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OTHER
REVIEWS

As the game awards approach let's look back at one of the past winners, a game that moved audiences to its core: Stray.

In 2022 Stray won best indie game and best debut indie, and while you wait for the Game Awards 2023, it's a great game to play or replay for those of you who have already experienced it.

Stray was produced by BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna Interactive, and published on July 19th, 2022, soon earning a larger audience and fanbase, taking hardcore gamers and casual players by surprise with simple, yet fun gameplay and lovable characters.

For those that aren't familiar with the game you might be wondering, how did a cat manage to motivate audiences and become the best indie game of 2022?

Well for its charming yet short narrative, although it is not a fully open world, the game still gives you the opportunity to explore areas and dive deeper into the story by connecting with the characters and world.

"STRAY"

The cat that took over everyone’s heart

What is art for? Why do artists do art? These are questions that many people don’t think about because art is seen everywhere, and we don’t really pay attention to the actual meaning behind it, what the artists like Da Vinci or Picasso want to say to us through their paintings, though there are some artists that don’t want us to know their identities, but why is that? Banksy is an anonymous street artist who wants to give a message to the people through art pieces. This artist has a rebellious attitude and no one knows who this person, or group of people, is or are.

BANKSY: HIS WORLD IN ONE PLACE

The Missing: J.J. Macfeild and the Island of Memories has ended up being my nominee for game of the year in 2018. I know this obscure Indie game will never be a finalist, and that’s fine. I know the game has a strange clumsiness, and that clumsiness really does bring down the overall experience. Yet in a year where I have played many great games (such as Monster Hunter Worlds, Soul Calibur VI, Vermintide 2 and Monster Prom To name a few) The Missing was the game my mind kept trailing back too when I brainstormed candidates.

So why is that? Why do I keep coming back to this clumsy, gimmicky, ugly platformer? There is the plot. Anyone who has played the game knows what I’m talking about, anyone who hasn’t don't worry, I won’t spoil it. The story is good and unique. There is a twist that gets revealed either at the end or a little earlier if you get the collectibles and pay attention to the character interactions. But I won’t lie, I support the people this game represents, but I’m not one of them and so I don’t think it sold me on the story alone either.

THE MISSING

J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories

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