How Long Does It Take To Beat Stray?

It is a tried and true tenet of storytelling that adding a cat to a genre or premise elevates any piece of media by leaps and bounds, and video games are no exception. But "Stray," the new third-person stealth platformer from BlueTwelve Studios, goes beyond adding a feline companion to the garden-variety cyberpunk dystopia. The principal protagonist and player character navigating a robot-dominated city is, in fact, a lovable little cat. With the help of a friendly droid, players will be stepping into the soft paw pads of an injured kitty in a bid to survive the uncompromising hyper-urban landscape — whether that involves fending off mutated rats or imposing upon the unsuspecting lives of the robot denizens.

This outstanding 2022 Game of the Year contender is launching on July 19 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC through Steam. It has also been made available for subscribers to the Playstation Plus Extra and Premium plans. As the release date falls on a weekday, many prospective players are undoubtedly asking the question: How many hours will they need to set aside from their usual obligations to complete "Stray," one of the most highly-anticipated titles of the summer?

In a tweet to its official page, publisher Annapurna Interactive answered a few frequently asked questions about the company's newest title. "Stray" will be priced at $29.99, with plans to make physical copies of the game available for the PS5. There will be no character customization, as "Stray" will follow the story of the specific orange tabby featured in the trailers — fans will, however, be able to dress up their real-life furballs with pet accessory merchandise currently in the works.

Perhaps most importantly, the tweet also confirmed that a playthrough of "Stray" will run for about eight hours. That's without hunting down all the collectibles, however. Unfortunately, Annapurna Interactive did not provide an estimate on how long the average completionist run will take, as players will no doubt find themselves hunting for every collectible, breaking into every building, pawing at every microwave, and disturbing every robot passerby. 

Those of you planning on a picture purr-fect playthrough should probably make a generous overestimate past those eight hours if you plan to fully enjoy this cyberpunk feline adventure.