STRAFE

They should make this game 5 bucks, but otherwise its really really good man. If its on sale for 5 bucks you should buy it

I wish there was more nuance than "Like" or "Dislike" because this game is the definition of a mixed bag. To be clear: I like it, I think this is a good game, but I don't know if I'd recommend it.
To get right to the heart of it, the core gameplay is good, it just shouldn't have been a roguelike. What you gotta keep in mind is that this game came out a year and a half before DUSK. This isn't a boomer shooter that's a roguelike, it's a roguelike that's a boomer shooter. There wasn't a proven market for purestrain old-school shooters at the time; I'd argue that STRAFE paved the road to that market existing. All of these excuses do not change the fact that while playing this game, you will find yourself wishing for actual level design.
The game is stiflingly difficult, and the built-in easy mode doesn't do a good job of offsetting that. STRAFE is very tightly balanced around the default difficulty, and switching on easy mode feels more like playing with cheats on than it feels like a legitimate alternate difficulty setting. Even though it's theoretically possible to avoid all enemy damage - there are no hitscanners - the random level construction means that you'll be frequently funnelled into taking cheap hits.
I can only recommend this game if the idea of a boomer shooter roguelike strongly appeals to you, and you want to play a game that is specifically both of those things. If you just want a boomer shooter, you'll find yourself endlessly frustrated with the roguelike elements. If you want a tight roguelike, well, you are not starving for options. But if you want both, even though it's been almost 7 years, nothing's ever done what STRAFE does any better.

I love this game, and it works fine on my handheld pc. However, It does not boot at all on my desktop. I will change my review if they fix it.
Edit: I found out how to fix it on desktop:
- Open Control Panel
- Go to System & Security
- Go to System
- Select Advanced system settings
- Select Environmental Variables
- Create a new System Variable (NOT USER VARIABLE)
- Enter the following into the Variable name box: OPENSSL_ia32cap
- Enter the following into the Variable value box: ~0x20000000
- Now press OK
Thanks to PracticalAd570 on reddit for the fix.

It's pretty cool! Good weapons, good enemies, good levels, good soundtrack.
Some weird performance issues and strange level layouts generations can taint the experience tho.

I'm not gonna lie. This is a nice boomer-shooter game that has it's merits, but maaaaan does it get old fast.
Game-play is as what'd you expect from a quake/doom-like game but it feels too floaty. The art-style is cool and the music is fun to listen to but it's not memorable.
The biggest flaw in this is most definitely the enemies that you fight. They're some of the worst I've had to endure from these types of games. they're way to damaging, have a lot of health and the the hit-boxes are abysmally small, especially those annoying worm things. these issues could have been ignored hadn't been for the egregiously stingy ammo pickups. How the hell am i supposed to fight with no ammo in a boomer-shooter man?
Outside of that it's still a pretty nice short experience all-in-all. The themes of the game are cool and fun and with the art-style of this game, it complements it and serves it very well, and the game can look very unique at times. Also, the pacing is surprisingly good for what it's worth.
7/10. Why not 8 or above? because it's short as hell. Sure, pacing is good but it's still too damn short. took me like 4 hours to finish this between 2 sessions.

I am liking this game so far, not the best but it seems fun. but a big negative is that i had to go online and research how to start the game

Oh wow.
What a genuinely fun experience in one of the most stylish packages I have ever seen.
STRAFE® from the get-go I have to say as a little warning.
Do not expect a deep or varied rogue-like, this is not that.
There is a severe lack of variety compared to essentially every other rogue-like I have ever played and every run for better or for worse feel pretty much the exact same.
Think of the game more like a normal shooter kinda like DOOM but with permadeath and semi-randomized elements that is highly replayable from the pure fun factor.
Now with that said the gameplay is *chef's kiss* pure excellence and some of the most fun I have had in a while.
The movement is wicked fast as you STRAFE® around at lighting speed shooting enemies into meaty bits.
The music kicks ass and get's you pumped while everything get's covered in blood and chunks fly everywhere.
There is an extensive mutator system to spice up the gameplay and some completely change the way you play the game (like one makes it an rpg with a whole xp and leveling system)
It honestly at times just feels perfect in how well it puts you in a flow state so intense the real world seriously feel like it is in slow motion after you're done playing.
AND OH MY GOD THE STYLE ON DISPLAY!
The visuals first and foremost are world class.
The way you can interact with all the little things Duke Nukem-style and all their wonderful animations is just WOW.
Also the fact that you are always in first person behind the helmet and every loading screen is some kind of transportation in real time instead of a static screen to the next area makes a run have no cuts whatsoever and is a level of immersion I rarely see in any other game ever.
The game just oozes style from every crevice.
Like so many Devolver published games the game is also chock-full of references and mini-games to other Devolver titles aswell as other old school shooters in general.
The game feels like a love letter to the shooting genre in every single way and you can tell the developers love this genre and had fun making the game.
STRAFE® is not a perfect game by a long shot.
But if you enjoy fast paced boomer shooters then you will almost certainly have a blast playing this game as much as I did.
Thank you Pixel Titans for such an incredible game!