STRAFE

I recommend this game but with caveats.
I hate a lot of the design choices, such as a preorder gun which destroys the meaningfulness of your achievements. It does this by completing the game if you fire it. Yes, seriously. People may find that fun and/or funny, but that's not how it lands with me.
There's a review of Temple of Elemental Evil on Good Old Games, and it goes something like this: This game feels like it was written by two people, one of them very smart and the other one not so smart. The not so smart one gets to make most of the choices, but sometimes the smart person manages to trick them into making a good choice.
Strafe feels EXACTLY like that to me, except it's two smart dudes with wildly different visions.
Basically there's a LOT of stuff here to love, but I don't care about any of it because none of it interests me. For myself I'd give a 'Not recommended'.
But this review isn't for me, it's for other people who want to buy a roguelite boomer shooter.
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Basically, it's like this: The gameplay is fine, remarkable in its solidity even. One of the few games I own that have never crashed. The gunplay, while basic, is responsive and satisfying. All the controls make sense, and can be rebound. The graphics are spot on, the sfx are perfect, and the OST is a banger.
The story is simple (there's literally no plot at all), and fits right alongside other similar deep space resource games like Deep Rock Galactic and Void Bastards.
Of all the boomer shooters I've played, this one feels the most like Quake 2 (most go for a Doom, Quake 1, or Hexen/Heretic vibe),
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They say 'We'd rather have a happy non-customer than an unhappy customer.' Even just as a marketing phrase that's hella cool, but the store page also reflects this attitude from them.
I'd normally have to explain why the Steam page is a lie, but these guys have already done it for me. They know what you're expecting might not be what they want. They know that the genre 'boomer shooter' comes with a LOT of baggage.
They explain what the game ISN'T, which I wish was a lot more common.
The only thing I'll add is that it has what I consider the PERFECT tutorial: Completely optional, you learn by doing things within the gameworld, and the corporate satire is - well, back at release it was hilarious, now it's just 'how things actually are' (the curse of ALL good satire).
Just don't fire that VV1N gun if you care about achievements, okay?

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!

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.

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

Absolutely top shelf game. Soundtrack SLAPS!! IT SLAPS I SAY! Gameplay and controls are tight and responsive, weaponry is varied and punchy, enemy design *chefs kiss* Level design 15/10, replayability is infinite, if you havent played this game you need to rectify that immediatly and bless the Pixel Titans! I would love to see a Strafe 2 or at least some more level enemy add ons.

originally refunded it as it made me rage quit, came back to it because the soundtrack it too good. gameplay is also pretty fun, but the soundtrack is so good i still clearly hear it in my head for hours,

After 8 years I finally got around to beating this game. Strafe Is a Rogue LITE Boomer shooter and if you're into Doom-style games then you will enjoy this one. Don't expect something groundbreaking though, this game is pretty simple and basic.
At the start you get to pick a main weapon that will be with you always, then you jump into a teleporter and the run begins. The levels are all the same, you go into 4 different stages with 2 levels each with a 5th stage acting as the final boss. The levels are randomly generated to some extent with the layout being the thing that changes the most but not too much. The power-ups you find are what can pop up randomly but there are only 4 and they only affect your shooting (Rate of fire, damage, magazine size and accuracy). You get a shop every second level which allows you to purchase items with random bonuses but I feel like a lot of them were pretty lackluster with the only incredibly useful one being the acid resistant. You find weapons across the map while exploring which all of these are random as well on the type and spawn location... this is my main issue with the game. I like that you get to pick up and use different weapons you can find across your journey but you don't get much ammo for them, and once you use it up its gone, you can't even buy more ammo for it. The only way to get more ammo is to find the same weapon again. Your main weapon is the only gun that you're allowed to buy and carry ammo for. My other issue was that Health BARELY spawns while doing a run and there is virtually no way of healing, not even in the shops. This is the extent of the Rogue-lite elements. Once you beat the game you can activate mutators which change the gameplay and some of them are pretty cool. You also get New Game + and hardcore mode but the game itself as a whole does not change much. The music, to me, is also not very great. The starting song is so off-putting, first impressions are important and the music for the first level is the main reason why I took 8 years to beat this game because I hated it that much.
If you want to try it out and are curious go ahead. If you like simple Doom-type Games with a little bit of Rogue Lite elements then you will enjoy the game for the time being, but I think it falls short in many areas. However, I did enjoy playing the game and I liked my time with it, Even if I couldn't get ammo for the weapons I picked up, that forced me into thinking outside the box and strategize on when it would be the best times to use my limited firepower. Buy it on sale.