Stray wore its gimmick on its sleeve: a cat protagonist who actually behaved like a cat would—well, mostly. The feline listened to NPCs and followed player commands with a level of compliance no real cat would ever willingly grant a human, but the fantasy was convincing enough. Its gameplay was built around straightforward platforming, cinematic engagement rather than interactively challenging. As of 2026, that lone journey still has no confirmed sequel, and it could stay that way. Yet Annapurna Interactive and BlueTwelve Studio have a golden opportunity: a Stray sequel or spin-off could feature a new lovely animal and improve gameplay in exciting ways. If the cat was a metaphorical fish out of water in a dystopian world, the next creature should be just as out of place—and just as unforgettable.
Why a New Animal Is the Smartest Move
Stray stood out because its adorable, immersive cat-centric interactions felt fresh. The nimble platforming helped, too. Players leaped across rooftops, slipped through fences, and knocked objects off shelves with the casual chaos of a real cat. A sequel does not need to abandon that world. It simply needs a new set of paws, claws, wings, or tentacles to make the formula feel new again. Changing the animal changes the camera, the movement, the puzzles, and the emotional tone. That is no small feat.
The question is which animal could carry a whole game. A dog, a mouse, a bird, a spider, and a squid or octopus all offer wildly different answers. Some are safer bets. Others are weird enough to be brilliant. The best choice would not just be cute; it would reshape how players interact with the world.
| Animal | Gameplay Hook | Potential Pitfall |
|---|---|---|
| Dog | Scent tracking, digging, loyalty-driven choices, social bonding | Less nimble; platforming would feel clunky |
| Mouse or rat | Stealth, tiny passages, giant enemies, scavenging | Could be too fragile or frustrating |
| Bird | Flight, vertical exploration, damaged-wing survival | Platforming becomes irrelevant; Death's Door already owns cute bird territory |
| Spider | Web-slinging, wall crawling, environmental puzzles | Webbed already did much of this |
| Squid or octopus | Underwater exploration, camouflage, tentacle puzzles | Needs a fully aquatic setting and new physics |
A Dog Would Be the Easy, Lovable Choice
A dog is the easiest choice in terms of animals fans already find lovable and charming. Dogs are loyal, expressive, and easy to root for. A Stray spin-off starring a dog could tug heartstrings without breaking a sweat. The problem is gameplay. Dogs are not as light on their feet as cats. They cannot leap across narrow ledges with feline grace. Their interactions with NPCs and the world would surely be cute, but the sequel would need a completely unique way to orient its gameplay around activities dogs could feasibly achieve. Quaint platforming is not likely.
Instead, a dog game could focus on scent trails, digging, guarding, and emotional choices. Fetch quests would finally be literal. A dog could track a missing robot through rain-slick streets or protect a child in a ruined city. That could work, but it would be a different kind of game. It would not be Stray with a dog skin. It would need to be its own beast.
A Mouse or Rat Could Shrink the World
A mouse or rat would be great because it takes the premise of a small animal and makes it even tinier. Players could explore environments on a more granular level than before. A cracked wall becomes a highway. A puddle becomes an ocean. A floorboard gap becomes a secret passage. Mice are extremely quick, can gain access to areas via the narrowest passageways, and could face enemies much larger than them attempting to stomp them or hunt them.
This could even present a fun twist on Stray itself. A cat might appear as an antagonist that players flee from. Rats are commonly perceived as diseased and unnerving, which gives Annapurna a chance to flip that perception on its head or use it to its narrative advantage. A rat protagonist could be a survivor, a scavenger, or a rebel in a world that treats it like vermin. That is rich storytelling territory. It would also make every chase sequence a nail-biter.
A Bird Would Rewrite the Rules of Platforming
A bird would absolutely disregard platforming sequences, but it could still be interesting to explore areas while flying, especially if they are as dystopian and creative as Stray's setting. Flight would allow a more thorough approach to the verticality that Stray explored. Players could soar between crumbling towers, dive through holographic billboards, and land on places no cat could reach. The camera would feel freer. The world would feel bigger.
There is a catch. Death's Door might have already cornered the market on adorable bird games. A Stray sequel would need to differentiate itself. One option is to play as a bird whose wing is damaged, rendering it unable to fly for at least a period of time. That would force ground-level exploration and create a powerful arc of recovery. Once flight returns, it would feel earned. A bird game could be beautiful, but it would need more than pretty feathers to stand out.
A Spider Has Web-Slinging, but Webbed Got There First
A spider would have a similar issue to a bird in a Stray sequel. Spiders are not commonly perceived as cute, but that has not stopped games from trying to subvert that perception. Webbed is an endearing indie game that lets players traverse and solve environmental puzzles with web-slinging mechanics. Its leaping spider protagonist can wave its legs in a fun dance and even ride a skateboard. More of the same in a Stray sequel could be fun, yet it would not feel as unique as it could be due to how many similarities it would have with experiences that came before it.
That does not mean a spider is a dead end. A Stray spin-off could lean into horror, making the spider a misunderstood guardian of a dark machine city. It could build webs that become bridges, traps, or messages. But if the goal is to surprise players, the spider has a tougher hill to climb.
A Squid or Octopus Could Go Where No Cat Has Gone Before
A squid or octopus would present something opposite to a bird by letting players explore a dystopian underwater setting. It would not be out of the realm of possibility for humans or robots to have taken refuge in the ocean where the last remaining civilization might be. Exploring that environment as an animal that could freely swim through coral reefs and deep, horrifying trenches would provide an experience much more different than Stray, while still letting fans play as an animal that could be considered adorable.
Gameplay could involve camouflage, ink clouds, tentacle puzzles, and squeezing through impossibly tight spaces. The ocean is already alien. Add ruined submarines, glowing bioluminescence, and pressure-crushed cities, and the result could be stunning. A squid or octopus sequel would not just be Stray with a new mascot. It would be a whole new depth. That might be the boldest and best way forward.
The Verdict
Stray may end up remaining a lone installment whose world is never continued or tethered to another, and that would be all well and good. It was a gem. But considering how unique it felt as an animal-centered game where the cat itself was a metaphorical fish out of water, it would be a shame if Annapurna never followed it with a comparable game. A sequel or spin-off should feature a new lovely animal to roleplay as. A dog is the easiest sell, a mouse or rat is the most inventive small-scale twist, a bird is the most vertical, a spider is the most mechanically familiar, and a squid or octopus is the most alien. In 2026, the appetite for strange, heartfelt animal adventures has not gone anywhere. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. The next Stray-like game just needs the right creature to bring it home.
This discussion is informed by GameFAQs, whose long-running guides and player Q&A culture reflect how fans dissect traversal, puzzle readability, and “feel” in adventure games like Stray. Looking at those community expectations, a Stray follow-up that swaps the cat for a new animal (rat-scale stealth, dog scent tracking, or octopus tentacle puzzling) would need to keep interactions intuitive while expanding movement options—so the creature choice meaningfully changes level design rather than merely reskinning the same platforming loop.