Stray's overnight success has sharp eyed Redditors finding all kinds of hidden messages, inspirations, and cat-related gameplay in the feline-led hit.

The release of Stray from BlueTwelve and Annapurna Interactive has resulted in a massive outpouring of positive response and fan enthusiasm for the third-person game that sees a cat exploring the highs and lows of a cyber city with a tiny robotic companion.

With over 25,000 reviews on Steam that are trending overwhelmingly positively, the game is quickly becoming a viral sensation for the graphics, soundtrack, and deceptively deep and emotional plot. As fans dive into the gameplay, the Stray subreddit is quickly filling with screen captures, game glitches, reviews, and Easter egg discoveries that eagle-eyed players have managed to spot.

When it comes to iconic video game quotes, few are as recognizable as Skyrim's "I took an arrow to the knee." While exploring, Redditor CookieOmNomster shares the stray cat running into a robot named Sojiro, who tells the cat about a bar he once owned.  When the player interacts with him, he discloses that he closed it after taking a "screwdriver to the Knee".

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This spoof of the viral line takes its inspiration from an often repeated stock line in Elder Scrolls: Skyrim V. However, it gives the line a cybernetic twist by replacing the arrow impalement with a screwdriver. The wistful humor remains the same.

The stunning visuals of Stray encourage players to explore the awe-inspiring artistic interpretations of the game's cybernetic world setting. While doing so, players have discovered all sorts of little hidden designs and mentions of the game designers and the real world.

Reddit user Arts_Myth found this directionally challenged package in gameplay. However, the two countries mentioned on the box are actually references to two major influences of the game's design. The production team, BlueTwelve, is based out of the South of France. However, per PlayStation, the major inspiration behind Stray's cyber city is Kowloon Walled City, which was once located in Hong Kong.

The language of the robotic inhabitants of Stray's cyber city offers players the opportunity to decipher the signage around the location. while this process may be tedious for some, players like IncendiaryChicken found it to be a worthwhile endeavor for the most human of reasons.

As fans work to decode all the writing in-game, they've been painstakingly documenting every letter and symbol. They’ve discovered vending machine menus, books, and signs. But most humorously, the translation of one of the game's signs sees directions towards the robotic city inhabitants' restrooms, as the orange sign on a wall directs towards the "droid toilet".

While most of the Easter eggs in Stray are highly recognizable viral and pop culture references, a few of them are a little more niche. Redditor ukiahwoods points out this book appears to be a reference to Gravity Falls, an animated series focused on the supernatural hijinks surrounding a pair of siblings spending the summer with their uncle. 

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However, much like Stray, the series featured cryptogrammic ciphers that reveal information about the occurrences in Gravity Falls. Interestingly enough, the symbol on the Gravity Falls-inspired book in Stray is a rotated "D", possibly another recognition of the impact the Disney animated series had on one of the game's designers.

When it comes to the design of characters in Stray, the titular character has justifiably gotten the most attention. Inspired by the real-life stray and the "CEO" of BlueTwelve Games, Murtagh, the orange tabby has taken the internet by storm. But Redditor Ivaylo_87 points out he's not the only character designed from real-world inspiration.

The characters of Doc and Seamus may be robots, but their designs are very clearly inspired by Doc and Marty from the Back To The Future Trilogy. Another reference is the name Seamus, which is Marty McFly's middle name and the name of his great-great-grandfather in the third film in the trilogy.

Even though Stray features a cryptographic language, it is a video game featuring robots. And that means that some binary coding has to be present in the little hidden details of the game. Reddit user Only_Beat1035 deciphered a piece of coding that translates into a greeting for the player.

Watching the broadcast on a television screen, players will see a scrolling series of binary code. When translated, it reads "Hello You!" with the colon-three emoji, which is often used to represent a kitten-like face. The QR code also offers binary coding, which reads as "yo" after it's been translated by the player.

While the inspiration for the cityscape in Stray may have been Chinese, a cat-themed video game would be remiss in not including one of the most iconic cat statues in the world. The Japanese lucky cat statues known as "Maneki Neko" have become a universal symbol of good fortune and friendship.

While Reddit user LewiRock only posted two of the beckoning cat statues they'd found in-game, it wouldn't be a surprise if others existed throughout the gameplay. These statutes in-game both feature a raised left paw, which invites friendship- a fitting representation of the game's plot to find the way home.

One of the highlights of Stray is the cat-based action gameplay. From knocking things over to napping, fans have taken to all forms of social media including Reddit and Twitter to rave about the game. One of the game's small details of the cat-controlled gameplay is how external situations impact the protagonist.

While playing Stray, the hero cat can perform a multitude of cat behaviors, including getting its head stuck in a paper bag. On Reddit, user OkInvestigator6026 notes that this impacts the game controls, inverting them and leaving the player slightly disoriented if they manage to manipulate the paper bag onto the protagonist's head.

While the response of the robotic citizens to the hero cat varies from interaction to interaction and can be influenced by player choices, sometimes the smallest gestures grant the biggest player responses. Redditor kxstill shared their favorite interaction between one of the city's denizens and the protagonist.

This little line doesn't impact gameplay in any serious matter, but instead offers the player a little moment of respect for the hero cat. Fellow Redditors chimed in about how it tied into their real-life relationship, and it's interactions like this that have created the fan's intense emotional response to Stray.

One of the coolest little Easter eggs in the game was discovered by Redditor bbsven. While exploring the cityscape, they spotted a small poster hanging on one of the dark alley walls inside the city that struck them as familiar. After a little sleuthing they realized why- it was an image they'd seen quite some time ago.

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Back in 2015, BlueTwelve Games posted their first image of the HK Project. Of course, the HK Project eventually became Stray. But it's quite a cool little throwback to the place where it all started and the first glimpse of the game's spectacular cityscape.

Not all of Stray's hidden details are visible in gameplay. Sometimes, developers hide little jokes and references deep within the coding of a game. These Easter eggs are only discovered by the most dedicated of fans, like Redditor pinguluk. While examining the asset files, they discovered an image of a very beloved cat.

Hidden within the asset files is an image of the cat colloquially known as "Grumpy Cat", superimposed as a religious icon. After Grumpy Cat's death in 2019, the inclusion of this image serves as a funny memorial to the cat who was much loved by fans around the world.

Next: 10 Best Games Like Stray

Margaret Rojahn (She/Her) surprised absolutely no one who’d ever met her when she received a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Theatre. She has twenty years of experience in the Entertainment Industry doing everything from performing to stage design to patron management. She was raised in the East Coast Renaissance Faire circuit, she’s worked for companies like The Tennessee Renaissance Festival, The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and The Walt Disney World Resort. While working in Disney entertainment, she opened and supported offerings for Star Wars, Marvel, and James Cameron’s Avatar, giving her the chance to embrace her nerd passions. She also completed a Master’s degree in Arts and Cultural Management with a focus in marketing. She spends far too much time playing The Sims, watching Youtube videos about theme parks, reading Halloween Horror Night theories, and analyzing gender representation in comics for fun.