When it released back in 1996, Strife got squeezed between Duke Nukem 3D and Quake, the latter of which in particular instantly made Strife, which still was running on the trusty old Doom engine, look outdated. Beyond the surface, however, Strife is more advanced than either of these games. Not only is there an inventory, but also side quests, dialogues with voiced NPCs, stealth elements, different ammunition types, and even a branching storyline with multiple endings. Some may dislike that the story leaves many questions unanswered, but I would argue this actually adds to its appeal.
At the same time, Strife still retains the core gameplay loop that made Doom so engaging, consisting of fluid and fast movement, responsive shooting, and a nicely varied arsenal of weapons to use. In terms of level design, Strife for the most part avoids key hunting in maze-like environments, and instead approaches the level design typical of late 90s FPS. Whereas Doom's levels were mostly abstract, Strife manages to create an imaginative yet believable world, filled with objects whose level of detail rivals that of Build engine games. I am genuinely impressed by how vast yet detailed some of the environments are.
When it comes to the remaster itself, Nightdive did an excellent job as always. Many of the dead ends and bugs of the original were fixed, and while purists may not like the objective markers, they are very helpful for first-time players. The game runs and looks great, and the excellent soundtrack is reproduced perfectly.
In short, Strife is well worth playing for anyone with a knack for FPS games, and manages to still feel fresh today.
