Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a roleplaying musical adventure game developed by Summerfall Studios and published by Humble Games. The game was released on August 10, 2023, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Synopsis

In Stray Gods, players assume the role of Grace, a college dropout who finds herself accused of murdering the last muse. Grace must prove her innocence to a pantheon of Greek gods, consisting of Athena, Apollo, Persephone, and Aphrodite, all within seven days. She must learn to wield her newly developed powers of music to find out the truth behind Calliope’s death. Players select dialogue choices, which change the lyrics, musical style, and even outcome of the songs.

Cast and characters

• Laura Bailey as Grace, a young singer who inherits the power of the last muse, Calliope.

• Janina Gavankar as Freddie, Grace's best friend.

• Ashley Johnson as Calliope.

• Erika Ishii as Hermes.

• Felicia Day as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and leader of the Chorus.

• Troy Baker as Apollo, God of Prophecy and member of the Chorus.

• Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Persephone, former Queen of the Underworld and member of the Chorus.

• Merle Dandridge as Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and member of the Chorus.

• Khary Payton as Pan.

• Kimberly Brooks as the Oracle.

• Abubakar Salim as Eros.

• Lauren "Lolo" Spencer as Venus.

• Allegra Clark as Hecate.

• Rahul Kohli as Asterion, the Minotaur.

• Anjali Bhimani as Medusa.

• Anthony Rapp as Orpheus.

Development and release

Stray Gods is developed by Melbourne, Australia-based developer Summerfall Studios. It is written by founder David Gaider, formerly of BioWare, and scored by Austin Wintory, composer of Journey. The songs were co-written by Wintory with singer Montaigne and the Australian musical trio Tripod. Stray Gods uses 2D hand-illustrated visuals, featuring comic book-style aesthetics with stylized character design.

Originally named Chorus: An Adventure Musical, the game had successfully crowdfunded on Fig.co in 2019, after it was announced at PAX AUS in an opening keynote by David Gaider. The name change was announced on March 18, 2022, as well as Summerfall Studios’ partnership with Humble Games for Stray Gods.

Chiefly inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode "Once More, With Feeling", the developers of Stray Gods wanted to make a video game that combines hallmarks of musical theatre with interactive storytelling.

The game includes branching narrative paths, where player choice will not only determine the story and tone of the dialogue spoken, but also the melodies, lyrics, and styles of music that Grace sings. According to Austin Wintory, the "combinatorial potential of the songs" in Stray Gods is so large that it is virtually impossible for anyone to have the same playthrough twice. In June 2023, Summerfall and Humble announced that the game will also be available on all major home consoles alongside its Steam release in August.

On April 12, 2023, Summerfall Studios and Humble Games unveiled the cast of Stray Gods in a live event at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. Titled Myth & Music, the one-hour event was hosted by Troy Baker and livestreamed on Critical Role's Twitch channel. With live performances by Laura Bailey, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Ashley Johnson, Myth & Music also included various Q&As which revealed the casting of Felicia Day, Rahul Kohli, Anjali Bhimani, and Janina Gavankar. The full cast list was revealed at the event.