Strife: Veteran Edition

When I first played Strife, it was as though I time-travelled. Not in a cool, futuristic way.
For a new game, it looked ancient. In 1996, the same year Quake shook up the FPS genre, Strife was still using the Doom engine – the last commercial game to do so. At a time that hardware acceleration was just beginning to become a thing, it seemed that Strife didn’t get the “3dfx revolution” memo.
Then I noticed something weirder. Strife actually made me… talk to people? And collect money? Why is an FPS making me negotiate with sketchy characters and collect cash like some sort of RPG?!
I was used to FPS games instantly putting you into the action, guns blazing. No pre-amble, no chit-chat, just carnage. But Strife wanted me to “make friends” and “gather intel”. What was this, Doom: The Social Experiment?
But then something changed. After awhile, I got it. This wasn’t just a mindless shooter. It was was an FPS in disguise, smuggling RPG aspects across the border. I was dealing with factions, ne’er-do-wells and rebels, and making decisions that actually mattered. When I went on a quest, it advanced a story – giving me a level of immersion I hadn’t yet experienced with a game like this.
When I finally go to shooting, the stakes seemed higher. Every pull of the trigger carried weight. An hour into Strife, I was hooked.
And what a story! Strife has to deal with a comet that falls on a planet, unleashing a plague, killing millions of people. The plague resulted in people mutating, hearing the voice of a god. And these mutants enslaved the rest of the population.
You got a mission: stop the mutants, end the oppression, and, naturally, clean up everyone else’s mess.
This was epic.
While the graphics weren’t cutting edge, there was voice acting. And while the acting sounded like dudes shouting into a tin can, it was a step above the grunts and growls of similar games. The fact real people were talking as characters put this over and above the standard FPS. The music and sound effects were decent as well.
Because this is based on the Doom engine, it largely controls like Doom too. That means directional keys for movement, ctrl to shoot, space to interact with objects.
In 2014, the legendary Nightdive Studios released The Original Strife: Veteran Edition, which is an enhanced version of Strife – giving it a needed facelift. While the original DOS version comes included with the game, you also get a modernized version in widescreen that has updated HD graphics, better controls that utilize WASD for movement as well as mouselook, and a map that actually tells you where to go.
I prefer Veteran Edition because, playing the DOS version on a big monitor, it gives me motion sickness. And as nostalgic as I am for the DOS version, WASD for movement and mouselook is way better than the original controls. Nevertheless, having the two options available in one package is fantastic. Nightdive Studios, you absolute legends.
Looking back, it’s clear that Strife was highly influential for later FPS games. I doubt that Half-Life and Deus Ex would be what they are if Strife didn’t pioneer those game mechanics first. Having an FPS where the story elements are mostly told through the game action, not cutscenes – that was revolutionary.
And honestly, back in the day, I was being a snob about the Doom engine. It’s an absolute classic – people still make games with it. While Strife didn’t wow with graphics, it gave us a game that made you think and shoot.
If you’re into classic games that blend brains and brawn, Strife is it. Just remember: you’ll have to talk to people. But in this game, it’s worth it.

I owned a retail copy of Strife. I consider myself fortunate to have enjoyed the game when it spearheaded the inclusion of RPG elements, player-controlled speech, and story-driven missions into the still relatively young genre of first person shooters. That being said, I think it can be difficult for people who got into gaming after Deus Ex popularized those things to appreciate how experimental and innovative Strife was for its time.
Strife wasn't just a marvel in video game design; it presented its players with fun and challenging action, and a compelling narrative. Those things still hold up well to this day, and so I was intrigued when I learned that Nightdive Studios had remastered the game and published a "Veteran Edition" of it.
When Strife had initially been published in 1996, it looked dated because it was built atop id Software's Doom engine. Quake was id Software's next title, and it was set to be published about one month after Strife hit shelves. It was obvious that Quake was about to take 3D visuals in first person shooters to a whole new level. The previews that were available to the public regarding Quake's appearance and its polygon-based 3D engine likely overshadowed the attention that Strife would have otherwise attracted. Strife managed to gain a small cult following, but myself and the gaming press in general contend that it warranted a lot more sales and fame than it received.
When playing the Veteran Edition of Strife, the game retains an aesthetic that makes it simultaneously appear dated yet intriguingly distinct. Nightdive has given players access to many visual and auditory options that they can natively enable or disable, as well as modern keyboard controls and mouselook. These improvements don't just make the game super accessible to modern gamers; they eliminate the need to run Strife through source ports. Strife now looks better than ever before, with bright colors, improved lighting, and overblown gore effects that I found quite startling - even when compared to games as over the top as Rise of The Triad.
From what I understand, a multiplayer mode had been planned for Strife, but never ended up getting patched into the game. Although I am pleased to report that Nightdive has added it to the Veteran Edition, I can't speak to its quality. That's because I've never been able to find another player since I tried to take the game online in 2025. In spite of that, I feel pleased knowing that the potential to easily take the Strife online exists thanks to the native matchmaking that exists in the Veteran Edition.
Strife's single player campaign has also been expanded upon a little bit. There isn't a lot of new content, but I really appreciate what was added. These new areas and challenges made Strife: Veteran Edition a joy to play more than a decade since I last experiened- and beat - the original version of Strife. I ended up discovering things that seemed completely new to me, as well as a few things that most certainly were new to the Veteran Edition.
One thing that set Strife apart from all the other games that had been based on the Doom engine is its heavy emphasis on story, with new missions unfolding during game play. Many of those missions depend upon crucial decisions that the player makes within the game - either through his/her words or actions. The Veteran edition is true to the original by preserving those things. However, it mercifully gives players the change to fight their way out of a predicament they can put themselves into early in the game. It is quite possible that some players gave up on Strife because of it, being frustrated that the game 'allowed' them to get themselves into an inescapable situation. (In defense of how the game had originally been designed, the game's motto is "Trust no one", and the situation I referenced is one that reinforces that motto.)
Strife's music is serviceable. It's nothing to write home about, nor it is terrible. As with other remasters designed by Nightdive Studios, you have the choice of listening to an arranged rendition of the original tunes. The game's sound effects and voice acting are unchanged, but I think most players will be very happy with that - as both of those things are excellent, even by modern standards. I suppose Nightdive could have added voice acting for inconsequential non-player characters, but I'm not going to hold the lack of such stuff against the company or this product.
Should you play Strife: Veteran Edition? If you like first person shooters, I'd say most likely. It feels distinctly old school, yet is simultaneously quite different from the vast majority of first person shooters from the 90s. You won't get far trying to use violence against everyone and everything you meet, and succumbing to a desire for violence and aggression means you likely won't be able to appreciate the plot and how it is central to the places you can go.
If you're someone who likes a good combination of brawn, exploration, and critical thinking, I think you may enjoy this game. Even if you played the original version of the game, like I did, I still recommend playing Strife: Veteran Edition. If you enjoyed the original and haven't played it a while, I think it's safe to say that you'll like the Veteran Edition at least as much as the original - if not a fair bit more.

