Do you think Stray would have been that popular if instead of a cat it would be a generic robot?

[shadowsdarknes]

Same thing happened with Goose Game lmao. "Its just popular because its a meme game". People just want to be a funny goose, whats not clicking.

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To me, it comes off as performative. Like they are such gameplay enthusiasts that they can just see past all of the humor, charm, and presentation in a game and just analyze a game on its "important merits"

So you get hot takes with people reducing enjoyable titles down to "walking simulators" and "meme games"

 

[gpn]

I was hoping to just do more cat like stuff like scavenging, knocking stuff over

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I don't know what game you played, but I did these things in Stray.

 

[KillLaCam]

No

 

[Glio]

People love cats. What is wrong about doing stuff that people love?

 

[YukiroCTX]

Games quality is every aspect about the game. Thinking of an idea and executing it in a way that resonates with people is part of games. Playing as a cat is a huge part of it's appeal and very much ingrained to every aspect of the game and removal would be a different experience. It's also not enough to just have an idea, It has to be done in a way that's good too. If Stray had fallen short on how the cat moves, feels for vast majority of people, then it wouldn't have mattered if it had a cat. I think Stray's length of time worked to the games strengths too as it didn't overstay it's welcome and kept on point. By the end, felt the wish for more because how good the experience was.

A person could take a look at any aspect of any popular games substract part of what makes them special and then present a similar argument but I don't think it's worth discussing. Games are both an interactive and Visual/Audio medium. The visual aspects which involve the art, the design ranging from what you play as, who you interact with, environments has a huge factor in player response. That goes on to huge part of the games identity and what makes them unique and special. There's so many popular games out there that heavily rely on design and presentation more than people think even despite them being more gameplay driven that failing of designs could mean unappealing, lack of resonance and wouldn't be anywhere near as popular no matter what kind of gameplay they did

 

[rashbeep]

not even close

 

[Hoddi]

Of course not. Personality goes a long way and people love Stray for the cat in the same way that they wouldn't love God of War if he was a generic cyborg.

 

[NightShift]

Considering how I've seen more people call it "the cat game" instead of it's actual name, I'm gonna lean towards no.

Unless they give that robot a giant ass of course.

 

[YohraUtopia]

Would Red Dead Redemption 2 be as popular if Arthur was simply a red square?

Spoiler: SPOILER

Actually it would be better! And the ghost of Kazemir Malevich approves this message..
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Of course, the cat game would not be as fun if it didn't feature a cat. A robot cat though? That could work..

 

[345]

Exactly. Everything would be the same. The story (

Spoiler

mostly, because its a living being in a city full of robots

) would be the same. The areas would be the same. The gameplay would be exactly the same. Its not a stray cat though, but you play as some rolling robot or whatever.

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the entire level design and moment-to-moment movement is predicated on being a cat. you need to be able to quickly walk along poles and do other cat things like knock stuff off ledges and so on.

yes you could theoretically imagine a futuristic robot capable of doing the exact same things, but why would you do that? the designers very obviously thought "let's make a game about a cat" and then "let's design the game around being a cat".

i'm not saying it's some sort of mindblowing cat simulation but for example, it would not be nearly as effective a game if you replaced the character model with a dog. dogs don't do that stuff.

 

[eso76]

they wouldn't love God of War if he was a generic cyborg.

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Eh I don't know about that.
Replacing Kratos with anyone..anything else would be an improvement :P

 

[HardRojo]

Friends at work call it "gatojuego", which translates to "catgame", so yeah, I think the cat game is popular because of the cat.

Eh I don't know about that.
Replacing Kratos with anyone..anything else would be an improvement :P

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GoW 1 and GoW2? Maybe. GoW 3? Hell no!
GoW (2018)? Fuck no, that game is great in huge part because of Kratos.

 

[Marcus Aurelius]

No chance. It's hugely popular among women strictly because of the kitty cuteness. Take that away and it really is just a generic exploration (walking simulator) game.

 

[eso76]

Friends at work call it "gatojuego", which translates to "catgame", so yeah, I think the cat game is popular because of the cat.

GoW 1 and GoW2? Maybe. GoW 3? Hell no!
GoW (2018)? Fuck no, that game is great in huge part because of Kratos.

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But think of a GOW where it's a cat instead of Kratos!


(I despise Kratos. He's not as shit a character in gow18, sure, but I'd still play as anyone else. Also, he's ugly)

 

[MeltedDreams]

OP, you obviously want to hear that - NO. But this is not the W, you think it is lol.

 

[modiz]

"Would a game sell differently had it been totally different?"

Not sure what is the point of this question.

 

[Black_Stride]

Do you think Nier Automata would have been that populat if instead of a sexy gynoid it would be a generic robot?

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Yes.
If you model swapped 2B and 9S the game would still be a great game.
It might have sold marginally less due to not having sexy anime girl cover, but the game would still be considered good and just like the original Nier would have similar cult following.

