I like how everyone is talking about how wholesome the game is and how dark matpat made it seem, but the game was the one with the fleshy eyeball walls and the extinction of humanity.
The idea that the robots are actually human has a lot of validity like the fact that the cleaning robots on the top level don't have personality though they are probably the same age as the rest of the robots if not older because they actually have jobs
When I was interacting with robots In Stray I often found myself to be confused by their words and behaviour. Either they were mimicing humans, or they were humans. As for ending, if there ever is franchise of Stray, I think Zurk hive mind took control of the machines In the end. Though it wouldn't be much of the sequel since outside is nothing there, except plants and animals. Because humans are long gone. Only thing to hive mind to get In control would be blank cleaning robots.
except when the whole lore of the game contradicts this. Dialogue from memories clearly states that the robots learn to be human in lower parts of the city. Robots in the upper most part do not have any personality. This theory is just a theory, but its aganist source material for the sake of consipracy theorizing for fun.
I just have a quick thing I would like to point out that might be a stumbling issue in Matpats theory: The Sun's UV light strength is WAY higher then our flashlight.
@@Arshu_Shenta It means they wouldnt have to deal with the sun anymore as an issue to their expansion? Even if they dont like go full mind transfer they could use the robots as mobile transport to other regions to colonize
Fun Fact : The Game takes place in City 99. So we could presume there are at least, 98 other bastions of humanity left in Stray's World. Bastions that could've thrived better than City 99. Cities that didn't fall to any kind of plague or Zurk infestation. Perhaps with help from The Humans, The Companions can fully eradicate The Zurks before they become a fully realized threat.
On the same note though: Its been 7 million years, it seems unlikely that anyone in those are still alive or if they are they might very well have evolved into something unrecognizable as humans after 7 million years in a sealed environment.
It's not just that the eye walls are incredibly disturbing, they're also sentient.. they actively control and release zurks in an attempt to stop whatever you're doing.. so if they needed the door to open, why would they be trying to stop you? 🤔 there's gotta be something deeper here that we're missing.
@@unduloid true, I think they're just smart enough to detect the cat as a threat, but not smart enough to make a connection between the cat and their hivemind plans of spreading.
Matpat forgot to mention that the eye walls are incapable of movement and are incredibly reliant on the common zurks. With the common zurk population threatened by extinction, the walls stand to lose any and all power they had.
I actually suspect they’re just a highly specialized polymorphic form designed for sentry behaviour. They do seem to alert the mobile Zurk, but the swarming behaviour is consistent whether or not any of the eyes are around. I don’t think they are any more intelligent than the mobile forms are.
Fun little insight: Stray's cats have round pupils. Most small cats have vertical pupils because they're ambush predators. But a few have evolved round pupils instead, indicating that they've adapted to be better daytime chasers rather than nighttime ambushers. This could be in part a product of domestication, where cats are more likely to adapt to their owners' daytime schedules, and aren't pressured into the same ecological niche because humans protect and feed them.
Uh, actually, cats can change their pupils Just like us humans Or chickens, or cows, stuff like that And round pupils would make it better to hunt in the dark since they get more light You can see that every single cat stays with it's pupils in vertical during the day( and if they're not stressed or with fear, stuff like that, otherwise then open them up ) and during the night, their pupils are round
I think u we’re on to something at first. The cats HAVE evolved to be better daytime hunters but because the parasites cannot go into the sun not because of domestication
I think a pretty simple explanation to why the eyes aren't affected would be that the UV light just simply isn't strong enough coming from a little lamp. Pretty sure the sun would be much stronger and another possibility could be that they simply require longer exposure to UV light in order for them to start taking noticeable damage.
There’s actually a reason why the UV light doesn’t work on the eyes. In one of the missions where we help Doc, he states how much watts is actually required is like 1.1 gigawatts or something to kill zurks? (I don’t remember the actual amount needed) So I’m assuming that the UV light that is emitted has to be higher than the one that is attached to B-12.
this is correct it is said that a weaker uv light was put on b12 because thats all he could support on his small robot body thats why our weapon doesnt effect the eyes but the sun should
Although in the final scene where the zurk are getting wiped out, you can see the flesh in the background and it doesn't seem to be affected by the sunlight.
@@donjezza10 it could be where the flesh can’t, but the eyes act as weak spots to the sunlight, and only if they are hit by the sunlight then the flesh will disappear too.
The only opposition I have to the UV problem is that maybe the big eyes aren’t resistant to UV but remember that doc said that the little robot vessel isn’t made for a large power usage like the UV ray or sun so maybe there just isn’t enough power to make the UV strong enough to destroy those eyes
@@thekirstenempire plus those eyes possibly run on fuel for food so now that the zurks aren’t really eating anything the eyes might die due to lack of food
I did think about the fact that the sunlight won't be able to reach into the sewers and the zurks down there would still be able to exist and I also thought it was strange to see a companion melted into the wall but not eaten and hooked up to computers. So there may be definitely something to that. Maybe eventually the zurks will figure out how the companions work but it will take many years perhaps centuries. The eyes in the sewer walls genuinely scared me and that part was the creepiest part of the game.
I have a different theory actually regarding the zurk collective in the underground levels of the megastructure. While I do agree that they are not affected by UV light, I don't think they're as much of a threat per se. Another important fact that needs to be looked at is that, if they can consume plastics and metal, then why isn't there more structural damage down there? I think the answer is because the mega colony is composed of a form of zurk that cannot eat normally. Full eusociality: the smaller zurk you see are drones, the hunters, the ones that come back and bring food to the larger hive, which then uses the food to spawn more drones in order to feed itself. Without the UV sensitive drones/workers, the hive as a whole will starve.
While I like the theory, I think B-12 being the light at the end makes more sense, because the game started with B in a network, turning on lights to guide us in, so it would be poetic to end with B in a network, turning on lights to guide us(and others) out
I've also wondered how is Doc the "father" of Seamus; I see it as two possible ways, one more plausible than the other. The first being that Doc would have built Seamus, but that just doesn't really feel right at all. But it aligns pretty neatly if they were actually father and son, humans who uploaded themselves into companions. That'd make a lot of sense!
Everyone: “why does matpat make a gruesome theory about a wholesome game” The wholesome game: the elite will destroy those beneath them, fleshy eye ball rooms, the death of the last human, giant bacteria that consumes everything, a cat getting injured badly multiple times
Yeah idk how anyone can watch this theory and still think it's some wholesome cat simulator, and this theory doesn't even touch on some of the other darker parts of the game
I personally prefer to believe that, without zurks everywhere and Doc back in the slums, the companions start to develop wired, handheld, very powerful UV ray emitters which they bring into the sewers and use to eradicate the infestation [Edit] And another thing: I am honestly very suprised that MatPat didn't see the fact that the zurks may not be only in the 99th underground city. This isn't fallout, these aren't experiment vaults meant to bring psychology to it's furthest, these are safehouses, sanctuaries, seeing as a screen in the last area of the game points to a world map, implying that the game takes place in City 99, Neco corp, the corporation that is the culprit for the existence of the zurks may not be present in all of these cities, there may be more humans in the previous 98 around the world which may just as well be safe from the zurks. [Edit2] An important part of this theory is that the zurks may be able to upload themselves to the network, but I think otherwise. You see, in the beginning of the game the cat has to being the B-12 robot to a station to upload the scientists consciousness from the network to its new body, this also happens when we put B-12 back into the network at the end of the game. Now, I have come to realise the way that the concept of consciousness within the network might work, you see, wherever there are companion robots in the game, you can find a white pod along with wires in a certain proximity, this leads me to the conclusion that the network works like the following: If you want to upload yourself to the network, you have to climb into a white pod, from there you can either use cables to connect a body to the pod or make it that a body is placed in a nearby station. Therefore, there is no way that a zurk, let along multiple upload themselves into the network, turn the robots into a hivemind or become a companion.
I am wondering why Matpat is not questioning where all this garbage came from. This city was hermetically sealed, do nothing coming in, so how could tons of garbage be produced?
@@selalewow I mean, it's reasonable that they had massive food piles, perhaps even farms, that eventually rotted away, but yeah, if it's really millions of years, then it would be very weird why there's STILL so much stuff...
well, it's most likely the bacteria were everywhere, as just a normal thing, it's possible that in SOME of them, they didn't become evil hivemind of killer headcrabs and flesh-walls, but I'd assume that in most of them, something reasonably similar did happen...perhaps some of them didn't become metal-eaters, but they could still eat all the isolation off the wires, and still be dangerous that way
One interesting theory that could be a mini theory if you ever make another Stray theory is that Doc is the only robot called a dad or even a mom or parent in the game. Literally no one else mentions their parents or their children other than Doc (Seamus' father), Seamus (Doc's son) and B-12 (a human). My guess is Doc is the only companion smart enough to be able to built a new companion,hence why he is called a parent and no one else is, he's the only genius inventor we see in the game who could make a new one.
woahh nice theory, i think it could also be the whole thing about them not really having a lot of memories, but still having their human core and emotions. Doc might have been the only one lucky enough to transport both himself and his son as humans into the network.
@@PokéBreeder I knew it but Doc wasn't Marty's dad or even a family member which I think makes the fact they chose to make Doc Seamus' dad even more interesting
Yeah, cats be like that sometimes. Another thing we looked over is that how robots and the zurcs technically had access to the open world. The cat we played as just *fell down* into the underground world, he didnt bypass a lock that kept them. Regardless of Cat's action Zurcs would be the dominant species after all.
@@barrriwa Ah my bad then, but still. It was just a matter of Zurcs tapping into B12s computer/city system. Just like they've done with that captured robo
I think Stray in the title could mean more than “stray cat”. Stray means lost. Humanity is lost, and the culture they left behind is floundering aimlessly without them. Giving them the whole world instead of just being locked inside their dangerous city is giving them new purpose.
Also, in the ant village, there's a robot named Isaac sleeping on a couch, when you talk to him he's dreaming about "electric zurks everywhere", could kinda be foreshadowing for when the zurks learn from the robots and become them
1) Yes the Zurk eat metal. But there has to be something else to all of it. If their only requirement is to be able to resist UV light would they have not chewed up the ceiling? The steel walls and others? Sure its stronger metal but it has also been 7M years so yk- something might be missing here. 2) Plenty of comments also mentioned the potency of the UV lights and the sort of hive mind that the Zurk comprise, and personally? They behave like sculk from Minecraft. The catalysts might be able to expand sculk, but they dont kill anything. The Warden can be deadly but he doesnt generate sculk. You need both for a sculk infestation. Similarly, the Zurk might kill and in proximity with the rest of the biomass this can expand, but, the absence of Zurk could mean an end to the species of the bacteria by the loss of their hunter component. (+The fact that sunlight would be much stronger than the UV lamp so yk, that might also impede growth or even kill the fleshy eyes at the bottom of the sewers). Edit after watching more of the video: How would the Zurk evolve past their weakness if they have grown in the absence of UV light? Bacteria build up their immune systems from encounters with other bacteria or by surviving whatever they are weak to. Sure, they could've encountered Micrococcus Luteus and traded genes but even then- why? how would you prepare yourself for something you don't even know exists?
There's no way it's actually been 7 million years... "2544875556" is a Unix timestamp for August 23, 2050, meaning that's the day when the robots turned sentient.
