As if they haven’t given us enough already, with multiplayer and the chance to play as an adorable puppy, a new Stray mod is making the sci-fi platformer (or catformer – I’m going to keep using that until it sticks) more immersive than ever by letting you control the eponymous, adorable feline using your own actual legs.
Available for free, Stepl is a phone app that connects to your PC and works as a kind of controller/pedometer, whereby every time you move your legs up and down, it corresponds with your on-screen character, which is, in the case of Stray, an adorable, ginger cat. The idea is to make games more engaging and real – you can stroll around at a leisurely walking pace, but be prepared to jog on the spot if you get chased by a turret – while also putting a much-needed gaming spin on exercise. I mean, no-one likes jogging. I go jogging almost every day, and I hate it. But if I could jog around a sci-fi city, as a cat, stopping every now and then to knock over a plant, destroy someone’s game of chess, or hunt for secrets and those hidden requests, it might be less painful.
According to the developers, Stepl already works with a variety of other PC games as well, including Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, and Fallout 4. A stroll through the nuclear Commonwealth sounds like a good way to get the pulse racing before work. We’d rather avoid the Lands Between, however. It’s bad enough without, you know, cardio.
If you want to try physically running around as a cat, or even if you’re more conventional and would rather stick with the old mouse and keyboard, you’re going to want to maximise Stray’s performance using our PC and Steam Deck settings guide.