Strafe Reviews
If you're looking for a challenging, retro-style FPS that takes no prisoners, STRAFE has you covered. It has the replayability and difficulty of a perma-death roguelike wrapped in the style and attitude of a classic nineties shooter. Yet where Wolfenstein: The Old Blood and Doom 2016 revived old-school action in a way anyone could enjoy, STRAFE is a hardcore experience, through and through. Sign up if you think you're hard enough, but not if you don't have the skills.
If you want a 90s game like how Kung Fury was an 80s movie, give Strafe a go. But if you want a more fleshed-out 90s game…just play a 90s game
STRAFE proves to be a worthy spiritual successor of all the classics of the genre, while also introducing modern elements that fit well into the gameplay. While the experience can be frustrating sometimes due to unfair damage and bugs, Pixel Titans delivered a solid and addictive game.
Strife hides a merciless challenge behind his well crafted Nineties costume. Not only old-style FPS lovers can find death on Icarus but also who's searching for a demanding moment of pure gore. Perhaps different levels of difficulty could have expanded the audience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
STRAFE may not be a classic and it definitely has issues, but it's fun enough for anyone who wants a nostalgia trip. Hopefully others feel the same way, but I kind of expect most people will pass on it. That is their loss.
I really tried with Strafe, spending a good six hours with it and getting only as far as the fourth level before dying. I liked the overall tone, and the gunplay is solid fun, but really this is one of the more punishing Rogue-Lites out there, with a high skill ceiling that sets you right back to the beginning once you die without any meaningful progression unless you somehow find the key to a teleporter. A lot to admire, but for most it'll seem utterly impenetrable.
Where it sets itself apart from actual ‘90s-era shooters is with its light sprinkling of procedurally generated elements.
A gleefully gory throwback to 90s shooters wrapped in a rogue-like shell, Strafe is let down by uneven pacing and underwhelming guns.
When it works, Strafe is a generally entertaining retro-styled shooter that mixes procedurally generated levels into an experience strongly reminiscent of Quake. It's a great concept that usually comes together, but between the quirks of randomization, powerful enemies that run almost completely silent, lethal bugs, and hefty costs for vital armor and ammo powerups, a lot of the time it feels as challenging as rolling the dice and coming up with double sixes.
Strafe doesn't do too much, but its exceptional execution and unique charm make for a truly intense, old-school FPS experience.
STRAFE wants to be a shooter from the 1990s, but has worse mechanics than any of the games it hoped to imitate.
As far as frantic FPS's go, this is one of the best, but poor AI and a ramped up difficulty might prove too much for some.
Strafe skillfully recaptures the look and experience of a full-tilt twitch 1990s shooter while faltering at building upon its potential.
STRAFE is a punishing roguelike first person shooter that will attract players with its 90s inspired aesthetic and keep them hooked thanks to its finely tuned gameplay.
Strafe is a game where you need to know what you're getting into before jumping in. It looks like Quake but it absolutely is not; it's a roguelike FPS with a retro art style. It's a harsh mistress, and masochistic players will love that, but Strafe personally left me frustrated and cold.
A loveable slice of 90s nostalgia, but compared to shooters both new and old it's surprisingly limp and inappropriately difficult.
The deadly dangers combined with randomization make for a frustrating inconsistent mix that's more about ‘90s nods than entertainment
A well executed roguelike shooter that both rewards fast reflexes and careful planning. Great for those looking for a good amount of challenge.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
STRAFE gets a lot of presentational things right, and even though it undermines and contradicts its own mechanics in some places, the singular sense of style the game exudes is fantastic. Running through the swarmed halls of the dilapidated space station has a lot of appeal for classic shooter fans.
Strafe is a love letter to 90s FPS games with a lot of potential that falls to the wayside due to a lack of polish as well as a slew of generic and boring design choices.