Oer the constant exposure to sun light and therefore uv radiation would couse cancer in the zurk as they have not seen the sun in idk how long and there fore devolved theyr cancer resistance
Something of a foot note, but the ceiling is propably lower grade steel than the robots. As the robots are machines with bearings, bushings, gears and other parts made from higher strength alloys, while the ceiling is propably just basic structural steel
And A Bactria can't resist everything it has to trade something off for example Infectious Bactria cant be immune to bacteriophages and macrobiotics it can only trade one or the other off for the other
Honestly the fact that you're playing as a cat isn't even the coolest part of the game. The setting and the story and all the characters are all so interesting and make it such a cool experience. But also: cat.
I liked the cat but I hated it when the game introduced the stupid robots, the missions, inventory and all that stuff. it's disappointing it became like every other generic third person game. the beginning when it's just "cat exploring simulator" is amazing. I want a whole 8 or 10 hours game of only that.
@@pelgervampireduck for me it's the opposite, but I also like the intro where it's like a cat simulator but the game will worn out for me eventually, the story addition of robots make it more inrteresting and I was surprised that it was deep and dark lore. but I get you maybe if we remove the robots and zurgs lore, replaced with only cat story and revolves only around the cats and learning how the humans were gone and finding out the timeline is in the far future is also interesting
I mean, its not hard to think b12 is once again in the cloud Since the very beginning he was guiding and kinda taking care of the Cat Maybe the b12 is just a copy, or the cloud is a backup Kinda weird to see "your friend that is not actually your friend" kinda vibes, but i mean, is possible
Question: wouldn't the Zurks need to operate the same white pod in order to upload themselves into a robot? Having one just chained up and connected to some wires in the sewers wouldn't really help them if they can't get in a pod and use it correctly to get in the robot's consciousness/the network. And that's also assuming that the Zurks have enough consciousness in the first place to be uploaded, as all I remember they can do is eat, see, run at you, repeat.
It's all about the giant eyeballs, are those things connected to a neuronal system ? Clearly the little roming zurks don't have any form of advanced intelligence but the eyeballs are clearly trying to stop you by releasing numbers of those zurks when you're spotted.
The Zurks have taken over big parts of the city. There are multiple pods in other apartments or facilities that are in Zurk territory (I doubt that humanity used only two pods).
@@xxstephxx1005 thats the thing... they wouldn’t have to eat.. wait... if the zurks are trying to upload themselves to robots? are they still a threat after they are done with that task?
I would honestly be very happy if this was the setup for a sequel, because the game was just so much fun and story was surprisingly strange, a little spooky and fun. The fact that UV and the sun kills them, could mean they've been researching to try and become robot too to avoid the limitation and eventually escape the bunker too. So we could end up with a Zurk virus in 2 and have to save our robot friends from the virus and take down the hive mind deep underground somewhere. Also I really crave a wholesome reunion with his Stray cat family.
Ye but they do literally have a robot strapped to a wall with computer monitors plugged into it seems like they might be a little smarter than originally thought to be
So I think the reason the UV light didn't have an effect on the walls in the zurk hive were because they weren't strong enough to be effective. The sun might be different.
Bro imagine if you're an eyeball in the darkness for 7 million years and then you see the sun. A bright, blinding sun right into your overexposed giant eyeball. A UV flashlight isn't gonna do much, flimsy little thing. The sun would totally obliterate them, though. It's like if you've been in the theatre for 3 hours and then walk out into afternoon sun, you're blinded. Now multiply this by like, 7million. I think your eyeballs are going to _explode_
@@reydragonclaw1128 I don't think the eyeballs were made to travel. They can't get out because they act like the HQ. That's why they hijacked the bots, possibly to carry the little guys and create new "HQ's".
@@krwrie A similar situation is with the fish/creatures living at the bottom of the ocean. They won't survive at the surface level because they just don't have the ability to live there. They've evolved to withstand the harsh environment of the deep ocean, so much so, that they will immediately die if we bring them up.
The fact that the flesh on the walls didn’t eat the cat or the walls means it’s probably a different substance, and because it can’t eat the robot, the robot’s still alive. That’s my game theory anyway. Mainly because I want at least *one* game to have a happy ending and it might as well be the cat game
We never actually see Zurk eating metal besides living Companions, so maybe the one in the sewer was dead, and that's why nothing ate it? The Zurk seem to specifically not eat structures and electronic systems, even in the most Zurked up places, we see tech online working fine. I can only explain that with them seeing Companions as a threat.
@@GIRGHGH It's not dead though, it repeatedly looks around at the cat when you walk near it. So clearly it's still functioning, along with the moniters its hooked up to.
@@GIRGHGH We don't know if that's what happens if "The A.I inside it dies", but you think that would just result in them... Dying. Cause the blank robots in the end have also been around for years, but their ai is obviously still working just fine, but with nothing else to do but clean.
I'm gonna say a hybrid of the theories is true; the monitors we saw flicker on _are_ B12 in his new city administrator role. However, the Zurks _are_ intelligent and using that robot towards sinister ends. From a writing perspective, that makes the most sense for sequel buildup. Both need to be true.
Mat, the theory with zurk apocalypse is indeed appealing one, but there are few major problems with that: 1. We do not have any evidence to support zurk having complex intelegence capable of even basic deduction. So it would be weird for pretty premitive organism to suddenly understand complex electronics 2 The thing on the walls seeing how it is a living organism, by it having eyes, need to eat somehow, but as we also see it doesn't have any limbs nor mouth or any complex digestive system, as there are no fecies, also taking into account how it sticks to walls, we can assume that it's closer to slime mold. Slime mold are simple organism which are evolutionary between fungi and animals, they feed by extending its body until they reach any food and the absorbing back all parts not connected to any food, they also consume stuff by slowly absorbing stuff. The thing on the walls is probably doing exactly that to a robot in sewers, it's slowly absorbing him, which is supported by the fact that the robot seems grown into the wall. 3. The UV flashlight is a very weak source UV light and radiation and therefore the immunity to it can't be equated with complete immunity to UV light. As example we humans aren't affected by the UV flashlight either but the sun affects are pretty strongly, all through it is not deadly for us, ateast not immediately, there is no reason to assume that a organism which is generally weak to UV light won't die from exposure to the strongest source of UV light. Therefore all through the theory is very interesting it is also highly improbable.
but I think they do have simple deduction skills hence the scene with the giant eyes sending zurks to flank the cat but they don't have a capacity to understand complex technology
I agree completely. But there's also a small chance that the zurks will evolve, rendering Matpat's theory valid. And I mean over the course of the next million years or so. The zurks have come this far and there's no garaunteed plateau regarding their evolution.
So, as much as I love your theories and how dark they can get, I have to say I found a flaw to this one proving it is indeed B-12 in the network and not the zurks. Other than the fact that B-12 literally says his little drone body couldn't handle it but he'll be fine back in the network, the cutscene showing the sentinels crashing is proof it's B-12. Why would the Zurks shut down the sentinels? It wouldn't serve them any purpose and we know it isn't because of UV as that wouldn't make sense to build a police force that shuts down in sunlight. The sentinels shut down because B-12 shut them down after he got control.
I actually thought of something else that proves it's B12. In the beginning, when you first fall in, the screens flicker on and the giant door opens up. You then see signs and cameras guiding you and find out that this is B12 guiding you to him. They flicker on exactly like they do at the end.
Even accepting the premise of the video, it's highly unlikely those on the surface are doomed. The zurk rats have huge numbers and can chew through metal but seem to lack any kind of coordination by the zurk masterminds as well as being destroyed by ultraviolet light. The zurk masterminds don't seem to be fast at hacking the imprisoned robot, so it's highly unlikely they can infiltrate and overrun the other robots before they notice and fight back. The other robots are organised, inventive, and have manufacturing capabilities, so can fight back with brutality.
lets not forget that all (if not all a lot of zurks) died due to the ultraviolet light emanating from the sun. (nvm just a lot of zurks died in city 99 but there can be in other cities thats true, I didn't think that through.)
You know, one thing does not make sense in your theory. The cat has fallen into the city through somewhere, and if I get it right (haven't played the game yet), travelled to the actual populated area through zurk territory, right? That means the zurk already had acces to the surface, so if they were actually intelligent enough to come up with that plan, they'd have done it already, or done it in the future regardless of whether B/12 openned the city to the surface or not. So... no, I do not believe the cute kitty doomed the world, because IF your theory is right then the world was doomed to begin with.
A good point in the video though is that they needed to become robots to traverse, and if they did how would they make it up the pit? Something that disproves my and matpats theory is the fact that the emorphis blobs of zurk dont dissapear, meaning that the eyes could have spread everywhere by then and instead of falling into a little pit, we could have fallen into zurk eyes and died.
1: it could be that while our UV light is strong enough to take out the smaller zurks it just isnt enough to do the same for the larger ones, this doesnt mean they are immune 2: would the zurks even have the mental faculties to think about uploading there minds, all they want is food they want to feed and nothing more
if you tell an A.I to make paperclips it will _only_ make paperclips it might dismantle human bodies for more paperclips maybe it will start dismantling the earth just because it has one objective doesn't mean it won't develop better faster ways of doing that objective
if we want to talk about mental faculties, we should start with the question "Where is the human remnants?" my best assumption so far is that the reason why the zurks developed eyes is because they get that DNA from human remnants. what if those eyes are the new developing sub-species of human-zurks? by that assumption, it makes sense how 1.21GW UV light won't affect them at all, because human has the capability to withstand sunlight. With that, it makes sense that they will develop the mental facilities to observe and study the robot in the sewer. Objective wise, they could be just trying to find better ways to survive. but that's just my assumption :p
@@toothpasteman3400 And how exactly is uploading into robotic bodies without any proper digestive system gonna help them? If their whole purpose (or objective) is to eat anything that moves, they can't accomplish that in the peaceful bodies of those Companion bots. So uploading into them makes no sense for the Zurk.
yeah. honestly i feel like this theory kinda grasped at straws. I mean, has matpat even looked at B-12's body? No way that thing can concentrate enough power to wipe out a massive eyeball. It cant even keep the Defluxor on for more than 5 seconds. Not judging matpat here, considering he probably pressures himself a lot to come up with theories, but I honestly just dont think this makes all too much sense.
Even beyond the "Full might of the sun VS a single UV lamp" the Hivemind seems to be quite Sedentary. Could even be why they're so much more resistant to UV than most as they can simply recover from a UV exposure much more quickly. Like a strong Cell Wall or membrane. The fact that they are so sedentary might not necessarily mean the sun destroys them instantly, but keeps them from naturally spreading any further as they can effectively only have mobility or defense. Though the "Uploading" issue could still circumvent this somewhat.
Makes sense since I'm pretty sure the Sun's natural UV light isn't the same as a dinky little flashlight made from scraps by Doc and that a prolonged exposure to the sun would prove fatal enough to the Zurks
A cat simulator with a wide degree of endings and open-ended relationships should be developed; love or admonish your human, become a stray or gain multiple home-situations with families or singles, hunt progressively more difficult prey, walk on computers to buy special items not otherwise available, stay-clean, destroy a room, escape confinement, battle for territory, raise kittens wild or domestic, foster orphan animals, bring trophies home, and hunt sleeping peoples toes.
Yeah, we need more animal simulation games, the videogames are too anthropocentric when we could learn about and get closer in understanding the world that surround us with games.
I mean if you want some of these features cattails let’s you do a lot of these. The cats don’t interact with human objects but you can raise kittens and interact with other cats and battle for territory that your colony uses to hunt.
There's a game called cat's choice in the choice of games library that's basically this except I've never played it all the way through because I can only go in for three chapters before I have to pay for it and the app won't let me purchase things
The eyes might not have been affected by your UV light because it is not strong enough, this was stated by Doc when he installed the module as he said "It's not meant to run off such a small power source. If you use it to much it will malfuction". But maybe a a stong enough UV light such as the sun does have affect on them, it may slowly kill the eyes or it may do it quickly.
