Stay

About

Stay is a single player action game. It was developed by Spectral Doe and was released on January 18, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

"Stay" follows the experience of a motel maid, Cas, as she becomes entangled in a twisted tale of obsession, love, and terror. Unbeknownst to her, a deranged stalker harbors a dangerous infatuation with Cas, leading to a series of threatening letters and a deadly game of survival. Throughout the game, the player receives letters that reveal her stalker's twisted perception of affection …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 18 reviews

story3 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game creates an extremely unsettling atmosphere, effectively capturing the essence of horror and social commentary.
The narrative includes unique art and edgy themes that resonate with real-life issues, making it thought-provoking.
The developers have shown responsiveness to feedback, quickly addressing bugs and improving the game post-launch.

The controls are clunky and difficult to manage, particularly with tank controls and a problematic camera system.
The game suffers from numerous bugs, including issues with interaction and character model spawning, which detracts from the experience.
The pacing is slow, with tedious tasks that feel like padding, making it hard to maintain engagement throughout the gameplay.

atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its intense and disturbing qualities, effectively blending horror with realism, particularly in the first half. However, some players feel that technical issues and clunky gameplay detract from the overall experience, making it difficult to fully immerse in the atmosphere. Despite these shortcomings, the slow-burn approach is appreciated as a fitting element for the game's narrative.
- “The first half does an excellent job of creating a very tense atmosphere that works perfectly as a build-up for what is going to happen.”
- “This creates a sick and disturbing atmosphere that permeates every moment of the game, blurring the line between horror and realism, accentuated by the lines you see during loading times and when you die—lines that are depressingly familiar and all too common.”
- “As I was playing, I constantly felt like it reminded me of Puppet Combo games, and then I realized it is actually listed as the inspiration. Even if you just did more testing to fix the technical issues and improve the slower parts of the game while building that atmosphere, I think it would not be that far away from Puppet Combo. You are about 60% there.”
- “This creates a sick and disturbing atmosphere that permeates every moment of the game, blurring the line between horror and realism, also accentuated by the lines you see during loading time and when you die, lines that are depressingly familiar and still too common.”
- “As I was playing, I constantly felt like it reminded me of Puppet Combo games, and then I realized it is actually listed as the inspiration. Even if you just did more testing to fix the technical issues and improve the slower parts of the game when building that atmosphere, I think it would not be that far away from Puppet Combo. You're about 60% there, which may not sound like a compliment, but it's not that I didn't like the experience overall; I think you got a lot of smaller moments wrong, not the overall feel of the story.”
- “I do think the slow burn with the boring tasks is a nice element for a game like this; I just think you made them a bit clunky, so it was hard to focus on the atmosphere.”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally considered satisfactory, with good cut scenes that enhance the overall experience. The survival-horror aesthetic is appreciated, providing a refreshing change from a first-person perspective.
- “Graphically, the game was alright and the cut scenes were good.”
- “Graphically, the game was alright, and the cut scenes were good.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow, tedious, and overwhelming, particularly at the beginning, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “The start of the game is very slow, tedious, and overwhelming.”
- “The grinding feels endless and lacks any real reward.”
- “Progression is painfully slow, making it hard to stay engaged.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The story draws clear inspiration from Puppet Combo games, successfully capturing a similar atmosphere, though it falls short in execution due to technical issues and pacing problems. While the overall narrative experience is appreciated, there are several smaller moments that detract from its impact. Overall, the game is seen as being close to achieving its potential, with room for improvement.
- “The story has a unique atmosphere that draws you in, reminiscent of classic horror games, which adds depth to the overall experience.”
- “I appreciated the narrative's ability to evoke nostalgia while still feeling fresh and engaging, making it a memorable journey.”
- “The character development throughout the story was compelling, allowing me to connect with their struggles and triumphs on a deeper level.”
- “As I was playing, I constantly felt like it reminded me of Puppet Combo games, and then I realized it is actually listed as the inspiration. So I thought, 'Ah, now it makes more sense.' Honestly, even if you just did more testing to fix the technical issues and improve the slower parts of the game when building that atmosphere, I think it would not be that far away from Puppet Combo. You're about 60% there, which may not sound like a compliment, but it's not that I didn't like the experience overall. I think you got a lot of smaller moments wrong, not the overall feel of the story.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users note that the music in the game occasionally plays before certain events are triggered, which can create a disjointed experience. This inconsistency in timing may affect the overall immersion and emotional impact of the gameplay.
- “Sometimes music triggers earlier than a triggered event.”
gameplay
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay is described as somewhat janky, but players find it manageable overall.
- “The actual gameplay is kind of janky but still manageable.”