Strap your seat belts in for the most detailed, analytical, ridiculous, genius, over an exaggerated and completely truthful review of the BEST game ever from the 90’s, STRAFE. If you’re confused about my use of words and adjective heavy introduction to this review. Don’t worry about it, just learn to roll with it. I guess Pixel Titans marketing team is just rubbing off on me.
STRAFE is an old-school FPS Rogue-like that takes heavy inspiration from 90’s games such as Quake, Final Doom and Half Life. The most iconic shooter games of all time agreed and many games would probably credit those three as inspirations too. But STRAFE does it just short of actually putting yourself in a time machine and playing these games in their prime. For the most part, it does succeed but more often than not, it only sparks a mild state of nostalgia.
Now to my surprise STRAFE actually does not straight up copy any of these games in terms of weaponry, enemies, level design and even graphical presentation. Instead, it seems to take bits from all of these games, throws them all into a stockpile and then creates a unique but recognisable image with its own spin.
Naming yourself the best FPS game of 1996 takes a certain amount of balls. Considering we’re talking about the same year that brought us Quake and Duke Nukem. But the developer’s attention to the little things to try and recreate the same experience is nothing short of masterful.
You play as the Scrapper, the unknown space idiot on his way to the metropolitan space station of Icarus to perform a number of mundane tasks for the corporation. Anyway, after a short VCR style B-Movie ripped straight from the likes of the Command & Conquer franchise, sporting a sexy woman talking about nonsensical things and satirical whims, you’re given the choice of three weapons. The Shotgun, The Railgun, and The Machine Gun, all of which can be upgraded.
The player then must progress through a series of procedurally generated levels with only one life, turning aliens into molecular space gloop and painting the walls with so much blood that only Brutal Doom could probably be its only competitor. Secondary weapons may be picked up as you play but ammo may not be collected for them turning them into one-time use ammo savers for your main weapon.
This is a system that at first I despised but grew on me after a time. In fact, that statement is pretty relevant for my entire review. Upgrades and perks may be found as you traverse the levels and equipment such as a bubble shield and double-jump boots that can be purchased from vendors.
The attention to STRAFE’s authenticity in which Pixel Titans must have lovingly set in place is so apparent that even the small bugs that would cause you to fall out of the map into endless space even had me questioning. Was even an accident? Or left in intentionally for authentic value? This very same value radiates from the intro screen with 90’s synths loudly pounding your eardrums. It bleeds into the gameplay with its fast pace futuristic and dynamic soundtrack.
The thing is, the soundtrack excels at recreating that 90’s feel, but I can’t find any games I could compare it to from that year. It’s nothing like Trent Reznor’s Quake OST, epic but sombre. Neither is it anything like Duke Nukem’s wacky timings and odd rhythmic take. It stands on its own two feet and distinguishes itself from all other games it is trying to emulate.
However, the sound design did at first lack the punch I felt it needed when it came to certain weapons, although I’m pretty sure they must have released a patch to address that issue as now even the flat sounding shotgun is satisfying to fire. Monster sounds I also feel need a little work as the variation falls short and many of them either sound pretty similar to each other or produce no sound at all.
The developers call STRAFE and ongoing development project and have already released a total of 3 patches after a week of the games release so I expect these issues to be addressed eventually.
There’s not much I can really talk about when it comes to the games visuals as it is not exactly Witcher 3. But I will touch on this. Even though the details of the environment, enemies, and weapons in this game are rather bland, STRAFE produced some great artistic choices to enjoy. Subtle ones that often get left to the wayside, even in the big AAA games today.
Small things like the staple gun’s magazine moving through the gun as the magazine gets depleted, the Railgun’s recharge metre and the dead bodies left in certain areas that are interesting enough to take a look at to figure how they might have died.
The story is told through the environment. And even though this isn’t a game you go in to looking for a story, I even found myself questioning what on Earth is happening on Icarus.
Also, I can tell you this, many of the negative comments towards this game comes deeply from a difference in play style. Many complain that the game turns in to a corridor shooter by funnelling the enemies into small spaces constantly. And for good reason, I also did this and it did get boring.
But when I realised the freedom of movement and speed STRAFE allows you to achieve. This is far the most inefficient method to beating the game. Keep moving. Keep shooting. Keep alive.
Accusing STRAFE of trying to be one of the greats is a harsh assumption and one that I’ve seen many other critics berate the game for. STRAFE maybe in the same vein as these legendary games but instead stands apart from them all the same. It’s a game that if released in 1996 could very well be hearkened as the best game from that year.
You see, I went into STRAFE telling myself to keep a relatively open mind, but me being a massive fan of these types of games and someone who often sites Quake and Doom as two of his favourite games of all time. My heart wouldn’t listen.
I ached for a game I could play that gave me the same genuine pulse pounding excitement that those games provided for me in my youth. And thus I went into the game with a full cup expecting exactly those games, only to be disappointed. This wasn’t Quake and this was not Doom.
But the more I played the more I began to love STRAFE. It’s okay that this game isn’t those games. It doesn’t have to be. In fact, it comes out better off not mirroring it’s elderly cousins and following its own path.
The more you play the game, the more the mechanics of the game become apparent. The more of the secrets you discover and the more you begin to remember how much we love slaughtering blocky aliens by the hundreds, spilling thousands of gallons of blood in the process. The authenticity and ingenuity combined create an experience that not only took me back to my roots as a gamer, but one that also gave me a brand new feeling of excitement altogether.
A fantastic switch and bait surprise that I just didn’t expect. STRAFE makes me confused in all the right ways and Pixel Titans have managed to create an enthralling piece of art that keeps me coming back for more. Suck it up ladies, this is going to get messy.
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