Fast and fun.

Wonderful game, packed with secrets/minigames. Soundtrack is an absolute banger.

Stephen helped us out with some bugs a couple years back and got things polished up for the Gold Edition update.

I love that it has a native Linux version too.

STRAFE is a roguelike first-person shooter game that immerses players in a unique, constantly changing gaming environment. With ÜBER-GORE technology, the game depicts enemies exploding with fountains of blood, marking your territory as you navigate through randomly generated levels filled with different enemies and power-ups. Players adopt the role of a Scrapper, surviving the nightmarish terrains on an extremely dangerous mission at the edge of the galaxy. The game also includes a variety of gameplay styles, insane weapons, blood-thirsty enemies, and deep secrets. Game modes include CAMPAIGN, a single player roguelike FPS adventure, STRAFE ZONE, a leaderboard-based daily challenge, SPEED ZONE, a weekly challenge to achieve the fastest time while eliminating 90% of the level’s enemies, and MURDER ZONE, a survival test through ten rooms of slaughter.

STRAFE pays homage to classic 90s shooters, particularly evident in its low-poly aesthetic, the fast-paced action reminiscent of Quake and Doom, and its love for nostalgic details. Its gameplay merges roguelike decision-making with twitchy move-and-shoot action, offering increasing enemy variety as players progress. The game’s procedural generation spawns enemies in each room or behind secret wall panels and rock faces. Despite the rather basic AI, the threat of permadeath instills a tense survival instinct in players. The primary weapons, while impactful, lack a satisfying auditory feedback, leading players to prefer the more diverse array of pickup weapons.

Despite the impressive homage to the '90s era, STRAFE struggles to evolve beyond its foundational features, which are limited to shooting, enemies, movement, and a final boss fight. Its procedural generation seems to clash with the meticulous level design and item placements intrinsic to classic shooters. Other minor issues, such as excessive visual clutter and obtuse HUD symbols, obscure important pickups and gameplay perks. Limited resolution options and a small FOV range also detract from the experience. The soundtrack, a mix of retrowave synth and electronic beats, would be more fitting for a game set in the '80s, slightly misaligning with the game’s nostalgic 90s vibe.

#playable #steamdeck #boomer_shooter #strafe #retrofps