Stay: Your Forever Pet!

I've been playing pet sims since the dawn of the genre. I've played every generation of Pokemon since Red/Blue, I had a tamogatchi, I played Neopets like it was my job, I'm still wasting time on Flight Rising. I pick up and try pretty much any game promising me a funny critter friend (or a lexicon of critter friends) that I can train and maybe even pet. I recieved this game for free but I came into this already prepared to be impartial and critical since this IS a genre I care a lot about. I've also played Stay! to the point I've cleared the first End Goal so I have a pretty well-rounded grasp of what the game is about and what it wants to be. Ember, the vulpine little friend you discover, is an interesting companion. She's magical but mysterious, you're not sure what she is or where she came from. But she's tied to the land of the game's setting and it turns out she is a key to pushing back tides of corruption. It was an enchanting moment when I realized that not only do flowers sprout in her footsteps, Ember's proximity is what causes the collectible and environmental plants to sprout as well. She's a lot more than a simple dog! Despite the game calling her your "forever pet", the gameplay and environment situates you and Ember as partners. You care for her by petting and brushing, feeding and playing. She has preferences and desires that rotate daily so you can't start numbly throwing whatever in front of her. Even if you REALLY don't care about a digital dog, your progress into the miasma depends on you bonding with Ember. The higher you bond, the more items she can equip. Feeding her what she craves and petting her where she wants gives bonuses to expeditions. And if you really, REALLY don't care about tending to Ember or listening to what she wants, she will grow grumpy and no longer want to cooperate with you. Working with Ember to progress through the semi-random routes that have you investigating events, fighting through thorns or simply exploring, you begin to appreciate that you and Ember are equal parts of this effort. She can't time her magic without you, and you can't progress without her magic. You have to balance letting her run off and investigate things and telling her to heel, which will cause resentment to grow. Make her resent you three times and she's grumpy again and unwilling to trust you. You have to balance letting her be a happy animal and saving her energy. As far as that partnership mechanic goes, Ember is actually a Good Dog! Any mistakes that happened were never Ember's fault, they were always mine, so there's no worry of game-losing situations just because your dog wouldn't do what you wanted. Some games with companions suffer from bad pathing, confusing UI, poor response time, etc. where you feel more like you're wrestling with a dumb NPC and not an actual trained animal. And while there were a few snags with getting Ember to safe places during storms or her getting caught on some rock, she is overall responsive and quick to follow orders. She has a tendency to teleport when you're not looking at her, but she can also shoot magical basketballs from her mind; I'm not that worried about her doing what she needs to so she can stay close to me and be ready to listen. It was a good time when I learned you can sic her on those thief tanukis. There's jank present, of course, but it's early access. Sometimes Ember's head or eyes kinda go wacky for a few seconds while she's trying to face you, sometimes there's grass in the sky. But I also played this game in an earlier beta form and things like brushing mechanics, pathing, and basic environmental polish has been updated massively in a short amount of time. Their track record for improvement is already there and it's a good indicator this game will continue to grow into what it wants to be. (Please no crunch, though! People who love the game will be patient!) Other things I thought about as I played were: how will children fare playing this? How will dog-lovers take to this game? For both categories, I'm pleased to inform you that Ember is never placed in any kind of major peril or harm; she doesn't take damage, she runs out of energy, magic or confidence. If any of those stats tank, she will want to end the expedition and go home. She is harassed by little raccoons that simply follow her around and make Ember whine and walk slower, and she's terrified of thunder. It's up to you to keep her safe from these things, either by throwing pester bombs at the bullies or directing her to shelter before the thunder sounds off. At no point is Ember injured or put in distressing situations; she depends on you to keep her brave and motivated. There is also no risk of things like her running away or dying if you didn't care for her properly. She is "forever", after all! The game loop is simple: wake up, tend to Ember, head out for an adventure, progress as far as you are able while collecting materials and item recipes, then head back to base to feed and play with Ember one more time before bed. She doesn't level up, you increase your bond with her and the higher that is, the more accesories you can put on her. More accessories means more stats! The 'combat' in this game thus far is limited to a kind of ping-pong rhythm game where Ember bounces magical balls at thorny obstacles and you help her time when she's supposed to dribble it. Deeper into the adventure means more obstacles with more thorns, requiring more magic. Overall, I like this game and I see the bones of something that could be VERY rewarding. I think it has a gentle heart and certainly fits the 'cozy'-core genre. It's not very high stakes or difficult, meaning children won't get frustrated, but there's just enough skill involved with the rhythm and choices that adults don't feel silly playing it either. I'm intrigued enough that I plan to keep playing it as it updates; I would like to know more about the setting, about Ember, and how I can finally get her to be purple like she is on the splash art! Negative points I have aren't very many. I never ran into anything game-breaking or so janky it becomes unplayable. I feel like giving Ember some kind of 'tracking' or 'over this way!' mechanic would be nice, as I found myself sometimes wondering where to go because I made it to a dead end and didn't know where to find the portal. (It was always on a path I walked past; just look for more thorn barricades.) But at the same time, even a game this early in development still manages to reward exploration; there were so many times I thought I was being a cheeky little beta tester and running off into corners where I figured there would be nothing, but ended up finding a recipe box! And the 'scenery' areas are so nice, it really gave me this peaceful feeling of going on a hike with a dog. The way toys are scattered all over the landscape to encourage you simply taking your time and having some rounds of fetch with Ember is so endearing. It only makes me want to know how much bigger or prettier Stay! can get with a little more time and polish. Only actual gripes are how the writing is...not great. A lot of typos and half-sentences. Hopefully that'll get fixed with future passes and this is just a rough draft we're seeing. I also think the game would benefit DRASTICALLY from giving Ember actual dog sounds. I was constantly uncomfortably aware the entire time that it was a human making Frank Welker noises at me and it kept me from falling in love 100%. I'm only at 98%. Get some office dogs in the sound booth and you'll get that 2% in an instant.