The story follows a stray cat who falls into a walled city populated by robots, machines, and mutant bacteria, and sets out to return to the surface with the help of a drone companion, B-12.

The player traverses the game world by leaping across platforms and climbing up obstacles, and can interact with the environment to open new paths.

The development began in 2015, led by BlueTwelve Studio founders Koola and Viv,[a] who wanted to pursue an independent project after working at Ubisoft Montpellier.

The game received generally positive reviews, with praise for its artistic design, cat gameplay, narrative, original score, and platforming elements, though critics were divided on the combat and stealth sequences.

[7] The player is accompanied by a drone companion, B-12, who assists by translating the language of other characters, storing items found throughout the world, providing light, and hacking into various technologies to open paths and solve puzzles.

[17] While a group of four stray cats trek through the ruins of an abandoned facility, one becomes separated from the others after falling into a chasm leading to an unpopulated underground city.

[25] Annapurna, which had not published any games by the time the deal was formed, assisted in building the company over the years, providing occasional feedback but largely leaving creative freedom to the developers.

[27] The small team meant the game's scope reduced over time, with focus directed towards elements the developers considered important.

[29] They encountered artistic and technical challenges in balancing interesting game design with the open world, as typically decorative items—such as pipes and air conditioning units—are explorable paths in Stray.

[18][30] The in-game location Antvillage allowed the team to experiment with vertical game design and provide several path options for the player.

[31] The team decided to avoid standard platforming challenges early in development, after watching players consistently miss jumps, which they thought "didn't feel cat-like".

[32] The team found the DualSense controller's sounds and vibrations added to the physicality and interactivity of playing as a cat,[26] and the low camera angle led to deeper observation of the environment than a human protagonist.

[34] Viv initially created some human non-player characters, but was unsatisfied with the result and realised the high visual quality required would be too time-consuming with a smaller team.

[21] Murtaugh, a former stray cat found under a car in Montpellier, was the primary inspiration for the protagonist,[36] while Oscar, a furless Sphynx, provided effective reference for animation.

[59] For the release, Annapurna Interactive partnered with several charities to raise money for homeless cats by providing giveaways as incentives for donations.

[81] VG247's Kelsey Raynor described it as "a touching tale of loss, loneliness, environmental destruction",[14] and Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech declared it a blend of the "eerie, atmospheric exploration" of Half-Life (1998) and the "childlike whimsy of a classic Studio Ghibli film".

[5][6][83] The Washington Post's Alyse Stanley described Stray as "a master class in environmental story telling and level design", lauding the subtle directions provided to the player.

[86] NME's Jordan Oloman considered the worldbuilding the strongest element, though noted it failed to reach levels of intelligence or subtlety like Nier: Automata (2017).

[80] Scullion of Video Games Chronicle found the platforming simple but effective,[10] and Alessandro Barbosa of GameSpot commended the balanced pacing between the gameplay sequences.

[82] PCMag's Gabriel Zamora noted disappointment at the lack of choice while platforming,[90] and Electronic Gaming Monthly's Josh Harmon wrote the core gameplay loop of objectives and puzzles "feels distinctly uncatlike".

[17] Hardcore Gamer's Kyle LeClair felt Stray has "a terrific story with profound themes to uncover and great emotional beats along the way".

[8] Polygon's Alexis Ong identified themes related to the ongoing democratic development in Hong Kong, particularly regarding police brutality and the 2019–2020 protests, citing the working title HK Project.

[14] VentureBeat's Kaser and PC Gamer's Jon Bailes both shared strong feelings towards the protagonist,[78][87] a sentiment echoed by Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Castle towards both the cat and B-12.

[4] Scullion of Video Games Chronicle wrote the score "knows exactly when to evoke awe, when to creep the player out, and when to pluck at our pesky human heartstrings".

[77] Hardcore Gamer's LeClair and Shacknews's Lavoy appreciated the environmental melodies, including those played by the robot Morusque, and some on the in-game radio.

[6][83] Smith of PCGamesN described the music as "gently optimistic and abruptly unsettling", lauding the seamless switching between tracks dependent on the gameplay.

[8][87][90] The gameplay sequences involving Zurks—compared by several critics to the headcrabs from the Half-Life series[76][78][89]—were positively described as "more authentically cat" by Electronic Gaming Monthly's Harmon,[17] while GamesRadar+'s Loveridge found they added balance to the calmer moments.

[75] The stealth mechanics received similarly polarised responses: PC Gamer's Bailes found them entertaining,[78] while they were described by PCMag's Zamora as sufficient but simplistic,[90] and by Vice's Renata Price as ranging "from fine to frustrating".

[103] The game appeared on multiple publications' year-end lists of 2022, including PCGamesN (2nd),[104] GamesRadar+ (3rd),[105] The Guardian (4th),[106] Time (5th),[107] Empire (7th),[108] Vulture (7th),[109] Digital Trends (8th),[110] GQ (10th),[111] Den of Geek (11th),[112] and The Washington Post.

Robert Baird, co-head of animation, felt the game was suitable for adaptation due to its popularity, as well as its buddy comedy and hopepunk elements.