For many, FromSoftware's Elden Ring seems like an obvious pick for Game of the Year. Not only is Elden Ring currently 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 giving Elden Ring a run for its money, as "cat game" Stray has burst onto the scene and already has a higher user score than FromSoftware's open world epic.
Stray and Elden Ring couldn't be more different. Whereas Elden Ring features an enormous open world full of intense challenges, Stray is 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, as Stray not only has high critic review scores, but it has high user scores to match.
On Metacritic, both the PC and PS5 versions of Stray have higher user scores than the PC and PS5 versions of Elden Ring. On PS5, Stray has an 8.8 rating, whereas Elden Ring has an 8.0. On PC, Stray has an 8.8 rating, whereas Elden Ring's PC rating is much lower, at 7.0. It should be pointed out that there were some issues with Elden Ring's PC port at launch that have undoubtedly dragged its user score on that platform down. Not only that, but there are thousands more Elden Ring user reviews than there are Stray reviews, so it's not necessarily a fair comparison, but it's still interesting to consider.
Regardless, it is still a clear indication that Stray is being well-received by the gaming community. Not only is Stray dominating the Metacritic user review pages, but the game has also proven to be quite popular on platforms like Steam. In fact, Stray is the highest-rated Steam game at the time of this writing in terms of user reviews.
It will be interesting to see what Stray's incredibly positive reception means for the game's future. Perhaps this will convince the developers to expand on Stray'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-blown Stray sequel.
While fans wait for news on Stray'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 the Stray mods released so far have been humorous in nature, like the one that turns the cat into CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, for instance.
Stray is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.