What would you do if a stranger's fate rested in your fingertips? And how would you cope if every second counted?
Platform: PC (Windows/Mac), XB1, Vita, PS4, Switch
Release Date: PC: May 16th, 2018
Xbox: May 30th, 2018
Switch, PS4, Vita: Sept 12th, 2018
Genre: Adventure
Price: 11.99 USD
Player(s): 1
Format: Digital Only
Developer: Appnormals Team
Publisher: PQube Limited
Size: ~1GB
What is STAY?
STAY is a game where the player is in communication with a stranger, Quinn, who has woken in a dark room with only a desktop visible to them. With no memory of how they got there Quinn must rely on direction from the player to decide on how to act and to eventually escape.
How do you interact with Quinn?
STAY presents you with a chat screen where you can view information on Quinn, such as his current emotional state, and communicate with him via predetermined text options (not a text parser). From these you can suggest things for Quinn to do or get more information from him on his situation.
The game features a real time component?
During the game your actions will impact your relationship with Quinn but STAY als keeps track of how long you are away from the game. Leaving Quinn to fend for himself will impact his opinion of you and is one of the things that will affect story branches and lead to one of the 7 different endings.
Puzzles?
Yes. There will be moments when Quinn will step away from the desktop to tackle puzzles and during these situations you will control Quinn via mini-games to solve them.
How long is it?
The developers estimate 4-5 hours of gameplay to reach an ending.
Trailers
Reviews
Metacritic: TBA
recombu: No Score
These combined factors will keep your hands glued to your keyboard, at least if you're anything like us. There are 24 chapters in all, but thankfully they're quite short – a complete playthrough will take just a few hours, making it a good choice for a quiet evening in. Plus, with plenty of secrets and 7 different endings to uncover, there's some solid replayability here. We just wish there was some easy way to make text appear instantly, instead of waiting for Quinn to type it all out – although admittedly that would kind of dent the realism a bit.
The Indie Game Website: 8/10
All in all, STAY tells a very interesting story with twists and surprises everywhere, with a compelling thriller narrative and concepts worthy of anyone's time, although some dialogue fragments might feel a little too over extensive or forced. The pixel art works perfectly fine, also toning down an otherwise possibly too dark feeling, while its amazing score mesmerises by the minute.
capsulecomputers: 8.5/10
The main thing that I find remarkable in STAY is the way the story is presented. Quinn is in danger, yes. There are many answers to be found by solving puzzles and making Quinn open up a bit. Most of the story is served to you through these drops of info from items you find and while exploring your surroundings. However, the more you play, the more you move away from the main plot and get up close and personal with Quinn. Eventually, I felt like the main story was a well-made bait hiding another story behind it. One that seemed special to me. In the end, I completely forgot about saving Quinn and helping him get out of that place. I was more focused on establishing a real connection and being there for him. It's been a while since I got my hands on a game that managed to elicit such an emotional response from me but going with an overall theme of the game, it made sense. Sometimes we just need someone to be there for us, it can make a whole lot of difference in the long run.
Links
Steam
Xbox
PS4
Vita
Switch
Official Site
