Straywas not the first game where they could play as an animal wandering a post-apocalyptic human world. Released in 2012 exclusively for the PS3,Tokyo Junglehad all the same trimmings asStray. According to critics at the time, while it had a ridiculous story and average graphics,Tokyo Jungle’s ideas were celebrated similar toStray. WhileTokyo Junglesaw a scaled-down portable successor inTokyo Jungle Mobile,no further sequels have been announced, leaving it with the legacy of a cult-classic.
This begs the question of whyStraysucceed whenTokyo Jungledid not. While there are some objective differences between the two, many of these boil down to style and tone. Taking a step back and looking atStrayfrom a different angle can illuminate how bizarre its plot is, from trash-eating, hive-mind bacteria to a cat befriending a human mind trapped in a drone while surrounded by sentient robots. Identifying the fundamental reasons why Stray succeeded where Tokyo Jungle failed can help pave the way for future games led by animal protagonists.
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Where Stray and Tokyo Jungle Are Alike
While both games share a similar backing premise around humanity’s disappearance, fundamentally there is more to both that makes them alike.Tokyo Jungleincorporates a similar mindset toward mechanical design asStray, even going so far with its realism to include status bars for hunger and stamina.TokyoJungleutilizes a stealth mechanic that arguably goes beyondStray’sattempt at stealth, better reflecting the broader variety of animals players could play as, ranging from carnivores to herbivores.
Across these different species,Tokyo Jungle’sstory can be pieced together. Even its ending is a decent parallel toStray, where the game’s final act has players take control of robotic animals, culminating in a decisionto try and save what’s left of humanity. Moving pastStray’s cyberpunk aesthetic versusTokyo Jungle’s adherence to realism, the two games are very much alike. YetTokyo Jungle’s abundance of playable species and its realism may point to its failures.
Where Stray and Tokyo Jungle Are Different
Placing the two games side-by-side demonstrates that overeagerness perhaps led toTokyo Junglenot succeeding whereStraydoes. By limiting the game to just one animal, ensuring that the gameplay mechanics best suited that animal, and not deviating from this scope,Straywas able to present a perfectly unified, polished experience. On the other hand,Tokyo Junglehad over 80 types of animals, and the increased roster led to higher odds that their gameplay wouldn’t be as coherent.
On top of this,Tokyo Jungledevolved into wilder concepts the further the game progressed, going from stories involving domestic dog breeds and wild cats to dinosaurs and robots.Strayhad the foresight to embrace its sci-fi roots from the very start of its story, whileTokyo Jungleinitially presented as a realistic rendition of post-apocalyptic Tokyo before dipping into more outlandish ideas.Stray’sdecision to use its cyberpunk aestheticto inform a story going beyond humanity’s survival is arguably another component as to why it plays more coherently thanTokyo Jungle.
While there might not be a significant enough following forTokyo Jungleto be ported to current consoles, alongsideStrayand several other titlesone can see that players are interested in alternative gaming experiences. Animal protagonists are becoming more common and popular, especially when indie developers are capitalizing on the trend. Lessons learned fromTokyo Jungle’sfailings andStray’ssuccess should be that these games keep a narrow focus and embrace their protagonist’s animalistic nature.
Strayis available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.
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