Stray is best played on PS5, but stuttering annoys us on PC

The adorable puzzle-platformer Stray is making waves these days for all the right reasons. The player slips into the paws of an adorable red-haired cat and explores a beautifully realized cybercity that is mysteriously deserted. The game is available on PlayStation 4, PS4 Pro, PS5 and PC. So what about each platform? Can the last gen consoles keep up with the PS5 version and what about the PC version and the alleged stuttering issues? Let’s find out.

The first thing that strikes you about Stray on PS5 is the install size. At 7GB, it’s notable as it’s almost half the PS4’s 13GB, likely due to more efficient data compression on the new system. Despite its relatively small size on the PS5’s SSD, Stray offers a great sense of scale and atmosphere, with each setting meticulously realized in detail. The world design is what really makes Stray special: a cat-meets-cyberpunk aesthetic that’s impressive on any platform you might own. The color palette is sometimes reminiscent of adventure greats like The Last Guardian or Ico and is further enhanced by the effects of Unreal Engine 4: screen-space reflections on city streets, volumetric lighting and object physics. It all comes together to create a world that feels decayed, swept away by the elements, yet alive and tangible at the same time.

First the basics: the PS4 (and PS4 Pro for that matter) has a native 1920×1080 30fps presentation, while the PS5 has a native 3840×2160 60fps output. Remarkably, this jump to 4K and 60fps means the PS5 renders eight times the pixels per second than the last-gen consoles: a drastic upgrade. However, dynamic resolution scaling is only used in a few places on the PS5 and reduces the GPU load when it is necessary. The lowest resolution is 3360×1890. Curiously, testing a similar range of DRS on a standard PS4 and PS4 Pro reveals that both tend to stick stubbornly to their 1080p targets, although DRS could be possible. Resolution and framerate aside, the differences between the PS4 and PS5 versions are otherwise subtle. The premium console uses a higher quality bokeh depth of field effect and potentially longer draw distances on fast transitions, but shadows, texture mapping and much of the world detail appear very similar across all three PlayStation devices.

If you look at the PC version on Steam you can see some of the settings used on the console. At 4K resolution with high settings for shadows, textures, effects and meshes on an RTX 3060 Ti, the PS5 is extremely close in comparison. However, the high shadow setting on PC gives her a definite advantage. Shadows from trees in the game’s first tutorial area are clearer on Stray’s high preset, showing higher-resolution outlines on the ground, while the PS5 uses the medium setting. And otherwise? The PS5 is close to the best PC output in most respects, including the high texture setting. Here, too, there is room for improvement in the mesh quality – in the draw distances – but these are not very clearly visible in practice.

We’ve already mentioned the framerate targets for each platform: 30fps for PS4 and PS4 Pro and 60fps for PS5. But how well does each platform adhere to these values? Starting on the PS4 we get a steady frame rate of 30fps 99 per cent of the time, but unfortunately there are noticeable dips below 30fps as we move from one area to the next. The main cause of this is Stray’s autosave mechanic, which triggers between key areas. Sometimes it’s just a few dropped frames, but occasionally we see spikes of up to 120ms. That’s not ideal, but fortunately it doesn’t detract from the actual platforming action, where the 30fps is held up well. The PS4 Pro has a similar autosave issue. The improved console doesn’t completely solve it, but at least minimizes the impact in some places.

And the PS5? Well, Sony’s next-gen console has some big hits here. First, the autosave issues are almost gone. Sometimes they disappear entirely, sometimes they show up as a single frame drop. It’s harder to see, the result is much smoother and less distracting. Plus, of course, we get a much more responsive platforming experience at 60 frames per second. Combined with the 4K presentation and Dualsense support (through the use of adaptive triggers when interacting with objects), the PS5 edition comes highly recommended.

In theory, the PC version should offer an even better experience on a high-end PC. We found the Shadows to be an upgrade over the PS5 and that the PC is able to hit 4K and 60fps. Unfortunately, Stray on the PC is not an unreserved recommendation at the moment. The problem? The shader compilation stutter that has been a feature of recent Unreal Engine 4 releases has returned with a vengeance. Footage of the game provided by my colleague Alex Battaglia on the ultra-high-end RTX 3090 graphics card shows rare but annoying framerate spikes when performing new actions or entering new areas. Note that this is a different issue than auto-save, which we’re seeing most clearly on PS4. The shader issue can also occur here when running through an open environment or in the middle of a platformer section. So a fix is ​​needed, but judging by the trend of this shader compilation issue, it seems beyond a developer’s purview. It could be that Nvidia, AMD and Epic will have to work on it themselves.

For those looking to play Stray as smoothly as possible, the PS5 currently offers an excellent option at a smooth 60fps. At the moment, the PS5 version has the least and least noticeable stuttering of any platform I’ve tested. What’s more, the PS4 version is surprisingly well done too, with a world that remains intact even on Sony’s 2013 hardware. To be honest, the game runs very well on the PS4 Pro, but it could offer a few improvements to scale with the more powerful hardware. As for the PC, we still have to keep an eye on this area. Aside from the stuttering on shader compilation, it’s a nicely optimized version, but I can’t recommend this version in its current state.

I suspect Stray will sneak into many Game of the Year lists in December. With its charming main character and its original, mysterious world, it has what it takes to become a cult classic. It’s a real surprise in 2022 and right now it’s highly recommended on a PS5.

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Originally written by Thomas Morgan, Senior Staff Writer, Digital Foundry