Stray just surprise-dropped on the Nintendo Switch 2
Overview & Key Takeaways
Stray is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 with visual upgrades and Joy-Con mouse support.
Stray, the 2022 sci-fi adventure game where you play as a cat, continues to prove that it has nine lives. The award-winning title from BlueTwelve Studios and publisher Annapurna Interactive is coming out on the Nintendo Switch 2 today. The updated version comes with various bells and whistles, including upgraded visuals, 4K resolution, improved frame rates, and Joy-Con mouse support. Hopefully, you can even knock beverages off countertops using motion controls. The Switch 2 version will go for $29.99 on the eShop, but those who already own the Switch version will be able to upgrade for free. The game is already available for basically every other platform: PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
When it came out roughly four years ago, Stray managed to breach containment from the indie game sphere, breaking Annapurna’s concurrent Steam player record with over 62,000 active users. As it turns out, people really like cats. On top of being well-received by critics and players alike, the game was also used in streaming fundraisers for real-world animal shelters.
Stray was undeniably very cute, but under this adorable veneer is a more melancholic experience than one might expect. The player is tasked with navigating a post-apocalyptic future without humans, while piecing together what went wrong. Drenched in neon and other classic cyberpunk indicators, you cajole this tabby into climbing Kowloon Walled City-inspired structures, solving puzzles, and (sort of) communicating with the robotic inhabitants of this new world. Along the way, the nameless cat also has to avoid killer machines and mutant creatures called Zurks. You can even press the circle button to meow, which is pretty neat.
Stray proved popular enough for Annapurna that it greenlit a film adaptation at Annapurna Animation, the studio that handled the great 2023 coming-of-age flick Nimona. BlueTwelve Studios hasn’t announced what it's working on next, but considering the team put seven years of effort intotheir first game, we may have to wait a while longer for their next one, a Stray sequel or otherwise.
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