1996's Strife is a doom clone with the soul of Cyberpunk 2077, successfully melding brilliant retro-shooter design with modern storytelling.

CDPR'sCyberpunk 2077may not arrive until November of this year, but that doesn't mean gamers have to wait until then for an enthralling cyberpunk FPS, becauseback in 1996, Rogue Entertainment released an innovative sci-fi shooter called Strife. The game blended cyberpunk, fantasy,RPG elements, and classic shooter design to create an experience well ahead of its time. All things considered, Strife is more relevant today than it was when it first released.

Recently, retro gaming has exploded in popularity, and no genre has been impacted more than the first-person shooter. From creative homages like Project Warlock to modern takes such as DOOM Eternal, gamers devour old-school shooters. Yet, with the exception of the new DOOMs, AAA FPS games continue to emphasize story, character progression, and world building over shooting. Games like Cyberpunk 2077 imbue their world with narrative purpose giving the combat contextualized heft at the cost of the simple joy found in classic shooter design.

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As George Mendell, developer of the indie-shooter Maximum Action, told Fanbyte, If more AAA shooters embraced the Doom model and focused on gameplay and player freedom first and story second, I think we would see a lot more unique games with high levels of replay ability. But, perhaps, the divide between world-building and joyful gameplay does not have to be so binary, since Strife brilliantly melds these two concepts. Using the Doom Engine, Strife has all the hallmarks of a traditional "Doom Clone." Players navigate an unnamed mercenary through various mazes as they mow down enemy after enemy. Smooth and impactful, the combat satisfies the inner id while the the labyrinthine levels tax the brain; it's classic 90s shooting at its finest. However, while such mechanics make up the 99% of the game, it is not all Strife offers. In fact, Strife feels more innovative than most modern games, offering an experience that's both retro and avant garde.

Strife has numerous elements that give the game a greater sense of world as compared to its old-school brethren. First, the wildly creative story combines genuine cyberpunk sci-fi with dark fantasy, taking place in an alternative history where aliens invaded during the medieval era. Humanity is enslaved: oppressed by advanced technology and cybernetic augmentations that deprive them of free-will. The few free humans left, of which the player's character is a part, fight to overthrow the oppressors.

Strife does not depend on exposition or dialogue-heavy sequences to give its action heft, instead relying on in-game storytelling such as moral choices. For instance, an important late-game choice determines whether or not the player sees an entire third of the game and alters the ending. The different endings are not simple either. In fact, each ending adds to a complex whole hinting at a potential larger conspiracy. Fans still debate which is actually the happiest ending because, depending on how one interprets certain revelations, the happy ending may in fact be the worst possible ending.

All of this plays out in an interconnected world too. Unlike most old-school shooters, where players just bounce between levels, all the missions in Strife are connected via two towns that serve as hubs. The towns offer a brief respite from shooting allowing players the opportunity to improve their stats and talk with NPCs for side-quests while also organically connecting all the levels together. If it werent for the occasional quick loading screen, the game would be seamless: its a mini-open world akin to Dark Souls with a couple towns linking together a number of combat areas.

A prescient Doom Clone, Strife saw ahead of the curve and meldedRPG sensibilities with refined shooting to create a game thats decidedly retro and modern all at once. Cyberpunk 2077 may be months away but awesome cyberpunk action is available now and has been for more than 20 years.

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