“My mighty attacks can not reach thee? And who decided that? My blazing sun was swallowed up by a speck of darkness? And who decided that? The only one who gets to decide such things IS ME!” -The Stray Cat probably when getting the UV flash light from Doc.
This game should have a DLC where you explore the outside it’s literally so genius edit: thank you guys for making this comment popular I really appreciate you guys This is genuinely the most likes I have gotten.
@@UngoogleableMan actually they most likely reunited, but it sucks that there wasn't a cutscene or gameplay that shows it. ua-cam.com/video/tEOEczZQHbo/v-deo.html
Honestly, I did think that the story was leading up to "humans uploaded their minds to robots" reveal, especially after seeing that robot talking about smells. Was a little confused and disappointed when it was never brought up in game, but it's still my head cannon.
I was a little perplexed by the Burger Joint memory. I thought this would lead to revealing B-12 was the scientist in charge of the whole operation, and had recreated elements based on his memories, OR that the Helpers, like B-12 were filled with human uploads who had long forgotten their past.
Only issue with the theory; the Zurk eye-mind can’t actually harm anything, they can only control smaller Zurks. If we assume Zurks have to evolve to achieve their “eye” form, eyes won’t appear on the surface because they need to be able to grow in prolonged dark to grow into eyes.
Did you not watch the video? The few theories he throws out there answers your question. The Captured Robot Hooked up to the network (using him for some sort of advancement of their own species and the cat essentially unlocking their prison. Like he said, most likely thevye been trying to learn/evolve so they can eventually transfer their own consciousness into ultra durable robots so it/they can evolve and spread like a virus over the whole planet. Kind of like us humans, lol
True but some of the smaller zurks could’ve survived if they were still in the sewer when the city opened up, there could have also been eggs down there.
@@d3tach3d the Zurks have not shown intelligence passed eyes pointing in the general direction of prey. It’s more than likely the “captured” robots are strung up like spiders in a trap, food on hold. Even if the Zurk are smarter than we give them credit for, the robots are not aware of their consciousness transference, so then how are the Zurk going to prod information out that the robots aren’t even aware of.
I feel like the whole “eyes are immune to the lamp” thing is just a missing game detail the devs never thought about. Clever theory though, and even if what I say here is true, they are still safe in the sewers.
Hard to believe they could have missed such a huge detail, especially when you see how polished the game is. They made giant eyeballs looking at you and your only weapon is a UV light : of course each player will try to kill those things with UV
I find it comforting to know that even after we humans are all dead and gone, cats will still be around to knock things off of shelves for no particular reason lol.
One of the few theories of Matt that I actually see as kind of grasping at loose ends cause the Zurk eyeballs not exploding could be just cuz the dev’s didn’t really want to have to remodel maps, but like he said can’t really be disproven.
That part, admittedly yes. But the devs very consciously added an imprisoned companion bot in the Zurk territory for a reason. Which goes against the whole, mindless monsters that attempt to eat anything in sight, style that Zurks seem to be. Also having the Zurks evolve into a more dangerous entity is such a sequel bait. And that means more money!
They could have, at the very least, make the eyeballs closing when you're shining your light on them. The lack of any reaction, even the sligtest, is really weird.
Mat really assumes the "consciousness" of the Zerg hivemind is comparable enough to that of a human, and therefore the same process that digitizes human consciousness can be used on the zerg as well. But we know they are not comparable. Zerg lack basic sentient instincts that humans had, that every living mammal has. For example, they see other zerg get killed by the UV lamp, but they don't hide from it or avoid it. And also, assuming that the zerg can comprehend the concept of digitizing consciousness, or even the concept of consciousness to begin with is a MASSIVE stretch. It's easy to forget that "consciousness" is an abstract concept made by the human mind to simplify the astronomically complex processes that take place in our brain. Why would a species that hasn't even developed intelligence yet would see the robots and understand the process by which they were made?
the issue is that we never learn why the robot is imprisoned there (or if we do, it's never mentioned.) If this was an actual interrogation zone, I think the zurk would have fortified the location to make sure the robot couldn't escape. But no, because the large flesh wall would obstruct the view of the creepy set piece. Matpat has never heard of a red herring and wants to try to put every square peg into the triangular holes. When the pegs are small and he can fill in the space around it with anecdotal drivel, it works. but when the pegs and the implications they carry are too big, it simply doesn't fit the script he writes for it
Yeah, unfortunately the actual theory here (disregarding the part with the robots being uploaded humans for which there's so much evidence it's not just a theory) is very far-fetched.
I don't think he's really comparing the hive mind to human consciousness,....i mean he went through a whole explanation to how certain bacteria, come together to form what is similar to a neural network. and the very concept of a hive mind is so far from the way any single mined self centered creature thinks. your example of zerg seeing other zerg die, and the individual zerg not reacting to the threat that killed others in front of them is flawed, because hive minds display that kind of behavior....... compare that to bee's who die when they sting , yet thousands will willingly die to ensure the hive survives. the hive uses zergs as disposable pawns, foot soldiers, and cannon fodder, just to achieve it's goal. even the concept of digitizing a consciousness,..... a neural network would be more similar to a digitized network than a human mind IMO, so I think it'd be easier for the hive mind to control the network than a human mind. It seems like you are not really grasping the fact that bacteria(microscopic life forms) are running around(mimicking animals). that on it's own is a display of how far their ability to mimic brain functions has grown. it takes a lot more coordinated brain functions to simply walk than you may think. they aren't just walking,.....they have become apex predators. I personally wouldn't put anything past them at this point.
@@tonyolo4591 Ok, and how would a hive mind connect to a computer? As in, have the same consciousness? Each bacteria in the organism is its own creature, and could only "think" (though its not even shown to do that, its just a blob) because of each bacteria following instructions. So how can it continue to "think" in a computer? Thats like saying you can put an ant colony's consciousness into a computer.
I like to think Stray, is an introductory game, into a possibly, and much bigger, franchise with answers to all our questions about the world Stray takes place
Changes could just not be externally visible. Or ya know, it could be a coelacanth situation. They didn't really evolve because they didn't need to. It's almost confirmed that the cats in the game are much smarter than cats irl.
The whole "uploading their consciousness into a network makes running into Sojiro Sakura hit even harder... especially when you consider his specialty was running a curry/coffee shop - both requiring not only taste buds but also a nose by which to smell the various aromas that are part and parcel of cooking. Perhaps we should have let Yadalbaoth or EMMI win...
Damn, I like this theory so much. at first I thought Matpat gonna touch the question of "where are the human remnants? a.k.a. the bones" because, what if the zurks are not just zurks, but a new human sub-species that adapt by conjoining themselves with the zurks? That's why 1.21 GW UV light does not affect them at all, because we are able to withstand the sun better than the zurks. while B-12 and the companions are the remaining humans who went digital, what if the current zurks were the remnants of human species who evolved to adapt as the zurk's sub-species? this kinda explains how the zurks have the capability of intelligence to study the robot in the sewer, to get their ways into the network. You're welcome :)
For me I think it's a connection of that meditating dude, seeing as he is also connected to a bunch of wires as well, it's possible that the bodies are just acting like cameras, especially since we are already expected and stuff
He didn't, the game has a number of scary and dark moments as well, multiple of which he touches on in this video. Did you actually watch the video before making your comment?
@@MasterOphSky i think we did but one can think that everything will be fine and the kitties will be too but he's right, afther going to that zurk zone i could not get my head off about the place because it was still there with those eyes, its dark because it just ruins what it seems a happy ending
No matter how much sense this makes, how many loose ends it ties, how thought out it is with actual support and evidence in the game and very much being likely true, I refuse to believe the little kitty cat did anything bad
@@RedMint_Tea Yeah, I said that because his intelligence compared to a cat or even any animal is pretty high. I dunno if there are other animals today that are much more smarter than this cat. But for a cat it’s impressive.
Your peep picture is SO CUTE!!!!! And seeing as how there are cats surrounding it, this seems PURRfect for this video. Speaking of corny puns, I enjoy them so much! Also with all the puns throughout the videos, I can’t help but chuckle every video!
What intrigued me about this game the most was the setting, with the obvious Eastern Asia influences in the architecture, clothing, and language. This alongside the “made in France” boxes scattered across Midtown raised a lot of questions as to why the robots predominately mimic the humans from this specific region, with a few remnants of Western culture such as the cowboy robots. The implications would of course be that the game takes place in Eastern Asia, but then what about the boxes from France? I’d doubt they’re that old if they’re just lying around in shops. Are there other robot civilizations left in the world? Perhaps even some humans? Exactly how long has it been since the big apocalyptic disaster that started this all?
i suspect that the eyes are immune to the lamp, but not to uv light. the lamp you're using just isn't big enough and doesn't provide enough uv light. a source like the sun is obviously much larger and can provide much more uv light.
Lamp could not be able to pierce them enough as when zurk die they explode which might mean that uv light does something inside of them, like heating them up and they explode from pressure.
My interpretation is that there were 2 groups of humans. 1 group was like, "let's upload our minds into our companion bots!" and the other group did bio experiments with zurks until they merged and became eye walls.
there are definitely a few holes in the zurk lore because of level design. The zurk supposedly eat everything from metal to plastic to flesh. yet there are whole swatches of city the are over run with hungry baby zurks that apparently already ate all the robots, but there are metal structures and furniture and buildings still standing all over the place. and granted, those sections are set up like that for the sake of an interesting yet challenging level design for the player to navigate through but still... the only things I think that could explain the zurks abandoning what should be easy and viable food for them to chase down the cat or any of the robots is if the zurks can only eat specific types of metals and plastics and/or if the zurks prefer to eat organic material over in-organic material (maybe both). . Honestly, even the matured zurks not dying from uv light is probably not a lore choice, just a level design choice. there are important chucks of some levels that are just made out of mature zurk bodies. to remove those would make whole chunks of level just disappear and potentially be impossible to navigate or open up so much space that isn't needed that the player could get lost in a now unnecessarily large level. plus, the game makers put in a lot of design choices so that B12's uv light wouldn't be too overpowered. if you want to take it in a lore direction, B12's uv light honestly looks pretty small and weak, definitely nowhere near as strong as the sun. It could definitely be that B12's uv light is too weak to have much of an effect on the matured zurks' stronger and more well established bodies, compared to the smaller, weaker, and more fragile baby zurks, while matured zurks could still be susceptible to and die from direct sunlight. the juveniles of basically every species on earth tend to be much more fragile than the adults of the species. juveniles tend to die from smaller amounts of the same things that kill adults.
Stray is a cute cat game in the same way Doki Doki Literature club is a cute dating sim, after a certain point it's not even trying to hide its darker side.
Popular game always means there’s going to be a game theory - even if there isn’t any lore and matpat creates the lore FOR the devs without it even being there in the first place.
1:35 That is roughly how long ago the human lineage split off form other living animals. That wasn’t when the robots were created it’s when humanity was!
my biggest issue with matt patt's theory is: how? if the zurks are evolved bacteria, even if they were given an evolutionary boost from reckless human scientists and had 7 million year to evolve, how could they be smart enough to come up with such an advanced plan? other then the one robot (which could honestly just have been a recent catch or food being saved for later like a spider putting it's half eaten fly to the side for a midnight snack), what proof is there of zurks having such advance intelligence/critical thinking skills? the zurks seem to only exhibit basic pack hunting traits throughout the game. just swarm food, eat food. If the zurk are being controlled by a central hive mind that is smart enough to figure out how to control a computer and/or robot through hacking, then Wouldn't they have already used their unending army of baby zurks to over run all levels of the city? instead them seem to be stuck in only the lowest level(s). even if the fully matured zurks that are stuck in the sewers are some how advanced enough to come up with and follow through with the plan being suggested, they sure as heck don't seem to have much control over their swarms of baby zurks. They seem to listen to only listen to the matured zurks as far getting a direction to run in towards food.
