5 best mods for Stray and how to get them: Garfield, CJ, and more

The various mods available for Stray, including Garfield and CJ (Image via crubino and Sirgalahad172/NexuMods)

Players have been having a gala time in Stray's cyberpunk world with the nimble-footed protagonist purring, meowing, and leaping across. The developers have done a commendable job with world design, especially regarding platforming and the place's ambiance.

Although some players had hoped that they would have the option to customize the protagonist to resemble their pets, the game did not provide that feature. But players don't need to fret. Stray's immense popularity in the community has given rise to multiple mods for the indie title that can be availed from websites like NexusMods.

These range from cosmetic changes to the cat protagonist, like tweaking colors or adding accessories, to some practical changes of more realistic graphics and PlayStation buttons.

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From reskins to functional changes, here are 5 Stray mods that players need to try out

5) CJ

Created by Sirgalahad172, the 'Joke Mod CJ' turns the ginger cat into the iconic character CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The end result was unintentionally horrifying, to say the least. Players have been enjoying the comical turn of events, with some even asking for CJ's iconic line to be added in place of one of the meows in-game.

Since there's already a mod that changes the game's meows to Heavy Rain's 'Jason!', adding CJ's voice to the game wouldn't be a stretch. To install the CJ mod, drop the downloaded .pak file to steamapps\common\Stray\Hk_project\Content\Paks.

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4) Garfield

One of the most iconic cats of all time is the lazy, cynical, Monday-hating, and lasagna-loving Garfield. Players can now choose to cosplay as him in the indie game through the 'Garfield - Cartoon Edition' mod by crubino.

Although Garfield would not approve of all the jumping and leaping that he would have to do in the game's urban world, the mod makes for an interesting reskin to the protagonist.

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3) Dualshock 4 buttons

This is more of a practical mod that fixes an issue that a number of players have pointed out with the game. The 'Dualshock 4 buttons' mod created by misterright1 replaces the Xbox buttons with PlayStation buttons if players are using a Dualshock 4/DualSense controller.

Dualshock 4 buttons (Image via misterright1/NexusMods)

After downloading the file, players need to extract it to their install directory: steamapps\common\Stray\Hk_project\Content\Paks.

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2) Pick of the Litter

Uploaded by SpaceD0lphin, the 'Pick of the Litter' mod provides hand-painted alternative textures for the "purr-tagonist." The description states that they are currently Ghost Tabby, Witch's Familiar, and Truffle options, with more breeds to be added soon.

Pick of the Litter (Image via SpaceD0lphin/NexusMods)

Once players have downloaded the files, they need to extract the mod file from the 7z archive. They will then need to drop the PAK file in their game's installation folder, which should look like the directory listed below: steamapps\common\Stray\Hk_project\Content\Paks.

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1) Muted Buttons

The game's aesthetic deserves a photo mode where players can capture screenshots of their playthroughs without the button prompts. Although the game settings provide options to hide the jump prompt and HUD, the 'Muted Buttons' mod replaces the button prompts with tiny translucent dots.

Muted buttons (Image via saurabhkh/NexusMods)

This allows players to enjoy the game without the button prompts but also lets them stay oriented thanks to the dots. Download the file from the above link and extract it to the Paks folder in the game's installation folder.

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Disclaimer: Before pasting the mod files into the Paks folder, keep a separate copy of the file 'Hk_project-WindowsNoEditor.pak,' which is already present in the folder. Upon facing any errors or issues, players can then swap it back with the original file.