STRAY.

• Author: Russell, Jason
• Position: VIDEO GAME

After an unfortunate plunge, the nameless main character in Annapurna Interactive's new video game, Stray, finds itself in a sealed-off city populated by semi-humanoid robots. The city is safe from the unknowns of the outside world, and danger only befalls the hero when it tries to escape.

Development for the game began in 2015, so Stray is not intended to be an allegory about COVID-19 lockdowns. Still, similarities are hard not to notice. The city, a publichealth authoritarian's dream, was created to protect longdead humans from the outside world. The few robots wishing to return to the outside after centuries of lockdown are mocked by their friends and hunted by the police. Mutated...