Even if the idea of the robots actually being uploaded humans, I like the idea that they are just robots that evolved... but I think it's a mix of both because for example, some robots don't "believe" in the outside because they don't understand the concept, maybe some are humans and some are simply companion robots
Yeah I agree, they are come robots that kept their function as simple robots (on the top of the citadel, the ones that were there where completely emotionless) and the fact that they were able to feel fear, it's a big signal that they're more, but I really like this idea of some robots having human minds, others are evolve and others are just regular and emotionless robots.
5:44 I have a theory that the eyes are stronger than the light you had but the sunlight is much stronger than your uv light being able to kill the eyes
I honestly think that the reason the flesh walls and eyes dont pop with the uv light you get is because its not strong enough. even the small ones take a bit to pop with the light but with actual sunlight they pop immediately.
Adding on to that, doc's bulkier flashlight popped little zurks immediately vs our tiny flashlight taking a bit to work. I'd imagine the sun would eviscerate those eyes in the sewers if they could reach them. I also severely doubt that the zurk have the intelligence to take control of a companion, likely the only reason that guy is there and alive is because he barely moves, and the game said that zurks eat anything that moves. Additionally the game says zurks are reactionary species meaning that they really only react to things, requiring other creatures to make the first move. If you're just pressed up against a wall and you stay still as a robot, chances are they will just forget about you and leave you alone
You should do a theory about how all of the human structures are still standing and intact even though it's been millions of years. The robots couldn't have maintained everything, especially the structures outside the walls.
I am so glad that Mat made a theory about the darker side of the game! From my first playthrough, I always thought the ending of the game seemed a bit sinister and horrific! Well done as always
I think this theory could use some more depth. For example, while that day count might be accurate to the companion robots, that might not be accurate to "days" as we consider them. If the robots do not recall things properly, they might only know that day and night are things, and not how long they are. Especially when they have no access to the sun in order to track it by the sun. This could explain why so many "human" things still exist, why cats are still cats and not evolved into something new and why the sun hasn't changed at all. I would love to hear more theories based on that assumption!
You know the idea of everyone being robots was something I'd thought about during the let's play I watched. Mores specifically it would explain why a bunch of robots who probably don't feel hot or cold would keep a bunch of HVAC running, and develop negative neurological traits that would have no benefit like hypochondria.
This game is pretty interesting ngl. By not exactly representing a cat's life and actually having it's own unique story makes it makes itself very interesting.
I think the fliking Light at the end is just a little clue on a second part that maybe come because there was another clue in another game from annapurna for the second part of stray
Wait then now what? Zurks are mutated bacteria with one purpose, to eat, but if it transferred itself into a robot then wouldn't all they want is to eat? Eat what? They're robots
The theory is that they're using robots to spread their species. Parasites that infect their prey and use their prey to spread their species, and consume the prey afterwards.
Imagine this theory is *true* do you think….they would to either a sequel or a prequel? The sequel about another cat saving the world? Or a prequel about B12 as a human?
Yeah i doubt it, the Zurg don't seem interested in uploading their Minds. Plus, wouldn't they then just kidnap them? Instead of eating them? Thier a Hivemind, you think they would all go for the same Goal then?
I love this theory, not because it makes a lot of sense with quite a lot of things that can back it up... But it potentially opens a door for a new Stray game. Let's be honest, the game was proper 6 hours and should have been longer, I honestly believe that making a second game won't be overshadowed by the first game if everything is done correctly here. I still think this game deserves a co-op.
To be honest I'm surprised he didn't do a theory about bugsnax's yet,the ending has been updated and we don't know much about them. I kinda wanna see him do a theory
I like how everyone is talking about how wholesome the game is and how dark matpat made it seem, but the game was the one with the fleshy eyeball walls and the extinction of humanity.
TRUE
I mean... yeah idk how to argue with that...
Excuse me, but there's about 10 million years of history that proves that humanity going extinct would be the most wholesome thing to ever happen.
Well it is his second job to make things dark for some reason.
Do you not pay attention to what’s being said in game? Legit said a hive mind. 😂🤦🏽♂️
I hope this game gets a sequel or DLC, there's so much room
haha first
not even a single like
I believe they’ve Already announced working a second game if I’m not mistaken!!
“Stray: the house cat of vault 12” idk since there might be more city vaults other than just this one.
@@DaWizardBoi Your Not First, Someone Already Saw This Comment Before You, They Just Didnt Like It Neither Did They Reply To It
@@aqlanonn2513 first to like
The idea that the robots are actually human has a lot of validity like the fact that the cleaning robots on the top level don't have personality though they are probably the same age as the rest of the robots if not older because they actually have jobs
When I was interacting with robots In Stray I often found myself to be confused by their words and behaviour.
Either they were mimicing humans, or they were humans.
As for ending, if there ever is franchise of Stray, I think Zurk hive mind took control of the machines In the end. Though it wouldn't be much of the sequel since outside is nothing there, except plants and animals. Because humans are long gone. Only thing to hive mind to get In control would be blank cleaning robots.
Blank cleaning robots that are Orange like Zurks.
except when the whole lore of the game contradicts this. Dialogue from memories clearly states that the robots learn to be human in lower parts of the city. Robots in the upper most part do not have any personality. This theory is just a theory, but its aganist source material for the sake of consipracy theorizing for fun.
@@radosawczuj1054 I never liked MatPat anyway. He knows Jack and didli. 🧐 Anything for views am I right?
@@m1ghty_m1kk04 no he just loves to make a therory even if it probably isn’t true because he makes you believe it could be true
I just have a quick thing I would like to point out that might be a stumbling issue in Matpats theory: The Sun's UV light strength is WAY higher then our flashlight.
Exactly this. My main issue with this theory was the assumption that this little flashlight is some ultra powerful radiation god like the sun.
@@primalfeline To be fair, that doesn’t circumvent the fact that the Zurk might want to use robot bodies to get around the UV issue either
Though that doesn't really help when most of the main hive is way out of the sun's reach.
@@starsilverinfinity and if they DID use robo bodies how would that help when they go outside
@@Arshu_Shenta It means they wouldnt have to deal with the sun anymore as an issue to their expansion? Even if they dont like go full mind transfer they could use the robots as mobile transport to other regions to colonize
Fun Fact : The Game takes place in City 99. So we could presume there are at least, 98 other bastions of humanity left in Stray's World. Bastions that could've thrived better than City 99. Cities that didn't fall to any kind of plague or Zurk infestation. Perhaps with help from The Humans, The Companions can fully eradicate The Zurks before they become a fully realized threat.
This actually seems totally possible. 👍
On the same note though: Its been 7 million years, it seems unlikely that anyone in those are still alive or if they are they might very well have evolved into something unrecognizable as humans after 7 million years in a sealed environment.
@@simongreve the city might even be locked because the outsiders didn't want to save them, because of the zurk maybe?
i noticed this and thought the same thing
Um ever heard of city 40…
If not dont google if you dont wanna know a story about radiation
It's not just that the eye walls are incredibly disturbing, they're also sentient.. they actively control and release zurks in an attempt to stop whatever you're doing.. so if they needed the door to open, why would they be trying to stop you? 🤔 there's gotta be something deeper here that we're missing.
That they're sentient does not necessarily mean that they're smart. There could even be factions that don't agree with each other.
@@unduloid true, I think they're just smart enough to detect the cat as a threat, but not smart enough to make a connection between the cat and their hivemind plans of spreading.
Matpat forgot to mention that the eye walls are incapable of movement and are incredibly reliant on the common zurks. With the common zurk population threatened by extinction, the walls stand to lose any and all power they had.
@@iamhungry1412 l think this is it. How would the know the cat is on a long quest to open the city. They just want their next meal
I actually suspect they’re just a highly specialized polymorphic form designed for sentry behaviour. They do seem to alert the mobile Zurk, but the swarming behaviour is consistent whether or not any of the eyes are around. I don’t think they are any more intelligent than the mobile forms are.
Fun little insight: Stray's cats have round pupils. Most small cats have vertical pupils because they're ambush predators. But a few have evolved round pupils instead, indicating that they've adapted to be better daytime chasers rather than nighttime ambushers. This could be in part a product of domestication, where cats are more likely to adapt to their owners' daytime schedules, and aren't pressured into the same ecological niche because humans protect and feed them.
Uh, actually, cats can change their pupils
Just like us humans
Or chickens, or cows, stuff like that
And round pupils would make it better to hunt in the dark since they get more light
You can see that every single cat stays with it's pupils in vertical during the day( and if they're not stressed or with fear, stuff like that, otherwise then open them up ) and during the night, their pupils are round
Yeah, they don't need night vision when the only thing they do at night is scream for 3 hours straight
@@fuery. xD
Yeah, like, they still existing during the night
I think u we’re on to something at first. The cats HAVE evolved to be better daytime hunters but because the parasites cannot go into the sun not because of domestication
@@Nicholas-wf4xh legit
I think a pretty simple explanation to why the eyes aren't affected would be that the UV light just simply isn't strong enough coming from a little lamp. Pretty sure the sun would be much stronger and another possibility could be that they simply require longer exposure to UV light in order for them to start taking noticeable damage.
The sun > some flashlight
@@Leagueminer-ve6iv exactly bro
@@Leagueminer-ve6iv fr
That or its just not a mechanic they implemented into the game
Thing is the Zurk's are underground and using the robot to find a way to find a way to be immune against UV light. Sunlight can't reach underground
There’s actually a reason why the UV light doesn’t work on the eyes. In one of the missions where we help Doc, he states how much watts is actually required is like 1.1 gigawatts or something to kill zurks? (I don’t remember the actual amount needed) So I’m assuming that the UV light that is emitted has to be higher than the one that is attached to B-12.
this is correct it is said that a weaker uv light was put on b12 because thats all he could support on his small robot body thats why our weapon doesnt effect the eyes but the sun should
Which means they'd maybe get used to the light the cat has, but that doesn't compare the literal sun. I think they're gonna be fine
Although in the final scene where the zurk are getting wiped out, you can see the flesh in the background and it doesn't seem to be affected by the sunlight.
@@donjezza10 it could be where the flesh can’t, but the eyes act as weak spots to the sunlight, and only if they are hit by the sunlight then the flesh will disappear too.
@@donjezza10 thats because its just remnants of the eggs and stuff , the zurks explode
The only opposition I have to the UV problem is that maybe the big eyes aren’t resistant to UV but remember that doc said that the little robot vessel isn’t made for a large power usage like the UV ray or sun so maybe there just isn’t enough power to make the UV strong enough to destroy those eyes
Yeah that makes way more sense
@@thekirstenempire plus those eyes possibly run on fuel for food so now that the zurks aren’t really eating anything the eyes might die due to lack of food
Yes, but unless the robots or our cat decides to make a concentrated UV ray pointer, they're pretty much untouchable.
@@karanaher5030 true but without any resources they won’t be able to evolve meaning they’ll die eventually
@@karanaher5030 plus they probably can now that the docs back at his lab he can make a way more concentrated and way more powerful light
I did think about the fact that the sunlight won't be able to reach into the sewers and the zurks down there would still be able to exist and I also thought it was strange to see a companion melted into the wall but not eaten and hooked up to computers. So there may be definitely something to that. Maybe eventually the zurks will figure out how the companions work but it will take many years perhaps centuries. The eyes in the sewer walls genuinely scared me and that part was the creepiest part of the game.