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

Yes.
If you model swapped 2B and 9S the game would still be a great game.
It might have sold marginally less due to not having sexy anime girl cover, but the game would still be considered good and just like the original Nier would have similar cult following.

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The original Nier sold like 1/10th of what automata did. A similar cult following means it's a complete failure compared to what they ended up with....

 

[R0b1n]

Should've been a big fat rat instead.

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Yes, rats > cats

I can't think of a good name for the game though. Pest?

 

[Leafshield]

To me, it comes off as performative. Like they are such gameplay enthusiasts that they can just see past all of the humor, charm, and presentation in a game and just analyze a game on its "important merits"

So you get hot takes with people reducing enjoyable titles down to "walking simulators" and "meme games"

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Funnily enough this rarely gets applied to games with a heavy real-time combat element, as if 'gameplay' needs to revolve around reactions, attacks and defences. Exploration, choices, atmosphere, presentation, humour, just the roleplay of being in a strange world you can interact with as a playground, all of those are seen as of less value than a series of reaction-based combat challenges when describing 'gameplay'. Unless it's in a roleplaying game where it's a choice not to kill everything as you get a tangible reward or a little badge at the end for it.

 

[Black_Stride]

The original Nier sold like 1/10th of what automata did. A similar cult following means it's a complete failure compared to what they ended up with....

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Didnt Replicant do over a million in sales?
Did Automata do 10 million?

P.S 2B didnt make Automata, as I said model swapping 2B and 9S would have led to the game being equally as good.
Platinum games name and the gameplay previews sold the game as expected.

 

[Vommy]

Cats need to be everywhere OP

 

[Batatina]

No… but if was a dog I'd love it even more.

 

[SevKnight]

Awkward way to phrase a question but yes, the cat was definitely the draw of the game.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

A cat is the perfect low angle audience surrogate for exploring this kind of thing. A rat would have been cool too, but maybe too small for what they wanted to do. Also less people like rats.

 

[VanDoughnut]

Whole game is built around being a cat? lol

You can't fault them for having a good interesting hook to design their game around.

I also disagree that this is a walking sim, it's more of an adventure game.

 

[phonicjoy]

People still saying its "generic" and a "walking simulator" need to actually play games in stead of spouting youtube oneliners.

Its a sweet little adventure game, and with that style, who on earth could call it generic? Thats like the most idiotic thing you can say. Don't you have eyes?

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

Didnt Replicant do over a million in sales?
Did Automata do 10 million?

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Kinda hard to make a 1:1 comparison because SE didn't actually release the original's worldwide sale data, but Yoko Taro himself estimated it has sold around 500,000. While SE celebrated Automata's shipping of 6,5 million units worldwide last month.

 

[laxu]

I've been playing Guardians of the Galaxy and Stray since both were on PS+ Extra. There's plenty of similarities in what makes each of these games good and in both it's not the gameplay.

Both have pretty lukewarm gameplay. Stray is fairly rigid in how you can traverse and interact with the world and there isn't much of a skill aspect to it. Guardians has mediocre combat and exploration.

But what makes them worth playing is everything else. Both are gorgeous to look at, have likeable characters and interesting world. The constant banter in Guardians is just fun and Stray has its own humor and charm to it too. No, it would not be as good without a cute cat.

Stray has the benefit of being well paced. It's a relatively short game but with the gameplay it has I don't think I would want it to be longer. At the same time I'd love to play a sequel with enhanced gameplay.

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

Didnt Replicant do over a million in sales?
Did Automata do 10 million?

P.S 2B didnt make Automata, as I said model swapping 2B and 9S would have led to the game being equally as good.
Platinum games name and the gameplay previews sold the game as expected.

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The remaster managed to get over a million, partially because of the sheer uptake in popularity due to automata.

The original release of Replicant was only at 500k as the last reported number from Taro.

Platinums name isn't worth anything outside of hardcore circles and certainly didn't do anything for Automatas sales. They barely make it across a million in almost every case, if they get that far. Even metal gear rising, attached to the biggest i.p. they've worked on otherwise, was only reported at 1.2m as the last update.

You'd have to be hilariously out of touch with how the game is actually perceived in the wider fandom/base to think that if 2B didn't exist as the first player character for a huge chunk of the game, and you just played as 9S, that it would have done anywhere near as well.

 

[Lobster Roll]

Believe it or not, many people just want to do cat things in a dope setting. Also, not every game needs to be technically difficult or to be super engaging to be enjoyable. We should embrace games like Stray that fit into that "AA" bubble that's not trying to chase trends but rather deliver a specific product with a specific vision and to deliver on it well. The countless videos of real-life cats reacting to the cats in Stray is a testament that they absolutely nailed the cat-like animations, sounds, and behavior. The game is a joy.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Believe it or not, many people just want to do cat things in a dope setting. Also, not every game needs to be technically difficult or to be super engaging to be enjoyable. We should embrace games like Stray that fit into that "AA" bubble that's not trying to chase trends but rather deliver a specific product with a specific vision and to deliver on it well. The countless videos of real-life cats reacting to the cats in Stray is a testament that they absolutely nailed the cat-like animations, sounds, and behavior. The game is a joy.

