Stray's Success Could Pave The Way For Everyone's Favourite Xbox Cat To Return

You might of heard of a little game called Stray — out now on PlayStation platforms and PC — featuring a whole bunch of our cute feline friends. (We say friends, but do cats really like us?) Anyway, let's not try and figure that one out because we'll be here for eons. Instead, let's ponder how Microsoft can fight back with the return of its own cat cover star: Blinx.

Blinx popped up for two original Xbox outings (Blinx: The Time Sweeper and Blinx 2) back in 2002 and 2004 respectively. We never got around to playing the second one, but we have fond memories of The Time Sweeper, and have even revisited it since it was added to Xbox Game Pass last summer. Even now we feel the series is worth another run, especially considering it's gained a bit of a cult status over the years.

Xbox has never really had that proper 'mascot' to identify with since the days of the OG Xbox. Sure, we've got Master Chief and in more recent years, Gears of War's gruff hero Marcus Fenix, but it always felt like Xbox missed that family-friendly hero to sit alongside Nintendo's ever-present Mario and PlayStation's array of characters over the years; Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank definitely fall into that family-friendly category for Sony.

Xbox hasn't had that that for quite a while. Once upon a time, the brand gave the likes of Blinx and even Voodoo Vince a whirl, but maybe due to the fact that that Xbox wasn't as established back then, neither really stuck. You could argue that it's because they weren't iconic enough as characters, but we'd certainly argue the case that Blinx could be, given more time and effort.

Just look at the popularity of Stray! In the internet age everyone loves cats, or seems to; they're like the darling animal of internet memes. Even in Stray, where things are for lack of a better term, more 'serious', the cats are just winning everyone over. The game is taking over our Twitter feeds with clips of players' kitties swiping at their screens, and it's pretty adorable in all honestly.

With all this in mind, we reckon there's room for Xbox to go either way with bringing back Blinx. They could emulate what Stray has done and go down the 'gritty reboot' angle for 'Blinx 3'; have the guy wandering around realistic, decaying environments scooping up artefacts with his trusty vacuum and maybe take a more 'mature' route with things, or they could just make a straight 3D platformer like the Blinx of old.

With the latter, go all-in on production values and bombastic action; think Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart but Blinx. That could really work on Xbox Series X|S, it'd certainly be a big talking point for Xbox Game Pass. Blinx has been dormant for too damn long, and Stray has taught us that we really are in the age of the (not so) humble kitty. Whichever way you slice it, Xbox is missing out on the current feline frenzy caused by Stray's arrival on the scene.

But what do you think, should Blinx return? How would you bring it back? Let us know in the comments!