Stray mods are the gift that keeps giving, letting you play BlueTwelve’s sci-fi platformer (or should we say catformer?) in first-person, or even as a dog. But this might be the most revolutionary yet, overhauling the whole game experience by adding a new, split-screen multiplayer mode.
Created by KangieDanie, and available now at Nexus Mods, Stray split-screen is still in a very early form, but allows you to either share your keyboard or add a second controller, and play the cute cat sim side-by-side with a friend. There are a couple of bugs – only the first player can see the HUD, and occasionally, when the level transitions, the game might get stuck, forcing you to return to the main menu and load back in – but otherwise, this is a very solid first step towards true Stray multiplayer, and building your own annoying, plant-pot-pushing sci-fi cat pack.
If you want to try it out, you need to start by downloading the Unreal Engine mod loader. You also need a PAK file, which separates your inputs into two different controllers – without it, you can still have two cats, but you’ll be controlling them both at the same time. After that, just get the mod file and drag and drop it into Stray’s archives. KangieDanie has offered full instructions, as well as all the relevant links, and once you’ve got it running, just hit F9 mid game, and you can add another player – you can add up to four, though according to the mod’s forums, as you increase the player count, glitches and visual issues can become more problematic.
Stray multiplayer is still a work in progress, but as people play and feedback, it’s bound to become more developed and more stable. It makes perfect sense – the only thing better than one cute cat is two cute cats – so head over to Nexus Mods and give it a spin.