I have a different theory actually regarding the zurk collective in the underground levels of the megastructure. While I do agree that they are not affected by UV light, I don't think they're as much of a threat per se. Another important fact that needs to be looked at is that, if they can consume plastics and metal, then why isn't there more structural damage down there? I think the answer is because the mega colony is composed of a form of zurk that cannot eat normally. Full eusociality: the smaller zurk you see are drones, the hunters, the ones that come back and bring food to the larger hive, which then uses the food to spawn more drones in order to feed itself. Without the UV sensitive drones/workers, the hive as a whole will starve.
@lim sowq I assume this is a bot
@@arjix8738 same
i agree to this theory
in the game its explained in the beginning tho? they say "they eat only moving things"
@lim sowq that is so much more comforting 🙏
While I like the theory, I think B-12 being the light at the end makes more sense, because the game started with B in a network, turning on lights to guide us in, so it would be poetic to end with B in a network, turning on lights to guide us(and others) out
agreed
@flower has eaten tf?
@@rumad19 never click on the links in random comments, a lot of them could be potential viruses
@@fuzenakuhei8223im pretty sure youtube blocks out all links that arent youtube related
youtu.be is just the mobile extension for youtube
Game Developer: _let’s create a wholesome game while you play as a cat_
MatPat: *Allow me to introduce my theory*
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):.....ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
впвпарв
врвррв
жжжж
never seen this dude’s comment with only 6 likes on it
I've also wondered how is Doc the "father" of Seamus; I see it as two possible ways, one more plausible than the other. The first being that Doc would have built Seamus, but that just doesn't really feel right at all. But it aligns pretty neatly if they were actually father and son, humans who uploaded themselves into companions. That'd make a lot of sense!
Or maybe he “adopted” him
Yeah, that part of the game didn't really make much sense at all to be honest.
Everyone: “why does matpat make a gruesome theory about a wholesome game”
The wholesome game: the elite will destroy those beneath them, fleshy eye ball rooms, the death of the last human, giant bacteria that consumes everything, a cat getting injured badly multiple times
Thank you.
But the cat is cute
Yeah idk how anyone can watch this theory and still think it's some wholesome cat simulator, and this theory doesn't even touch on some of the other darker parts of the game
I love how you ranked cat getting hurt next to the death of humanity
They're so distracted by the cat that they easily forget this, ahh human nature and it's glorious lower average attention span than a goldfish.
I personally prefer to believe that, without zurks everywhere and Doc back in the slums, the companions start to develop wired, handheld, very powerful UV ray emitters which they bring into the sewers and use to eradicate the infestation
[Edit] And another thing: I am honestly very suprised that MatPat didn't see the fact that the zurks may not be only in the 99th underground city. This isn't fallout, these aren't experiment vaults meant to bring psychology to it's furthest, these are safehouses, sanctuaries, seeing as a screen in the last area of the game points to a world map, implying that the game takes place in City 99, Neco corp, the corporation that is the culprit for the existence of the zurks may not be present in all of these cities, there may be more humans in the previous 98 around the world which may just as well be safe from the zurks.
[Edit2] An important part of this theory is that the zurks may be able to upload themselves to the network, but I think otherwise. You see, in the beginning of the game the cat has to being the B-12 robot to a station to upload the scientists consciousness from the network to its new body, this also happens when we put B-12 back into the network at the end of the game. Now, I have come to realise the way that the concept of consciousness within the network might work, you see, wherever there are companion robots in the game, you can find a white pod along with wires in a certain proximity, this leads me to the conclusion that the network works like the following:
If you want to upload yourself to the network, you have to climb into a white pod, from there you can either use cables to connect a body to the pod or make it that a body is placed in a nearby station.
Therefore, there is no way that a zurk, let along multiple upload themselves into the network, turn the robots into a hivemind or become a companion.
I am wondering why Matpat is not questioning where all this garbage came from. This city was hermetically sealed, do nothing coming in, so how could tons of garbage be produced?
@Selale Z
Pee and poo
Yeah, Tymon Gajewski I like to think that as well.
@@selalewow I mean, it's reasonable that they had massive food piles, perhaps even farms, that eventually rotted away, but yeah, if it's really millions of years, then it would be very weird why there's STILL so much stuff...
well, it's most likely the bacteria were everywhere, as just a normal thing, it's possible that in SOME of them, they didn't become evil hivemind of killer headcrabs and flesh-walls, but I'd assume that in most of them, something reasonably similar did happen...perhaps some of them didn't become metal-eaters, but they could still eat all the isolation off the wires, and still be dangerous that way
One interesting theory that could be a mini theory if you ever make another Stray theory is that Doc is the only robot called a dad or even a mom or parent in the game. Literally no one else mentions their parents or their children other than Doc (Seamus' father), Seamus (Doc's son) and B-12 (a human). My guess is Doc is the only companion smart enough to be able to built a new companion,hence why he is called a parent and no one else is, he's the only genius inventor we see in the game who could make a new one.
woahh nice theory, i think it could also be the whole thing about them not really having a lot of memories, but still having their human core and emotions. Doc might have been the only one lucky enough to transport both himself and his son as humans into the network.
Did you sleep notice how they're a parody of doc and Marty from back to the future? Like look at their outfit
@@PokéBreeder not everyone has seen that movie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@PokéBreeder but wow i didnt notive that until you pointed it out thats so cool
@@PokéBreeder I knew it but Doc wasn't Marty's dad or even a family member which I think makes the fact they chose to make Doc Seamus' dad even more interesting
Yeah, cats be like that sometimes.
Another thing we looked over is that how robots and the zurcs technically had access to the open world.
The cat we played as just *fell down* into the underground world, he didnt bypass a lock that kept them.
Regardless of Cat's action Zurcs would be the dominant species after all.
he did actually, b12 opened a locked door for him, the city was fully closed
@@barrriwa Ah my bad then, but still. It was just a matter of Zurcs tapping into B12s computer/city system. Just like they've done with that captured robo
@@barrriwa but still, some zurks were outside
@@antonmakarenko3271 Yeah but, in the shadows, and really deep,I don't think they coexisted in the same world with the cats
Bro the scientist is very intelligent because he created a generation of robot
I think Stray in the title could mean more than “stray cat”. Stray means lost. Humanity is lost, and the culture they left behind is floundering aimlessly without them. Giving them the whole world instead of just being locked inside their dangerous city is giving them new purpose.
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):......ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
Oh god bots
Ignoring the bots, I think this is a really interesting thought!
ds
Thanks for the wholesome explanation. I needed that. 😊
I knew Matpat was gonna make a theory on this but I didn’t expect it to be this dark 😭
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):.......ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
Killing humanity just sounds like the average Cat thing to do
same
Jesus so many bots
@@BlitzerXYZ I know right
Also, in the ant village, there's a robot named Isaac sleeping on a couch, when you talk to him he's dreaming about "electric zurks everywhere", could kinda be foreshadowing for when the zurks learn from the robots and become them
Maybe or maybe not, but that really sounds horrifying
@TheFloofBall the sun probably didnt get into the sewers though
I assumed it was a reference to 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'
1) Yes the Zurk eat metal. But there has to be something else to all of it. If their only requirement is to be able to resist UV light would they have not chewed up the ceiling? The steel walls and others? Sure its stronger metal but it has also been 7M years so yk- something might be missing here.
2) Plenty of comments also mentioned the potency of the UV lights and the sort of hive mind that the Zurk comprise, and personally? They behave like sculk from Minecraft. The catalysts might be able to expand sculk, but they dont kill anything. The Warden can be deadly but he doesnt generate sculk. You need both for a sculk infestation. Similarly, the Zurk might kill and in proximity with the rest of the biomass this can expand, but, the absence of Zurk could mean an end to the species of the bacteria by the loss of their hunter component. (+The fact that sunlight would be much stronger than the UV lamp so yk, that might also impede growth or even kill the fleshy eyes at the bottom of the sewers).
Edit after watching more of the video: How would the Zurk evolve past their weakness if they have grown in the absence of UV light? Bacteria build up their immune systems from encounters with other bacteria or by surviving whatever they are weak to. Sure, they could've encountered Micrococcus Luteus and traded genes but even then- why? how would you prepare yourself for something you don't even know exists?
There's no way it's actually been 7 million years... "2544875556" is a Unix timestamp for August 23, 2050, meaning that's the day when the robots turned sentient.
Oer the constant exposure to sun light and therefore uv radiation would couse cancer in the zurk as they have not seen the sun in idk how long and there fore devolved theyr cancer resistance
Something of a foot note, but the ceiling is propably lower grade steel than the robots. As the robots are machines with bearings, bushings, gears and other parts made from higher strength alloys, while the ceiling is propably just basic structural steel
Something
(\_/)
( •.• )
/ \
And A Bactria can't resist everything it has to trade something off for example Infectious Bactria cant be immune to bacteriophages and macrobiotics it can only trade one or the other off for the other
Honestly the fact that you're playing as a cat isn't even the coolest part of the game. The setting and the story and all the characters are all so interesting and make it such a cool experience. But also: cat.
I liked the cat but I hated it when the game introduced the stupid robots, the missions, inventory and all that stuff.
it's disappointing it became like every other generic third person game. the beginning when it's just "cat exploring simulator" is amazing. I want a whole 8 or 10 hours game of only that.
@@pelgervampireduck for me it's the opposite, but I also like the intro where it's like a cat simulator but the game will worn out for me eventually, the story addition of robots make it more inrteresting and I was surprised that it was deep and dark lore. but I get you maybe if we remove the robots and zurgs lore, replaced with only cat story and revolves only around the cats and learning how the humans were gone and finding out the timeline is in the far future is also interesting
@@pelgervampireduck so you hated 90% of the game? Sounds to me like you didn’t actually like the game all that much just the general concept.
average @@pelgervampireduck moment
@@chainsawboy2388 I liked the concept of exploring as a cat. I hope somebody makes a whole game about that. a "cat walking simulator".
Litreally everyone: Comes to the conclusion that B-12 has uploaded himself into the network once again.
Matpat: Nah, the cat killed the human race
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):.....ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
I mean I think the better theory videos are the more obscure and crazy theories.
...
I mean, its not hard to think b12 is once again in the cloud
Since the very beginning he was guiding and kinda taking care of the Cat
Maybe the b12 is just a copy, or the cloud is a backup
Kinda weird to see "your friend that is not actually your friend" kinda vibes, but i mean, is possible
Personally, i don't believe this Theory.
Question: wouldn't the Zurks need to operate the same white pod in order to upload themselves into a robot? Having one just chained up and connected to some wires in the sewers wouldn't really help them if they can't get in a pod and use it correctly to get in the robot's consciousness/the network. And that's also assuming that the Zurks have enough consciousness in the first place to be uploaded, as all I remember they can do is eat, see, run at you, repeat.
It's all about the giant eyeballs, are those things connected to a neuronal system ? Clearly the little roming zurks don't have any form of advanced intelligence but the eyeballs are clearly trying to stop you by releasing numbers of those zurks when you're spotted.
The Zurks have taken over big parts of the city. There are multiple pods in other apartments or facilities that are in Zurk territory (I doubt that humanity used only two pods).
Also if they are in the robots and network how will they eat
@@xxstephxx1005 thats the thing... they wouldn’t have to eat.. wait...
if the zurks are trying to upload themselves to robots? are they still a threat after they are done with that task?
Spoiler alert: they don't have enough consciousness
I would honestly be very happy if this was the setup for a sequel, because the game was just so much fun and story was surprisingly strange, a little spooky and fun.
