Just an open world survival game, only you’re a cat, dealing with regular cat problems. You have to hunt, avoid larger animals, compete with other cats, figure out which humans are dangerous and which will give you treats, judiciously spray things to maintain your territory, maybe mate and reproduce (your sex and fertility status are basically difficulty settings), etc.

You start out as a housecat going on a spring vacation with your family, and that’s the tutorial section. Then your humans accidentally leave you behind at their country vacation home, and then the difficulty is just the passing of seasons. See if you can survive winter and see your humans again next spring.

  • TofuScramble@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Genuine question: how much of the marketing material did you see? I thought it was always clear that it was gonna be an exploration/puzzle game in a cyberpunk world with a baddie.

    I had the opposite reaction, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the small things, like scratching a carpet!

    I do hope you find something more like what you’re wishing for, though 🙂

    • beefcat@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Yeah if OP went into stray expecting an open world survival game, that’s on them. It’s kind of silly to be disappointed that a game does not meet expectations fabricated entirely within your own head.

    • jarfil@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Not everyone can afford a fursuit capable of “judiciously spraying things to maintain your territory”… or be let anywhere in one 😄

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    1 year ago

    I don’t play many games, but Stray was one of the best that I’ve ever played, honestly. Not too long, emotionally satisfying with equally satisfying gameplay.

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      1 year ago

      I agree, but I also agree with OP. went in expecting a cat game and it effectively was just a regular adventure game but you’re a cat. Not the other way around.

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        1 year ago

        The cat part is also almost entirely irrelevant to the game. Neither the story nor the mechanics really care that you’re a cat. Sure you do more climbing than walking, but you do that in uncharted too. Linear combing sections are not what I imagine when I think “cat movement.”

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    1 year ago

    Although it features foxes rather than cats, Endling: Extinction is Forever ticks a lot of your boxes.

    For something less survivally you could try Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered.

  • With the non-Steam version of Dwarf Fortress, you could edit the RAWS and make cats a playable race in Adventure Mode. The game simulates cats extremely well. So well, it was actually the cause of a “bug” at one point because the cats will lick themselves clean and would die of alcohol poisoning cleaning spilled liquor off their body after being in the dining halls.

    • GiantBasil@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      That’s… incredible actually. Every new bit I learn about Dwarf Fortress is genuinely fantastic.

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    1 year ago

    You should try playing Cattails which is basically exactly that. You play as a stray cat living a regular cat life. You can hunt, socialize with other cats (some are nice, some not), etc. No humans, just cats. The start of the game you get abandoned by humans I think?

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    1 year ago

    I do like your idea but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like Stray. I finished the entire game and I loved it. The cat was adorable, the friends I made a long the way were interesting and I really felt for them despite their, uh, limitations. Just leaving it at that to avoid spoilers as I only saw that it was a cute cat game before I tried it and enjoyed being surprised by how it ended up.

    But yes, I do think a game like you’re describing would also be fun. Maybe not as a stray cat, per se, but maybe as a small breed of wild cat living away from humans so you don’t have too much interaction with them and they’re something you’re inherently distrustful of.

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      1 year ago

      I have really high hopes for this. I don’t think it’ll be a “survival” game and more of a cute cat sandbox similar to Untitled Goose Game though.

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      1 year ago

      I’m really looking forward to this! I was also let down by Stray, more because I didn’t want to end up playing a stealth game, I just wanted to wander around as a cat

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    1 year ago

    I’d been following the game’s development for years because I loved the idea of an open world where you’re a cat exploring Kowloon walled city, and was a little disappointed that it went in another direction. I did end up loving the game and I get that it became more, but I would have really loved something that simple. Like, I don’t need to save the world but I do specifically want to play as a cat in Kowloon walled city, you know?

  • Data's Cat Spot@startrek.website
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    1 year ago

    I think if someone went all out with making some sort of bizarre simulator game like this, people would play it. Like, don’t even try to make it fun or add a story or anything, just make it as real as you can.

  • kool_newt@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    This sounds amazing. One mode you can be a cat stuck in a house with 3 other cats that don’t get along. You have to try to drop a deuce without getting attacked, you have to mark territory without making your “owner” upset about peeing in the house.

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    1 year ago

    I’ve never owned a cat myself but I have watched enough internet cat videos to know why they’re so popular. I plan to check out Stray at some point, but waiting for it to discount 50%+ before pulling the trigger.

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    1 year ago

    Have you tried Shelter 2? It’s not quite the same thing, but you play a lynx with five adorable cubs trying to survive in a wilderness setting. (Warning: your playthrough will likely involve some or all of your adorable cubs dying.)