The best game of 2022 is finally here. Developed by BlueTwelve Studio, Stray lets players control a wayward cat that gets separated from its clowder and must explore a mysterious, desolate city. Boasting a mix of platforming, puzzles, and chase sequences, Stray is more than just wandering around as an adorable feline.
Along your journey, you will come across several collectibles and side quests you can complete. While you won’t earn any new abilities or stat boosts, these cosmetic items can make your cat even more adorable. One of these side quests is located in Midtown and involves finding a worker’s keys once you gain access to the Neco Factory.
While this might seem easy enough, the keys can be easy to miss if you don’t know where to look. You will also need to get the reward from the worker if you want to earn the Badges trophy/achievement. Here’s our guide on how to do just that.
How to Get the Worker’s Keys
When you arrive at the factory, progress through the building until you see a worker (shown above) looking over a railing at the floor below. Thankfully, his keys aren’t that far, but you will need to avoid some Sentinels if you want to snag them.
Approach the large stack of iron bars and wait for the Sentinel’s gaze to shift to the right. When this happens, quickly climb the boxes and hop onto the metal beam. This will give you enough momentum to carry you to the platform behind the flying drone.
Once you’re on the platform, jump up and pull down the lever to open the door. Now hop onto the box and then the pipe to cross the gap. Carefully make your way past the Sentinel and go through the door you just opened on the left.
In the next room, you will need to wait until one of the boxes being carried on the conveyor belt blocks the vision of the Sentinel. Time your movements with the conveyor belt so that you can run alongside the moving box as it passes by the Sentinel. I recommend walking, as this will keep pace with the box and you won’t risk alerting these enemies.
There will be two Sentinels you’ll need to avoid using this method, so just be patient and only go when you feel confident you can avoid them.
Once you pass the second Sentinel, look to your right at the barrels floating in the water. Hop across these to reach a small mound of junk — the Worker’s Keys will be sitting on top of them.
Note that you cannot go back the way you came, as it’s impossible to sneak by the Sentinels when the boxes are going in the opposite direction. Instead, go forward into the next conveyer room and pull the lever directly to your left when you enter. This will open up the door, giving you access to an earlier room.
You can now go speak to the robot and give him the keys to earn yourself the Neco Badge. Remember: These badges give you no new abilities or stat bonuses but are necessary if you want to 100% the game.
Be sure to check our Stray tag for our many guides on this charming new game. We have articles ready to help you with getting the three plants for Malo, obtaining the Worker Hat and Jacket in Midtown, finding a paper bag for the “Curiosity Killed the Cat” achievement, scratching the vinyl in the club, opening the safe in The Slums and in Midtown, the locations for all Sheet Music, how to repair the broken tracker, and even how to get all of B-12’s memories.
