Stray, the new third-person cat adventure title from Annapurna Interactive and BlueTwelve Studio, is pulling some impressive numbers on Steam.
Released today on PC and PlayStation 5, pre-orders for the indie title already hinted at its popularity, and since the game’s launch earlier today, concurrent player numbers have now peaked at nearly 63.000 (62.963). An impressive number for sure, and easily the publisher’s biggest PC launch on Steam to date. As also noted by industry analyst, Benji Sales, these numbers actually come closer to those of AAA titles – quite the feat for an indie title.
Although PS5 player numbers haven’t been made public, it will be interesting to see how the indie title is doing on Sony’s platform.
Now over 60,000+ Concurrent Players for Stray on Steam
I absolutely cannot over emphasize how incredible these numbers are for an indie title. These numbers are much closer to what a successful AAA titles reach. HUGE hit for Annapurna Interactive and BlueTwelve Studio https://t.co/B8TbOKExta pic.twitter.com/2LSGNzIQQo
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) July 19, 2022
As can be read in our review of the game, well deserved without a doubt. Down below we’ve included a small part of Nathan Birch’s take on Stray.
All of this is brought to life with some truly gorgeous visuals. Again, it’s kind of amazing what’s been achieved here given Stray was made by a core team of around a dozen people. Every inch of this game is bursting with color, detail, and loving little touches. Stray doesn’t feature ray tracing yet, but its reflections are impressive nonetheless, and while it’s unclear if HDR is supported, colors popped as brightly on my TV as many games that officially advertise the feature. Of course, it goes without saying that Stray’s feline protagonist is a star, thanks to wonderfully nuanced true-to-life animations. Levels are also packed with all manner of fun little interactive touches – knock bottles off ledges, interrupt a mahjong game, or curl up in one of the game’s many cozy napping spots.
It’s been some time since I’ve played a game that so vividly brought its world to life. At times Stray even puts the likes of Naughty Dog and other AAA giants to shame. It’s too bad I couldn’t stay in this darkly-beautiful world just a little longer, as Stray can be finished in around 6 hours (add another couple if you want to clean up all the collectibles). I’ll admit, I was left wanting more, but in this case, I think that’s a compliment. I suspect I’ll be visiting Stray’s dystopian alleys and rooftops again.
Stray is available globally now for PC and PlayStation 5.