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I made a thread years ago about games where you play as a realistic animal and there really weren't many. Certainly nothing like this.

 

[gofreak]

Maybe not. But the mental experience is the game, and aesthetic and other choices that conjure that experience are important components - more in some games than in others, but that's fine!

We could pick out many popular games that are considered great and popular, and wonder if they'd be as popular with different character choices or aesthetic choices. But these are key components - you may as well ask if they'd be as popular with different gameplay actions or loops or whatever. It all combines to produce the smile in your mind, or the buzz, or the adrenaline, or whatever. It's all important. Yes, different games may lean into these aspects more or less heavily, or in different ways, but I'm not sure any are more objectively important than others - it depends on the effectiveness of the end result. Stray has one kind of combination and its quite effective as a whole.

 

[Waiting4East]

Everyone comes for the cat.
Robot? Are you kidding me? No one cares.
People always like the appearance they see, even it's a visual fake.

 

[ResetSoul]

"Would this game have been as popular if the core concept that resonated with people was something entirely different?"

 

[twister926]

Of course not. But that's the main draw of the game and the design team does not hide it. You play as an aesthetically pleasing cat that moves in most realistic way achieved so far in video game design.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice wouldn't be popular if you played as a generic woman with no mental health issues whatsoever. Arkham Asylum wouldn't be popular if you played as a generic, bland superhero that doesn't make you feel like Batman. Bayonetta wouldn't be popular if you played as a realistic and down-to-earth woman who has no interest in being flashy, seductive or campy. Or at least those would be completely different games because one of their core design principles would change.

 

[dusan]

No one even uses Stray, It's the "Cat" game.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Cats are just little weirdos who explore a lot. I guess the people who say "cats only meow around humans" are also wrong.

 

[Dusk Golem]

As many others have said, I don't even know why ask this hypothetical question. So much of the game is specifically designed about you being a cat, making you anything other than a cat would fundamentally change the game. Not even just visually, like literally the game's main focus in design and its main selling point is you're a cat. So changing that fact would make it an entirely different game, which also might've found success, but it'd be very different than the final game we got.

 

[Saladin]

No. We all know it's because of the cat. Its one of those games

 

[klauskpm]

No. I believe they did a well done job creating the game around having a cat as their protagonist and also a good job having and allowing us to have fun with it. Replacing the protagonist would take a lot of it.

 

[bes.gen]

reductionist and weird take, with a healthy dose of "i don't like a game, so it must be shit" mindset.

 

[The Albatross]

I think the whole gimmick is it's a cat. Everybody who I know whose playing it is playing it because it's a cat. The virality of the game (Seeing it on TikTok videos, etc) is because it's a cat.

So, yeah, like I don't think the game would have been as popular with a generic robot. It's a cat, behaves like a cat, controls like a cat. It's a cat game.

 

[Gwarm]

I think the whole gimmick is it's a cat. Everybody who I know whose playing it is playing it because it's a cat. The virality of the game (Seeing it on TikTok videos, etc) is because it's a cat.

So, yeah, like I don't think the game would have been as popular with a generic robot. It's a cat, behaves like a cat, controls like a cat. It's a cat game.

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No lies here. I just beat it last night, and as others have said, I only played it because it was "the cat game."

Having said that, I walk away thinking it had a cool world with a cool art style and visual presentation. I think I enjoyed exploring and being in the world more than I enjoyed the actual gameplay. I probably would have still liked those aspects even if I wasn't a cute cat, but that was a huge part of the appeal.

 

[ScOULaris]

I don't understand the question. That's what the game is. If you didn't play as a cat, it wouldn't be Stray in any way, shape, or form. It's integral to the game's design.

 

[HStallion]

Haven't seen a thread backfire This good in a while. Congrats OP

 

[Evildeadhead]

I thought it was a platformer but quickly realised you could only jump on specified objects.

 

[platocplx]

No chance. It's hugely popular among women strictly because of the kitty cuteness. Take that away and it really is just a generic exploration (walking simulator) game.

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Ah so only women like cats…. man the takes in this are bizarre as fuck.

 

[Katmeister]

The whole goal and design of the game is to play as a cat...

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And it sucks at doing that. All the cat stuff is relegated to automated animations that you do by pushing the context sensitive button.

Can someone please give me a game based around the abilities of a cat? Wish I could have explored that city like a sandbox.

 

[Thera]

And it sucks at doing that.

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That wasn't the point.