The language of the droids in Stray has been translated and it is much easier than you think.
Or not, unless you think someone at BlueTwelve Studio created a whole new language from scratch. Instead, it is a simple cipher that develops the global construct of success overnight. And with that, you can finally read game logs, the buzz of neon signs, and anything else you find that has Stray's glyphs on it.
Josh Wirtanen of Half-Glass Gaming (opens in a new tab) cracked the code and even provided readers with the encryption key. Using the chapter titles as a starting point, he gets the hang of it, but highlights some inconsistencies. There are some minor variations in some symbols, and the translations themselves sometimes err on the gibberish side. But it works perfectly for the most part.
(Meow) Mix these letters
The discrepancies noted by Wirtanen include two different variations of the letters P and E, while some signs have been rotated, providing an additional layer of decoding challenge. Meanwhile, some translations of game content have resulted in mild gibberish that's a bit harder to parse.
On top of that, Stray seems to have several different written languages. Wirtanen only translated the one for the chapter title screens, but adds that "a lot of the hand-painted words are the same word used over and over again." So he gave up trying to translate everything, saying that those other sample texts "don't seem to mean anything".
That being said, the fruits of his successful attempts are a fun mix. Here we have a bag labeled "best bag". What's inside? Who cares! It is the best bag. All other details are irrelevant at this time.
Elsewhere, it appears that Stray is home to vampire droids who like to include their Dracula accent in their copy. See that "vanted" sign for proof. They probably wanted to suck on his delicious droid oil. oh oh oh!
Now that you have the key, the world of Stray is at your fingertips. And don't forget you can get it for free on PS4 and PS5 with PS Plus right now. Steam players may not get a freebie, but on the plus side, there are plenty of mods you can integrate into the game.
PC gamers can put their own cats on Stray, as well as play split-screen multiplayer. There are already a ton of mods, and we even have a how-to guide on how to install Stray mods. So check it out if you feel like spicing up the vanilla game.