Stray Gods review: The musical RPG breaks new ground, albeit unevenly

It was time for the cow and witch to find love. The stage in question was inside the actors’ minds and alternated between a shoddy, makeshift replication of a Romeo and JulietA glamorous backdrop straight out of Beauty and the Beast. A single wrong word could have turned the blossoming romance into a tragedy. But with a balance of honesty in the face of emotion and listening to the other person, Asterion, the Minotaur, and Hecate, the witch, walked away satisfied.

The following is a list of all the languages that are spoken in this country. Stray GodsThe best of the best. This is the problem Stray GodsIt is often less than its best.

The self-styled “urban fantasy role-playing musical” from developer Summerfall Studios and Dragon Age writer David Gaider follows Grace (voiced by Laura Bailey), a directionless college dropout who suddenly inherits the powers of a Greek Muse after her new friend Calliope (Ashley Johnson) dies a shocking death. The other Greek deities, called Idols in the modern world, suspect Grace of the murder, and she has to find the true culprit in seven days — about seven hours of real-world play time — before the gods execute her.

The lyrics Grace sings at each key moment will have a direct impact on Grace’s relationship with those she is singing to. The choices you make will have a profound effect on the relationship between Grace and those involved. Stray Gods The Roleplaying Musical’s more confusing design choices, though. Picking a personality trait at the start locks you out of certain color-coded conversation topics (and certain endings to the entire game), but you’re free to choose any line in a song, even if it’s opposed to your dominant personality choice. Musical improvisation has a lot of potential for roleplaying but it’s a bit of an afterthought.

The singer Grace pleads her case in the skyscraper office of modern Greek gods in Stray Gods

That level of flexibility could have enhanced the “role-playing” aspect of dialogue in the rest of the game by giving you more influence over Grace’s actions. By limiting it to only songs, it feels like Grace is improvising. She’s able to come up with what to say with little guidance and context. Like many improvised sets, results can vary widely. While many outcomes have a meaningful effect on Grace’s relationships, others feel superfluous — almost like filler.

Luckily, Stray Gods’ setting is compelling in myriad other ways. The setting lends itself well to magical moments, and to clever juxtapositions between the mythical, and the contemporary: Persephone is the owner of a nightclub that she established as a refuge for those who yearn to be liberated, after winning her freedom from the Underworld. Apollo’s oracle is a smart-talking hacker called Oracle. He thinks she’s a supernatural being and values her otherworldly skills of computer literacy. She just thinks he’s a weirdo.

It’s a fantasy that falls apart under scrutiny, though, thanks to plot inconsistencies and some careless writing that riddles the script. Pan acts like he’s never seen a human apartment when you first meet him, but it later turns out he lives in a luxe penthouse. Apollo supposedly doesn’t know what computers are, but somehow managed to set up a high-speed internet network for Oracle. In the most glaring case, Persephone is determined to pin Calliope’s murder on Grace for most of the first act, and then, seemingly on a whim after their song battle, Persephone says she found it pretty hard to believe Grace was guilty. I would chalk this up to the gods’ capriciousness — but the Idols’ refusal to change plays a key role in Stray Gods’ plot.

Grace, the singer in Stray Gods, has an improvisation choice during an onstage performance

In general, Stray GodsUnconvincingly handles major revelations. Apollo is a good example. I’m reminded of him. Hello Dolly’s Dolly Levi, another character who regrets years spent in a depressive rut, ruled by fear of the unknown. Dolly’s awakening happens during “Before the Parade Passes By,” a soul-stirring number where you can feel Dolly’s determination to wake her spirit up in everything — the tempo, the melody, the gradual addition of new accompanying instruments, even the volume. It’s impossible not to believe that she has a new resolve and a renewed determination to lead a life full of joy, no matter how difficult it may be.

No matter what route you take through Apollo’s song, the thing that erases centuries of regret and inaction and convinces him to help Grace is a simple line of throwaway dialogue. Would that life could be so simple. Stray Gods just doesn’t have the emotional depth to pull off most of the character transformations that are central to its plot.

This cast is an odd mix of both inspired and strange choices. Grace’s story is more about fixing Godly Conflicts than her emotional struggles. She is an amiable but uneven protagonist. Grace leaps into the Muse’s role and leaves her anxieties behind, rarely stopping to reflect on her new life or even Stray Gods’ (and Greek theater’s) biggest theme — the power of art to cleanse the emotions.

Their nuanced issues and solid performances easily make the devious Pan stand out. Troy Baker, Felicia Day and Troy Baker, who play Athena and Apollo, deliver flat performances that highlight how boring their characters really are. This is why Grace should be paired with these compelling deities.

A character in yellow and black sportswear pulls the singer Grace through a door of glowing energy in Stray Gods

Musicals are able to express emotions beyond the reach of spoken language. Others use a more poetic approach, but the best ones combine them with spectacle. The majority of the time, however, are all about spectacle and effect. Stray Gods’ first act feels like a first rehearsal. The overly-simplified compositions repeat the same topics and notes, while adding nothing new. Eventually, the habit fades away in the second and subsequent acts. Austin Wintory, Summerfall, and the composer have added some gems, such as the beautiful duet that Hecate sings with Asterion. But Stray Gods can’t stay consistent — it’s several clusters of standout musical moments punctuated by long, dull stretches of downtime.

This said, all of the performances have been excellent. Laura Bailey delivers consistently powerful notes, and it’s a crime against art if we don’t get to hear Allegra Clark (Hecate) and Merle Dandridge (Aphrodite) sing in some capacity again. Khary Payton’s performance as Pan is what stands out for me. I can still hear his gravelly voice as the suspicious Satyr long after the credits have rolled.

One of my favorites is Pan’s introduction, “Morning Fades,” a jazzy number with a soft undercurrent of sleaze that tells you more about his character than any of the overly long dialogue segments that bookend it. My first time through, I picked lyrics in keeping with Grace’s clever, calculating traits and ended up with a disappointing experience. Grace only rehashes her suspicions of Pan, and Pan kept repeating how Grace needs him — both topics that Stray GodsBefore the song begins, cover the entire area.

A character with long blond hair peers over Grace’s shoulder while she makes a dialogue choice in Stray Gods

The second time I played through the scene, I had Grace side with her best friend, Freddie, and the two of them hijacked Pan’s own song, turning it into a scathing rebuke of his predatory behavior. Level of control Stray Gods affords in these moments is captivating and teases new ways to explore role-playing in games — specifically through music. It would be nice if you could play the game with music. Stray Gods Its other songs were also characterized by the attention paid to their role-playing, with each path rewarding the player or changing the end result in an important way.

Stray Gods is ambitious in its goals, and while the road Summerfall and co. take to reach them is rough and uneven, I won’t be forgetting Grace’s tale anytime soon. It’s a clever format, and the unfulfilled potential makes me excited for future attempts to meld games and theater.

Stray Gods Released on 10th August on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Also available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 Windows PC. Humble Games provided a code for a PC pre-release to review the game. Vox Media is affiliated with other companies. Vox Media can earn affiliate commissions, but this does not affect editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.