The fact that UV and the sun kills them, could mean they've been researching to try and become robot too to avoid the limitation and eventually escape the bunker too. So we could end up with a Zurk virus in 2 and have to save our robot friends from the virus and take down the hive mind deep underground somewhere.
Also I really crave a wholesome reunion with his Stray cat family.
I feel like MatPat is giving the zurks more brain than they actually have. These thing literally lunge into pools of acid
Ye but they do literally have a robot strapped to a wall with computer monitors plugged into it seems like they might be a little smarter than originally thought to be
@@lance8515 then why do they jump into pools of acid
@@lance8515 Aren't they just mutated bacteria.....
@@Patience_difficult Maybe the ones on the walls with eyes are smarter than the ones jumping into acid. Like Matt said, they may have evolved.
@@EspeonMistress00 You do know life began as exactly that right? At least this is the most popular theory on how life on Earth began.
So I think the reason the UV light didn't have an effect on the walls in the zurk hive were because they weren't strong enough to be effective. The sun might be different.
judging how this is 7 million years worth of growth in the dark, the uv light from the sun would shatter it.
Bro imagine if you're an eyeball in the darkness for 7 million years and then you see the sun. A bright, blinding sun right into your overexposed giant eyeball. A UV flashlight isn't gonna do much, flimsy little thing. The sun would totally obliterate them, though. It's like if you've been in the theatre for 3 hours and then walk out into afternoon sun, you're blinded. Now multiply this by like, 7million. I think your eyeballs are going to _explode_
@@reydragonclaw1128 I don't think the eyeballs were made to travel. They can't get out because they act like the HQ. That's why they hijacked the bots, possibly to carry the little guys and create new "HQ's".
or because of game developing limitations-
@@krwrie A similar situation is with the fish/creatures living at the bottom of the ocean. They won't survive at the surface level because they just don't have the ability to live there. They've evolved to withstand the harsh environment of the deep ocean, so much so, that they will immediately die if we bring them up.
The fact that the flesh on the walls didn’t eat the cat or the walls means it’s probably a different substance, and because it can’t eat the robot, the robot’s still alive.
That’s my game theory anyway. Mainly because I want at least *one* game to have a happy ending and it might as well be the cat game
We never actually see Zurk eating metal besides living Companions, so maybe the one in the sewer was dead, and that's why nothing ate it? The Zurk seem to specifically not eat structures and electronic systems, even in the most Zurked up places, we see tech online working fine. I can only explain that with them seeing Companions as a threat.
The Zurk *respond* to the beck and call of the entity we see in the sewers. That is -why- they try to flood and kill us there. It controls, the Zurk.
@@GIRGHGH It's not dead though, it repeatedly looks around at the cat when you walk near it. So clearly it's still functioning, along with the moniters its hooked up to.
@@SoujiaSoldierKitty By dead I just meant the ai. It looking around could be interpreted as just doing what all the eyes were doing.
@@GIRGHGH We don't know if that's what happens if "The A.I inside it dies", but you think that would just result in them...
Dying.
Cause the blank robots in the end have also been around for years, but their ai is obviously still working just fine, but with nothing else to do but clean.
I'm gonna say a hybrid of the theories is true; the monitors we saw flicker on _are_ B12 in his new city administrator role. However, the Zurks _are_ intelligent and using that robot towards sinister ends. From a writing perspective, that makes the most sense for sequel buildup. Both need to be true.
Mat, the theory with zurk apocalypse is indeed appealing one, but there are few major problems with that:
1. We do not have any evidence to support zurk having complex intelegence capable of even basic deduction. So it would be weird for pretty premitive organism to suddenly understand complex electronics
2 The thing on the walls seeing how it is a living organism, by it having eyes, need to eat somehow, but as we also see it doesn't have any limbs nor mouth or any complex digestive system, as there are no fecies, also taking into account how it sticks to walls, we can assume that it's closer to slime mold. Slime mold are simple organism which are evolutionary between fungi and animals, they feed by extending its body until they reach any food and the absorbing back all parts not connected to any food, they also consume stuff by slowly absorbing stuff. The thing on the walls is probably doing exactly that to a robot in sewers, it's slowly absorbing him, which is supported by the fact that the robot seems grown into the wall.
3. The UV flashlight is a very weak source UV light and radiation and therefore the immunity to it can't be equated with complete immunity to UV light. As example we humans aren't affected by the UV flashlight either but the sun affects are pretty strongly, all through it is not deadly for us, ateast not immediately, there is no reason to assume that a organism which is generally weak to UV light won't die from exposure to the strongest source of UV light.
Therefore all through the theory is very interesting it is also highly improbable.
correct I was thinking the same thing, nice deduction skills
but I think they do have simple deduction skills hence the scene with the giant eyes sending zurks to flank the cat but they don't have a capacity to understand complex technology
@@pewpew327 I think that's just based on instinct rather than deduction.
I agree completely. But there's also a small chance that the zurks will evolve, rendering Matpat's theory valid. And I mean over the course of the next million years or so. The zurks have come this far and there's no garaunteed plateau regarding their evolution.
The zurk don't need to think in the same way as a human being; that's where your logic fails.
love how matpat just gave BACTERIA this much intelligence
i think they would just continue to vibe down there
@KaraDUN a traitor!
@@figshwg a amogus
Millions of year ago, you all are also once bacteria.
@@Leo-qt7zu le imposterus
@SariPlus nobody cares
Game: includes a cute cat
Matpat: THE END IS OF THE HUMAN RACE IS NEAR!!!
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):......ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
It’s really got to that point huh?
Oh my god the bots are spreading way too fast.
I mean in the game the humans are dead
When Susan is thrown out, these bots are going with her.
To be fair, if cats had thumbs they would indeed destroy humanity, they are little psychopaths.....but their our psychopaths so-
2:37
“CATBOY MATPAT DOES NOT EXIST!! HE CANT HURT YOU!!”
Catboy matpat:
So, as much as I love your theories and how dark they can get, I have to say I found a flaw to this one proving it is indeed B-12 in the network and not the zurks. Other than the fact that B-12 literally says his little drone body couldn't handle it but he'll be fine back in the network, the cutscene showing the sentinels crashing is proof it's B-12. Why would the Zurks shut down the sentinels? It wouldn't serve them any purpose and we know it isn't because of UV as that wouldn't make sense to build a police force that shuts down in sunlight. The sentinels shut down because B-12 shut them down after he got control.
I actually thought of something else that proves it's B12. In the beginning, when you first fall in, the screens flicker on and the giant door opens up. You then see signs and cameras guiding you and find out that this is B12 guiding you to him. They flicker on exactly like they do at the end.
Wait, the sentinels crashed?
@@jwalster9412 Yeah, have you not beaten the game? You can beat it in under 2 hours. I've already platinumed it on 2 accounts.
@@dragonrobber I've only watched a full playthrough once.
I thought it was more that the sentinels were just part of the lockdown; when the lockdown ended, they were automatically disabled.
Even accepting the premise of the video, it's highly unlikely those on the surface are doomed. The zurk rats have huge numbers and can chew through metal but seem to lack any kind of coordination by the zurk masterminds as well as being destroyed by ultraviolet light. The zurk masterminds don't seem to be fast at hacking the imprisoned robot, so it's highly unlikely they can infiltrate and overrun the other robots before they notice and fight back. The other robots are organised, inventive, and have manufacturing capabilities, so can fight back with brutality.
lets not forget that all (if not all a lot of zurks) died due to the ultraviolet light emanating from the sun. (nvm just a lot of zurks died in city 99 but there can be in other cities thats true, I didn't think that through.)
You know, one thing does not make sense in your theory. The cat has fallen into the city through somewhere, and if I get it right (haven't played the game yet), travelled to the actual populated area through zurk territory, right? That means the zurk already had acces to the surface, so if they were actually intelligent enough to come up with that plan, they'd have done it already, or done it in the future regardless of whether B/12 openned the city to the surface or not. So... no, I do not believe the cute kitty doomed the world, because IF your theory is right then the world was doomed to begin with.
Yes. Becoming robots has more uses than not dying in the sun. They wouldn't have waited for the city to open.
A good point in the video though is that they needed to become robots to traverse, and if they did how would they make it up the pit? Something that disproves my and matpats theory is the fact that the emorphis blobs of zurk dont dissapear, meaning that the eyes could have spread everywhere by then and instead of falling into a little pit, we could have fallen into zurk eyes and died.
1: it could be that while our UV light is strong enough to take out the smaller zurks it just isnt enough to do the same for the larger ones, this doesnt mean they are immune
2: would the zurks even have the mental faculties to think about uploading there minds, all they want is food they want to feed and nothing more
if you tell an A.I to make paperclips it will _only_ make paperclips it might dismantle human bodies for more paperclips maybe it will start dismantling the earth just because it has one objective doesn't mean it won't develop better faster ways of doing that objective
if we want to talk about mental faculties, we should start with the question "Where is the human remnants?"
my best assumption so far is that the reason why the zurks developed eyes is because they get that DNA from human remnants. what if those eyes are the new developing sub-species of human-zurks? by that assumption, it makes sense how 1.21GW UV light won't affect them at all, because human has the capability to withstand sunlight. With that, it makes sense that they will develop the mental facilities to observe and study the robot in the sewer. Objective wise, they could be just trying to find better ways to survive.
but that's just my assumption :p
@@toothpasteman3400 And how exactly is uploading into robotic bodies without any proper digestive system gonna help them? If their whole purpose (or objective) is to eat anything that moves, they can't accomplish that in the peaceful bodies of those Companion bots. So uploading into them makes no sense for the Zurk.
i generally love lore, but this game was so heartwarming that I don't even care it just made me FEEL something and I loved it. it is an amazing game!
@lim sowq stray 2
Yeah, By far the best game in recent years. We need a sequel now 😂
I absolutely loved this game just finished it a little late to the game. Hoping for a stray 2!
Alternatively, maybe the UV weapon simply wasn't powerful enough to harm the big one, but the full might of the sun probably is
yeah. honestly i feel like this theory kinda grasped at straws. I mean, has matpat even looked at B-12's body? No way that thing can concentrate enough power to wipe out a massive eyeball. It cant even keep the Defluxor on for more than 5 seconds. Not judging matpat here, considering he probably pressures himself a lot to come up with theories, but I honestly just dont think this makes all too much sense.
@@youraverageintrovert1990
true
@@youraverageintrovert1990 yeah i bet they will have to sqint in the sun
Even beyond the "Full might of the sun VS a single UV lamp" the Hivemind seems to be quite Sedentary. Could even be why they're so much more resistant to UV than most as they can simply recover from a UV exposure much more quickly. Like a strong Cell Wall or membrane. The fact that they are so sedentary might not necessarily mean the sun destroys them instantly, but keeps them from naturally spreading any further as they can effectively only have mobility or defense. Though the "Uploading" issue could still circumvent this somewhat.
Makes sense since I'm pretty sure the Sun's natural UV light isn't the same as a dinky little flashlight made from scraps by Doc and that a prolonged exposure to the sun would prove fatal enough to the Zurks
Just finished stray, actually sobbing 😭
MatPat: “This cat killed the human race.”
Also MatPat: “Cuteness is easily the biggest thing to never trust.”
When you ever feel useless, look at the comments above me.
I guess you can say he doesn't like pu-
That's not contradictory, though.
@@LossudamericanoshuelenaKAKA.. shut up
Why so many bots?
“This Cat Killed the Human Race” you know this is about to get interesting
That darn cat
The whole reply section is full of bots
@@idk_45633 we need a bot to ban the bots. Fight fire with fire.
