Sometimes you just need to be a cat in a cyberpunk city, and Stray lets you do just that.

Wandering through a neon city as a cyberpunk cat with a little backpack never felt so good. Stray gives you control of a nameless orange tabby as it navigates the dark, cramped alleys of a mostly-deserted city. Playing as a cat is not incredibly unique, but Stray deserves credit for how well it lets you embody feline activities. And embody them you will.

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Cyberpunk games are prolific and varied, with large overarching themes about humanity in the tech age. But sometimes, all you need to feel connected to a world is the ability to meow on command. As you move through the underground city, you'll scratch carpets and knock things over for no reason other than just because - but don't worry. We're all doing it, too.

The developers knew what they were doing when they gave us all the ability to meow on command. Cat person or not, there's something inherently adorable about a cat's gentle meows, regardless of the situation in which it finds itself. Even being chased by the ever-hungry Zurks means nothing when you can push a button to chirp, if only to ease your nerves.

The meow button doesn't stop working outside proper gameplay. Feel completely free to meow at everyone, all the time, even in cutscenes. Or to cause problems on purpose. You're a cat now. Become ungovernable.

As humans, we often don't have cause to knock things off tables, shelves, or surfaces. Polite society has rules, after all, and not causing mild wanton destruction by slowly knocking things over is one of them. But we are not so bound in Stray. If you're going to be playing as a cat, you should be able to experience every boon it can offer.

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Jumping high is neat, and being quick and stealthy is nice, but we can all agree that the real winner here is the ability to forego rules or etiquette and knock every single paint can, cup, or what have you off every possible surface through physics or button prompts. While it's mostly tied to puzzle progression, it still feels delightfully cheeky.

In an apartment in the Slums, you will find a brown paper bag on the ground. You may not think much of it because, hey, it's just a paper bag. And then a button prompt appears on it. Naturally, this is beyond tempting to anyone, so you press it and watch as your main character gets his head stuck in the bag.

You'll scuttle around for a few minutes, realizing that the controls are backwards, as you briefly wonder whether you'll have to load a checkpoint or if it would be funny for the game just to continue, leaving you to figure out a new control scheme. Luckily, the bag will shake off after a bit of movement, but the overall experience is adorably hilarious.

There are a lot of characters in Stray, spread out across the world. Some have neat things to say or can offer information when presented with items; some are just hanging out, staring at the fake sky or listening to music in a robot bar. Still, it's worth it to meet everyone possible just so you can get a fuller picture of the world and society you've found yourself thrust into.

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No one needs to be especially important to warrant a stop to chat. Or, well, the characters will talk to your robot companion B-12, and you'll mash the "meow" button because nothing can stop you.

Every home in Stray feels authentic and lived-in, from the abandoned spaces on the deserted streets to the cozy apartments of the robots. These places, like the neon city entire, are mishmashes of pop culture signifiers and time periods, familiar and yet distant, and they all feel so homey. So real.

It would be a terrible shame if something happened to those well-worn, pretty rugs, or further destroyed that colorful wallpaper, wouldn't it? We all know cats don't care about aesthetics; you'll be sharpening your claws on all decorations. So every time you see that button prompt to scratch something, think of it as making these spaces homier – and what's home without a little mess?

Toy balls are not only enticing to the canine species; cats like to roll things around, too. You see one of those irresistible spheres and you know it’s time to get rolling. Batting around a small ball, or relying on physics to move one of the larger basketballs, is a simple pleasure regardless if you're on two legs or four.

If you're so inclined, you may even try to score a slam dunk, provided there's a bucket nearby. In your heart you know you're a champ, though the game's physics may have other ideas. Don't worry, we can all agree that the cat is the MVP.

Luckily, you're a cat, so missing a jump and falling is downright impossible. But you can accidentally leap to the wrong place. Occasionally, this can actually be helpful, as you may discover a new place to explore and new people to meet.

Or you may end up cursing the tiny twitch in your fingers when they make you aim the camera in the wrong direction, where you find a dead-end, a ledge you've already been to, or, worst of all, back to the floor. You'll have to navigate your way back and pray your fingers don't betray you again. If anyone asks, you're practicing parkour.

If you've ever had a cat, you know that the little purr-machine just wants to remain close to you, and they don't care much what you're doing. So, if you're working on something, you better hope you saved whatever it was recently because your fluffy little friend will find a reason to casually stroll all over your keyboard.

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If you've ever wondered how triumphant and satisfying that feels, Stray has you covered. In some sections, you find a keyboard, which you can lazily walk all over and watch as an unintelligible string of characters form on the screen within your screen. You can almost see why real cats love disrupting you so much.

Do you ever gaze longingly at a peacefully sleeping cat, wondering what it’s like to have no responsibilities or commitments, to nap the entire day away without hesitation? Good news! Stray lets you feel a fraction of that carefree lifestyle with specialized spaces to sleep.

There’s no health regained, no stat boost, and no reason to take the time out of your game to see the tiny orange tabby curl into a ball and snooze. Regardless, you'll feel compelled to let him rest because, after all, he's had a very big day.

Do the people of the city know what a cat is? Of course not! They have no clue what you are but are willing to accept you nonetheless. There are a few robots whose legs you can rub against, causing hearts to appear on the screens that act as their faces. It's a small, cute addition to this grimy cyberpunk world, yet it is irresistible.

In the game's opening, you'll be able to cuddle up to some of your cat family, but after you crash into the underground city, it may seem like your love-giving days are over. However, once the first button prompt appears on someone's leg, you know it's time to give all the affection that's been building in your little cat's body. And you'll do it repeatedly until you can conclusively say the robot has felt all the love the cat has to give.

NEXT: Stray Review - Bucket Hats, Puffer Jackets, And A Brilliant Cat

Keitha's love for video games started very young, back when the SuperScope was a physical thing you could own and not just an item in Super Smash Bros. That passion for games led her to write about them for fun, which led her to journalism school, and eventually to being published at UppercutCrit. She's as much a fan of long RPGs as she is of dramatic shooters, though she has a special place in her heart for the immersive sim. When she's not playing games (or writing about them) she's probably hanging out with her dogs, making increasingly elaborate baked goods, or sculpting.