Strafe Reviews
Strafe skillfully recaptures the look and experience of a full-tilt twitch 1990s shooter while faltering at building upon its potential.
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.
A gleefully gory throwback to 90s shooters wrapped in a rogue-like shell, Strafe is let down by uneven pacing and underwhelming guns.
The deadly dangers combined with randomization make for a frustrating inconsistent mix that's more about ‘90s nods than entertainment
Strafe doesn't do too much, but its exceptional execution and unique charm make for a truly intense, old-school FPS experience.
Strafe falls short of greatness, but is definitely great fun.
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.
Unfortunately, Strafe is no more than an attempt of tribute to the FPS of 1996.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A loveable slice of 90s nostalgia, but compared to shooters both new and old it's surprisingly limp and inappropriately difficult.
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.
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.
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 tries to be a fun game in which player should laugh after sudden death and start again. But stupid AI, bland weapons and unbalancing system of random generated levels reducing the great idea to 30 minutes try out. So if you want to feel the crazy 90s again and refresh the feelings from old school shooters - just play the original Doom or Quake - they still better than newcomers like Strafe.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Strafe takes great delight in catching you off guard.
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.
Strafe isn't bad, but there are many better ways to satiate your nostalgia for '90s FPS titles.
An FPS roguelike wearing the suit of a 1996 shooter, STRAFE is a unique game that seems destined for a small but passionate following.
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.
Where it sets itself apart from actual ‘90s-era shooters is with its light sprinkling of procedurally generated elements.