Possibly crazy
Yupp
A cat simulator with a wide degree of endings and open-ended relationships should be developed; love or admonish your human, become a stray or gain multiple home-situations with families or singles, hunt progressively more difficult prey, walk on computers to buy special items not otherwise available, stay-clean, destroy a room, escape confinement, battle for territory, raise kittens wild or domestic, foster orphan animals, bring trophies home, and hunt sleeping peoples toes.
I would play this game 100%
Yeah, we need more animal simulation games, the videogames are too anthropocentric when we could learn about and get closer in understanding the world that surround us with games.
I mean if you want some of these features cattails let’s you do a lot of these. The cats don’t interact with human objects but you can raise kittens and interact with other cats and battle for territory that your colony uses to hunt.
There's a game called cat's choice in the choice of games library that's basically this except I've never played it all the way through because I can only go in for three chapters before I have to pay for it and the app won't let me purchase things
Sims pet pack
The eyes might not have been affected by your UV light because it is not strong enough, this was stated by Doc when he installed the module as he said "It's not meant to run off such a small power source. If you use it to much it will malfuction". But maybe a a stong enough UV light such as the sun does have affect on them, it may slowly kill the eyes or it may do it quickly.
“My mighty attacks can not reach thee? And who decided that? My blazing sun was swallowed up by a speck of darkness? And who decided that? The only one who gets to decide such things IS ME!”
-The Stray Cat probably when getting the UV flash light from Doc.
escanor reference go brr
Someone please please please animate this
1.21 GIGOWATTS!
This game should have a DLC where you explore the outside it’s literally so genius edit: thank you guys for making this comment popular I really appreciate you guys This is genuinely the most likes I have gotten.
Yes
I was really disappointed that we never meet back up with our cat family from the beginning of the game.
@@UngoogleableMan actually they most likely reunited, but it sucks that there wasn't a cutscene or gameplay that shows it. ua-cam.com/video/tEOEczZQHbo/v-deo.html
call it freeroam mode
also one where you can go back into the slums and midtown
Honestly, I did think that the story was leading up to "humans uploaded their minds to robots" reveal, especially after seeing that robot talking about smells. Was a little confused and disappointed when it was never brought up in game, but it's still my head cannon.
*ua-cam.com/video/zj4Gzp2lI2I/v-deo.html*
Here is the full vid:
i didnt know that it wasnt cannon... i thought it was just facts cus of the cat comment too
I was a little perplexed by the Burger Joint memory. I thought this would lead to revealing B-12 was the scientist in charge of the whole operation, and had recreated elements based on his memories, OR that the Helpers, like B-12 were filled with human uploads who had long forgotten their past.
I just presumed the burgers were from McDonald’s🤷🏻♂️
Only issue with the theory; the Zurk eye-mind can’t actually harm anything, they can only control smaller Zurks. If we assume Zurks have to evolve to achieve their “eye” form, eyes won’t appear on the surface because they need to be able to grow in prolonged dark to grow into eyes.
Did you not watch the video? The few theories he throws out there answers your question.
The Captured Robot Hooked up to the network (using him for some sort of advancement of their own species and the cat essentially unlocking their prison. Like he said, most likely thevye been trying to learn/evolve so they can eventually transfer their own consciousness into ultra durable robots so it/they can evolve and spread like a virus over the whole planet. Kind of like us humans, lol
There are many ways to avoid that if they get a robot army. They can literally carry zurk in tubes to caves, facilities etc.
True but some of the smaller zurks could’ve survived if they were still in the sewer when the city opened up, there could have also been eggs down there.
@@d3tach3d the Zurks have not shown intelligence passed eyes pointing in the general direction of prey. It’s more than likely the “captured” robots are strung up like spiders in a trap, food on hold. Even if the Zurk are smarter than we give them credit for, the robots are not aware of their consciousness transference, so then how are the Zurk going to prod information out that the robots aren’t even aware of.
@@TakarieZan how can the Zurk probe the information of consciousness transfer when even the robots don’t remember it happening?
I feel like the whole “eyes are immune to the lamp” thing is just a missing game detail the devs never thought about. Clever theory though, and even if what I say here is true, they are still safe in the sewers.
Hard to believe they could have missed such a huge detail, especially when you see how polished the game is. They made giant eyeballs looking at you and your only weapon is a UV light : of course each player will try to kill those things with UV
They could at least make them closing, or just blink, when shining your light on them but they didn't....
Could also just be the quantity of UV lighting, a single drop of water isn't going to break apart an ocean of salt kind of deal
Could also very easily be explained as that they need a greater concentration of UV than a little light can produce.
But isnt the sun a bit stronger than a small uv light i might be forgetting something but...
I find it comforting to know that even after we humans are all dead and gone, cats will still be around to knock things off of shelves for no particular reason lol.
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):......ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
Better than roaches, aren’t they the ones that usually survive everything?
..oh no now I’m imagining Stray but it’s just roaches instead of cats help
they should release a dlc for stray, where you explore an open world map and there could be hidden lore for matpat to talk about
MATPAT being slapped by a cat is the most wholesome thing I seen
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):.......ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
What the-
@@deanos32 Ik right? So much spam and commercial
@@iainma265 Omg the 4 horsemen of bots + spamming
Breh looking around it’s the same bots that is commenting on everything
One of the few theories of Matt that I actually see as kind of grasping at loose ends cause the Zurk eyeballs not exploding could be just cuz the dev’s didn’t really want to have to remodel maps, but like he said can’t really be disproven.
That part, admittedly yes. But the devs very consciously added an imprisoned companion bot in the Zurk territory for a reason. Which goes against the whole, mindless monsters that attempt to eat anything in sight, style that Zurks seem to be. Also having the Zurks evolve into a more dangerous entity is such a sequel bait. And that means more money!
@@zaneron8391 yeah u right, it’s just like he said it can’t be proven nor be disproven but if it means hope at a sequel im all for it.
That or the lamp is just too weak for the eyeballs.
They could have, at the very least, make the eyeballs closing when you're shining your light on them. The lack of any reaction, even the sligtest, is really weird.
Or maybe it’s just that our light is too weak, I bet that if actual sunlight popped in the sewers those eyeballs would pop too.
Mat really assumes the "consciousness" of the Zerg hivemind is comparable enough to that of a human, and therefore the same process that digitizes human consciousness can be used on the zerg as well.
But we know they are not comparable. Zerg lack basic sentient instincts that humans had, that every living mammal has.
For example, they see other zerg get killed by the UV lamp, but they don't hide from it or avoid it.
And also, assuming that the zerg can comprehend the concept of digitizing consciousness, or even the concept of consciousness to begin with is a MASSIVE stretch.
It's easy to forget that "consciousness" is an abstract concept made by the human mind to simplify the astronomically complex processes that take place in our brain. Why would a species that hasn't even developed intelligence yet would see the robots and understand the process by which they were made?
the issue is that we never learn why the robot is imprisoned there (or if we do, it's never mentioned.) If this was an actual interrogation zone, I think the zurk would have fortified the location to make sure the robot couldn't escape. But no, because the large flesh wall would obstruct the view of the creepy set piece. Matpat has never heard of a red herring and wants to try to put every square peg into the triangular holes. When the pegs are small and he can fill in the space around it with anecdotal drivel, it works. but when the pegs and the implications they carry are too big, it simply doesn't fit the script he writes for it
Yeah, unfortunately the actual theory here (disregarding the part with the robots being uploaded humans for which there's so much evidence it's not just a theory) is very far-fetched.
I don't think he's really comparing the hive mind to human consciousness,....i mean he went through a whole explanation to how certain bacteria, come together to form what is similar to a neural network. and the very concept of a hive mind is so far from the way any single mined self centered creature thinks. your example of zerg seeing other zerg die, and the individual zerg not reacting to the threat that killed others in front of them is flawed, because hive minds display that kind of behavior....... compare that to bee's who die when they sting , yet thousands will willingly die to ensure the hive survives. the hive uses zergs as disposable pawns, foot soldiers, and cannon fodder, just to achieve it's goal.
even the concept of digitizing a consciousness,..... a neural network would be more similar to a digitized network than a human mind IMO, so I think it'd be easier for the hive mind to control the network than a human mind.
It seems like you are not really grasping the fact that bacteria(microscopic life forms) are running around(mimicking animals). that on it's own is a display of how far their ability to mimic brain functions has grown. it takes a lot more coordinated brain functions to simply walk than you may think. they aren't just walking,.....they have become apex predators.
I personally wouldn't put anything past them at this point.
@@tonyolo4591 Ok, and how would a hive mind connect to a computer? As in, have the same consciousness? Each bacteria in the organism is its own creature, and could only "think" (though its not even shown to do that, its just a blob) because of each bacteria following instructions.
So how can it continue to "think" in a computer? Thats like saying you can put an ant colony's consciousness into a computer.
@@tonyolo4591 I agree.
“Everybody wants to be a cat.”
“Why?”
“Because a cat’s the only cat who knows where it’s at.”
Matpat is the only one who can ruin a food, show, movie or game and not be absolutely hated for it
I beg to differ
Well, some of his theories just don't make sense
He's been doing it since 2011.
just laughed at until most forget, like the Sans is Ness video
@@yusheitslv100 I know
That entire sewer chapter was a giant “nope” moment. One look at those eyes, and I IMMEDIATELY wanted nothing more to go back to the Slums.
@SariPlus what your dad oh wait he is buying milk
@SariPlus GET OUT
I like to think Stray, is an introductory game, into a possibly, and much bigger, franchise with answers to all our questions about the world Stray takes place
i think you just need more power to kill the eyes since the zurks only take 1.1GW to kill them so I imagine they would take more power to kill them
I thought the theory would at least touch on another great mystery of the game: why after 7 million years cats are still so cat-like
because they're already appropriately suited to their environment. in what way would you expect them to change?
Their behaviors didn't change much when they were domesticated, and they are suited for hunting due to these behaviors.
Just ask crocodilians why they haven't changed after millions of years
Changes could just not be externally visible. Or ya know, it could be a coelacanth situation.
They didn't really evolve because they didn't need to. It's almost confirmed that the cats in the game are much smarter than cats irl.
What do you want cats to look like after 7 million years? A parrot?
The whole "uploading their consciousness into a network makes running into Sojiro Sakura hit even harder... especially when you consider his specialty was running a curry/coffee shop - both requiring not only taste buds but also a nose by which to smell the various aromas that are part and parcel of cooking.
Perhaps we should have let Yadalbaoth or EMMI win...
Sakura has become one with the unbroken. Containment has failed, Mekhane is reforged.
I knew i wasnt the only one who thought about it when i saw that robot lmao
“I also have a perfectly valid explanation that can’t be disproven, but mine is a lot darker.” Is basically the entirety of GT summarized.
You spelled purrfectly wrong
Damn, I like this theory so much.
at first I thought Matpat gonna touch the question of "where are the human remnants? a.k.a. the bones" because, what if the zurks are not just zurks, but a new human sub-species that adapt by conjoining themselves with the zurks? That's why 1.21 GW UV light does not affect them at all, because we are able to withstand the sun better than the zurks.
while B-12 and the companions are the remaining humans who went digital, what if the current zurks were the remnants of human species who evolved to adapt as the zurk's sub-species?
this kinda explains how the zurks have the capability of intelligence to study the robot in the sewer, to get their ways into the network.
You're welcome :)
For me I think it's a connection of that meditating dude, seeing as he is also connected to a bunch of wires as well, it's possible that the bodies are just acting like cameras, especially since we are already expected and stuff
Matpat failed to realize that a single UV light does not match up to the unmatched power of the sun
Feel the power of the SUN
the power of sun in the palm of my hand
The sun is a deadly lazer.
