A sequel could expand the story further, providing an explanation as to what caused the plague and whether any humans survived beyond Walled City 99.
Without any further announcements from BlueTwelve Studio, there is no certainty for what is to come beyond Stray. Since the game only just released, it could be several months before any additional news comes out riding its popularity. Even if fans have to wait some time, hopes are high that Stray will not be the end for this unusual indie title and its charming titular cat.
Stray is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.
