Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical review – a mythical gig where you shape the songs

PlayStation 4/5, Xbox, Switch, PC; Summerfall Studios
This role-player in which you have to solve the murder of a Muse by battling Gods through song presents a new form of storytelling and all the charm of the Buffy musical episode

I first heard about Stray Gods via a clip I saw shared on the social media site we shall no longer name a few months ago. In the clip, voice actors Laura Bailey (who plays Grace) and Ashley Johnson (who plays Calliope) were singing a loving duet. It was intriguing viewing given I knew those actors as Abby and Ellie from The Last of Us Part 2; if you've played that game, you know those characters are not on the most friendly of terms. I had high hopes for what an interactive musical game could be.

The premise is that Grace, a college drop-out, is given the powers of a Muse when Calliope, a Muse with a beautiful voice, is murdered. Grace faces blame from a pantheon of Greek gods: Athena (Felicia Day), Apollo (Troy Baker, also Joel in The Last of Us), Persephone (Mary Elizabeth McGlynn) and Aphrodite (Merle Dandridge, also Marlene in The Last of Us). Grace must use her new powers to help solve the mystery of Calliope's death, before she takes the blame.