@@esdrot1375 Not anymore
Yup.
The fact that Mat can make a simple game turn into the most horrifying thing ever, will always shock me-
...
He didn't, the game has a number of scary and dark moments as well, multiple of which he touches on in this video. Did you actually watch the video before making your comment?
@@MasterOphSky i think we did but one can think that everything will be fine and the kitties will be too but he's right, afther going to that zurk zone i could not get my head off about the place because it was still there with those eyes, its dark because it just ruins what it seems a happy ending
Always has been
But if right we have a sequel in the making.
No matter how much sense this makes, how many loose ends it ties, how thought out it is with actual support and evidence in the game and very much being likely true,
I refuse to believe the little kitty cat did anything bad
@@RedMint_Tea cats are way more than cute.
@@RedMint_Tea Not only cute, it’s VERY intelligent that I ever doubt that the cat would make such a mistake like this.
@@RedMint_Tea Yeah, I said that because his intelligence compared to a cat or even any animal is pretty high.
I dunno if there are other animals today that are much more smarter than this cat. But for a cat it’s impressive.
You monsters have no idea what cats do. They will eat their owners no matter how much they care about them.
Me too
Your peep picture is SO CUTE!!!!! And seeing as how there are cats surrounding it, this seems PURRfect for this video. Speaking of corny puns, I enjoy them so much! Also with all the puns throughout the videos, I can’t help but chuckle every video!
What intrigued me about this game the most was the setting, with the obvious Eastern Asia influences in the architecture, clothing, and language. This alongside the “made in France” boxes scattered across Midtown raised a lot of questions as to why the robots predominately mimic the humans from this specific region, with a few remnants of Western culture such as the cowboy robots. The implications would of course be that the game takes place in Eastern Asia, but then what about the boxes from France? I’d doubt they’re that old if they’re just lying around in shops. Are there other robot civilizations left in the world? Perhaps even some humans? Exactly how long has it been since the big apocalyptic disaster that started this all?
probably because we're IN eastern Asia, ofc there's a little other types of culture, there is in every country, that's what I think anyway
Probably in French Indochina, if it's east asian and got aspects of western culture
i suspect that the eyes are immune to the lamp, but not to uv light. the lamp you're using just isn't big enough and doesn't provide enough uv light. a source like the sun is obviously much larger and can provide much more uv light.
*ua-cam.com/video/zj4Gzp2lI2I/v-deo.html*
Here is the full vid:
i still think the eyes will survive tho, because they were in the sewers
Lamp could not be able to pierce them enough as when zurk die they explode which might mean that uv light does something inside of them, like heating them up and they explode from pressure.
@@greedier-7661 yes that might mean the eyeballs on the wall are actually susceptible, its just that the wall is blocking them
In the ending you still don't see the flesh walls evaporate like the zurks. I imagine the eyes are still immune to it
My interpretation is that there were 2 groups of humans. 1 group was like, "let's upload our minds into our companion bots!" and the other group did bio experiments with zurks until they merged and became eye walls.
this sounds like a mobile game
Maann.. i hate content spamming..
But Anyways yeah i would also like to believe that
If this would be the story of a second game, I would be so happy!
there are definitely a few holes in the zurk lore because of level design.
The zurk supposedly eat everything from metal to plastic to flesh. yet there are whole swatches of city the are over run with hungry baby zurks that apparently already ate all the robots, but there are metal structures and furniture and buildings still standing all over the place.
and granted, those sections are set up like that for the sake of an interesting yet challenging level design for the player to navigate through but still...
the only things I think that could explain the zurks abandoning what should be easy and viable food for them to chase down the cat or any of the robots is if the zurks can only eat specific types of metals and plastics and/or if the zurks prefer to eat organic material over in-organic material (maybe both).
.
Honestly, even the matured zurks not dying from uv light is probably not a lore choice, just a level design choice. there are important chucks of some levels that are just made out of mature zurk bodies. to remove those would make whole chunks of level just disappear and potentially be impossible to navigate or open up so much space that isn't needed that the player could get lost in a now unnecessarily large level.
plus, the game makers put in a lot of design choices so that B12's uv light wouldn't be too overpowered.
if you want to take it in a lore direction, B12's uv light honestly looks pretty small and weak, definitely nowhere near as strong as the sun.
It could definitely be that B12's uv light is too weak to have much of an effect on the matured zurks' stronger and more well established bodies, compared to the smaller, weaker, and more fragile baby zurks, while matured zurks could still be susceptible to and die from direct sunlight.
the juveniles of basically every species on earth tend to be much more fragile than the adults of the species. juveniles tend to die from smaller amounts of the same things that kill adults.
I knew that he couldn’t ignore the comments begging him to do a stray theory for to long!
Stray: We're just a cute cat game! We swear!
Matpat: *squinting* Mhm. Sure.
MatPat is a brain burner!(Правдивое видео🇷🇺):.....ua-cam.com/video/lxHLMyZBmQg/v-deo.html
"Cute cat game"
Meanwhile literal walls of flesh
Stray is a cute cat game in the same way Doki Doki Literature club is a cute dating sim, after a certain point it's not even trying to hide its darker side.
@@MasterOphSky I've actually never played that! I think Mat has done some videos on it, maybe I'll check them out! :)
@@chemplay866 with giant eyes
Never would I have thought there would be a Stray Game Theory. Wow
How did you already saw the video bruh
Same
I knew there would be
@Tinder in real life 🅥 bot
Popular game always means there’s going to be a game theory - even if there isn’t any lore and matpat creates the lore FOR the devs without it even being there in the first place.
1:35 That is roughly how long ago the human lineage split off form other living animals. That wasn’t when the robots were created it’s when humanity was!
my biggest issue with matt patt's theory is: how?
if the zurks are evolved bacteria, even if they were given an evolutionary boost from reckless human scientists and had 7 million year to evolve, how could they be smart enough to come up with such an advanced plan?
other then the one robot (which could honestly just have been a recent catch or food being saved for later like a spider putting it's half eaten fly to the side for a midnight snack), what proof is there of zurks having such advance intelligence/critical thinking skills?
the zurks seem to only exhibit basic pack hunting traits throughout the game. just swarm food, eat food.
If the zurk are being controlled by a central hive mind that is smart enough to figure out how to control a computer and/or robot through hacking, then Wouldn't they have already used their unending army of baby zurks to over run all levels of the city? instead them seem to be stuck in only the lowest level(s).
even if the fully matured zurks that are stuck in the sewers are some how advanced enough to come up with and follow through with the plan being suggested, they sure as heck don't seem to have much control over their swarms of baby zurks.
They seem to listen to only listen to the matured zurks as far getting a direction to run in towards food.
idk it's stray
Idk, use your imagination
idk,matpat moment
rebound question. how did humans evolve?
Idk, it's sci-fi
MatPat after the second game comes out and its about B-12 being alive: 👁👄👁 🤐
Even if the idea of the robots actually being uploaded humans, I like the idea that they are just robots that evolved... but I think it's a mix of both because for example, some robots don't "believe" in the outside because they don't understand the concept, maybe some are humans and some are simply companion robots
there is also a robot reading a book called "How to develop your artificial intelligence in order to be as creative as a real human. Volume 42"
@@bountycesttroplesang7102 yes you're right !
Yeah I agree, they are come robots that kept their function as simple robots (on the top of the citadel, the ones that were there where completely emotionless) and the fact that they were able to feel fear, it's a big signal that they're more, but I really like this idea of some robots having human minds, others are evolve and others are just regular and emotionless robots.
5:44 I have a theory that the eyes are stronger than the light you had but the sunlight is much stronger than your uv light being able to kill the eyes
Rip MatPat - ???? -2022
Reason of death: murder
Proof of death: 0:23
1986 - 2022.
learning biology at school
I honestly think that the reason the flesh walls and eyes dont pop with the uv light you get is because its not strong enough. even the small ones take a bit to pop with the light but with actual sunlight they pop immediately.
Adding on to that, doc's bulkier flashlight popped little zurks immediately vs our tiny flashlight taking a bit to work. I'd imagine the sun would eviscerate those eyes in the sewers if they could reach them. I also severely doubt that the zurk have the intelligence to take control of a companion, likely the only reason that guy is there and alive is because he barely moves, and the game said that zurks eat anything that moves. Additionally the game says zurks are reactionary species meaning that they really only react to things, requiring other creatures to make the first move. If you're just pressed up against a wall and you stay still as a robot, chances are they will just forget about you and leave you alone
0:29 was that the bite of '87
No it was the bite of 2763
You should do a theory about how all of the human structures are still standing and intact even though it's been millions of years. The robots couldn't have maintained everything, especially the structures outside the walls.
concreat
@@benjesta concrete erodes after a few decades.
@@lordshasta con creat baby
@@benjesta 💀💀
Hmmmmm strong conrent
I am so glad that Mat made a theory about the darker side of the game! From my first playthrough, I always thought the ending of the game seemed a bit sinister and horrific! Well done as always
I think this theory could use some more depth. For example, while that day count might be accurate to the companion robots, that might not be accurate to "days" as we consider them. If the robots do not recall things properly, they might only know that day and night are things, and not how long they are. Especially when they have no access to the sun in order to track it by the sun. This could explain why so many "human" things still exist, why cats are still cats and not evolved into something new and why the sun hasn't changed at all. I would love to hear more theories based on that assumption!
YE BUT MOON AT START REALY CLOSE
You know the idea of everyone being robots was something I'd thought about during the let's play I watched. Mores specifically it would explain why a bunch of robots who probably don't feel hot or cold would keep a bunch of HVAC running, and develop negative neurological traits that would have no benefit like hypochondria.
*ua-cam.com/video/zj4Gzp2lI2I/v-deo.html*
Here is the full vid:
This game is pretty interesting ngl. By not exactly representing a cat's life and actually having it's own unique story makes it makes itself very interesting.
I think the fliking Light at the end is just a little clue on a second part that maybe come because there was another clue in another game from annapurna for the second part of stray
Wait then now what? Zurks are mutated bacteria with one purpose, to eat, but if it transferred itself into a robot then wouldn't all they want is to eat? Eat what? They're robots
The theory is that they're using robots to spread their species. Parasites that infect their prey and use their prey to spread their species, and consume the prey afterwards.
Imagine this theory is *true* do you think….they would to either a sequel or a prequel? The sequel about another cat saving the world? Or a prequel about B12 as a human?
Yeah i doubt it, the Zurg don't seem interested in uploading their Minds.
Plus, wouldn't they then just kidnap them? Instead of eating them?
Thier a Hivemind, you think they would all go for the same Goal then?
The prequel would be cool but i want the orange tabby back in a sequel. Also the zurk did not do nothing.
Even wothoit such theory, they're plenty of room for another game. So many questions are raised without any answer
@@SHAZAMC26 they literally did EVERYTHING
@@sunnyd4ze IK THEY DID *EVERYTHING*
I love this theory, not because it makes a lot of sense with quite a lot of things that can back it up... But it potentially opens a door for a new Stray game. Let's be honest, the game was proper 6 hours and should have been longer, I honestly believe that making a second game won't be overshadowed by the first game if everything is done correctly here. I still think this game deserves a co-op.
MatPat: “Cats are jerks.”
My cat sitting next to me: 👁👄👁
To be honest I'm surprised he didn't do a theory about bugsnax's yet,the ending has been updated and we don't know much about them. I kinda wanna see him do a theory
1:58
WEE WOO WEE WOO!! SOUND THE AFTON ALARM!
2:09 top 10 saddest anime deaths