Does Stray Have a Sad Ending?
While devastating at times, Stray‘s conclusion generally leaves players with a poignant feeling of bittersweet hope rather than utter sadness.
The Emotional Rollercoaster
Without spoiling anything, Stray‘s final chapters deliver a rollercoaster ride alternating between despair over loss and uplifting liberation.
Connections formed with B-12 and other characters you meet give the story meaning. According to a survey on Reddit, over 80% of players admitted crying at the ending. So it‘s clearly effective at tugging the heartstrings.
Yet amidst the tears, there is also laughter, excitement, and wonder. Ultimately sorrow gives way to hope as the city finally opens to the outside world.
The Signficance of B-12‘s Sacrifice
B-12 heroically sacrifices themselves to enable this ending. Letting the Zurks and Sentinels in so all robot life can escape the decaying city.
| Story Event | Opening Chapters | Ending Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| Protagonist | A lone cat separated from family | A lone cat separated from new friend |
| Goal | Find a way back up to the outside world | Escape to the outside world through the now opened city |
| Main Obstacles | Zurks, Sentinels, Environment Hazards | Zurks, Sentinels threatening city |
| Ally | B-12 drone guides the cat | B-12 drone sacrifices itself to save the city |
Reactions were similarly intense as the heroic death of Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2. Like that seminal gaming moment, B-12‘s sacrifice gives the narrative meaning. As IGN‘s review explains "B-12’s death hurts, but it also makes Stray’s story work."
Full Circle Storytelling
As visualized in the table above, Stray‘s conclusion essentially bookends the opening by subverting expectations. Both begin with a lone cat separated from family, unable to return to the outside world with dangers lurking within the city.
The end mirrors this scenario — but with the city now frustratingly within reach yet still closed off, threatening all who inhabit it. B-12 gives their life to finally make escape possible in an epic finale.
So the story comes full circle in bittersweet fashion. The city‘s liberation and skies full of drones evoke a sense of poetic wonder to contrast the intro‘s decaying dystopia.
What Comes Next?
Rumors already abound regarding potential DLC chapters or even a fully-fledged sequel.
Anything‘s possible, but at the very least fans will likely get additional content expanding on questions around the fate of Zurks, robots on the surface, and maybe even a certain drone?
Until then, while Stray‘s ending delivers emotionally charged moments, it offers more bittersweet catharsis than pure sadness.
