How long is Stray?
Explaining Stray's length in hours and how long it takes to beat
It's understandable if you're asking how long is Stray, as it can often be difficult to fit a lot of gaming into our busy lives with so much else going on. If you don't have many hours free then it can be hard to commit to a new adventure, especially if you're unsure whether you'll be able to complete it in a reasonable timeframe. If you're worried about this then there's good news, as Stray is shorter than most games and features a tight storyline that can be finished in a day or two, making it a perfect "weekend game" – though if you want to spend longer with it then there are lots of additional challenges you can take on and extend its longevity. Whatever your approach, I'm here to answer the important question: how long is Stray?
How long does Stray take to complete?
Answering the question of how long is Stray depends heavily on your play style, and what you want to get out of the game. If you're happy to just rush through the main story beats without too much exploring then you could probably clear it in around 4 to 5 hours, and there's actually an in-game award for beating the whole thing in under 2 hours so it can be done much quicker, though that isn't how you'd want to experience your first playthrough. Take some additional time to talk to all of the weird and wonderful characters you'll encounter while working through some additional side quests, and it'll be more like 6 or 7 hours by the time you reach the conclusion.
If you're a completionist then it will take at least a few hours longer to fully complete Stray, so you could be looking at around 10 hours to 100% the game. This is because you'll need to go searching off the main path to find some hidden Stray Memories for B-12 and places to Scratch in every chapter of Stray, as well as earning Stray Badges by completing side quests such as visiting all of the Stray energy drink locations and Stray Sheet Music locations in The Slums.
You can speed up this process by referring to our guides for the locations of these collectibles, as well as jumping straight to the Stray safe code without going through the steps to discover it, quickly finding all of the Stray Notebooks for Momo so you can move on to the next chapter, or solving the Stray Atomic Battery puzzle without having to figure it our for yourself. With or without these assists, you should be able to finish Stray in a reasonable amount of time while still enjoying your feline adventures.
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Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 600 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.