In the upcoming cyberpunk, action-adventure game Stray, players take control of a cat that finds itself separated from its family and lost in an underground, dystopian land. However, humans don't roam the streets of this peculiar land – paranoid robots do. Stray's protagonist cat isn't alone, as thankfully it meets a helpful drone named B-12 that acts as translator and guide.
Although the robot inhabitants of this strange, underground land inspired by the Kowloon Walled City aren't harmful to the leading kitty, there are other creatures that inhabit its dark corners that lay the basis of the robot's paranoia. These incredibly harmful monsters are called the 'Zurks,' and from Stray's trailers and screenshots, they seem to be a force to be reckoned with.
Stray's Zurks
Within the unique world of Stray, the unnamed cat character controlled by players will be able to leap, jump, crawl, and run through the robot-inhabited city in order to escape. With the help of the small robot companion B-12, the unnamed kitty protagonist can communicate with the robots that it comes across on its journey and could help teach players of the history behind the strange city. But, along the way, the cat and B-12 will have to face some harrowing beings that threaten the harmony of robot-kind.
Zurks are creepy crawlies which look a lot like face-huggers and are the main threat faced by players in Stray. They look to be about a quarter of the size of the player cat in height, and half its size in width. The Zurks come in vicious swarms that will attack and consume anything they fancy – mechatronics and felines alike. During the 2021 Annapurna Interactive July showcase, they are shown chasing down and attacking the player cat, piling onto the poor feline until it is overwhelmed. That looks to be one way that players of Stray may come across a 'game over' screen.
Thankfully for the inhabitants of this underground world, Zurks only seem to hide within the sewer areas of the city and aren't normally found around populated areas. Regular citizens of this unnamed robot city are only endangered if they wander to areas where they shouldn't have. However, unfortunately for Stray's cat and robot companion B-12, players will have to traverse through the nests of these creatures in order to progress on the cat's journey to be reunited with its family.
At first, the only thing players can do to avoid being overwhelmed and certain death is to simply shake them off as if the cat got its coat wet, but this only works when there are few that have jumped on the cat's back. In a gameplay trailer released by Sony, B-12 and the unnamed cat protagonist will meet an interesting-looking robot later in their adventures with a design that's a lot like Doc from Back to the Future. In fact, according to the trailers, the robot is even named 'Doc.' This robot seems to provide players with access to a powerful weapon that is capable of singling out and eliminating Zurks that threaten them or the underworld's robot inhabitants.
It remains unclear where these creatures come from and why they seem to fancy the taste of both electronics and flesh, as well as how the cat has been separated from its family. One thing's for certain: Stray's leading cat will have to battle is way through these vile creatures if it wants to reunite with its family. Thankfully, PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers will be able to enjoy Stray on day one when it launches later in July as a timed console exclusive.
Stray launches July 19th for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.