After struggling through a string of bad games this was a refreshing one. I was a bit hesitant because I like modern FPS, I like late 90 FPS like Unreal or Half-Life but early 90s it starts to lose me. Doom was fun but I wasn't wild about it, Wolfenstein 3D I didn't enjoy, though Chex Quest, Rise of the Triad, and Dark Forces are fun. So where did this fall?

Despite being an older, non3d engine, this felt like a 3d game. Mouse moves freely, the game's length is about perfect. No map made some levels like the sewers feel annoying but these levels are all fairly small so easy to navigate. Fully voiced important npcs was nice. The weapons were all fun, though the 'shotgun' is treated as a end game weapon and I'd much rather have had a shotgun than the grenade launcher which was very encounter-specific due to bad range. The sprites at a higher elevation were immune to weapons besides the rifle or crossbow-- I had a few times where I shot a bazooka at a flying enemy to have it instead auto correct to blow up a civilian. There's secret passageways that connect all levels together, had it been a modern game it'd be a open world. There was minimal platforming and what it did have was fun, I think that was a product of its game engine. It just didn't do platforming well and the game's devs were well-aware of the limitations of the game engine.

Overall, I feel like Strife is a game that was made too early. It's got all the hallmarks of a modern great FPS. Had it been made 10 or 20 years later it would have been known as a great game like Bioshock or FEAR. Instead when people think of great 90s FPS, including the ones I listed above and System Shock or Marathon, no one really thinks of Strife, and I think that's a shame. It lacks memorable enemies like Nazis, demons, or monsters that say Rise of the Triad, Doom, or Serious Sam used. But it has a fun story and worth checking out.

The last commercial game made with the Doom engine (one month before a little indie title called Quake), Strife mixes light RPG elements with the usual Doom gameplay, and the result is quite impressive for the time, imho.
The beginning says it all: you escape from a prison cell after punching a couple guards to death, a nearby NPC gives you a crossbow and tells you to kill a prisoner that's going to spill the beans to the Order about the Resistance. Then you turn the corner and see a tavern, a destroyed city hall and a couple shops down the road that sell ammo and supplies. Again, on the Doom engine.
The shooting is what you'd expect, but now you get objectives to complete instead of hitting an Exit button and levels are naturally interconnected.
You can find and earn money to use in the aforementioned shops, there's some rudimentary stealth (only the fist and the poison bolts are considered silent) and you increase your health and accuracy by progressing through the game.
The arsenal is fine and kinda interesting, with a couple weapons also having a secondary ammo type. The most interesting one is probably the Sigil, which evolves and becomes stronger throughout the game, although it using your health as ammo means it can't be used willy-nilly.
There's also a bad ending you can get! It's kinda obvious which choice will lock into it, so don't worry about accidentally screwing your save file. I'd advise not taking it your first time through, since it skip, like, one third of the game.
Nightdive also added one little thing: there are now 3 talismans hidden throughout the game. Collecting them gives you a permanent Berserk effect for your fist, which is a cool reward even if it's only obtainable during the last leg of the game.
As for the negatives, the crossbow sucks: it's slow, not hitscan and the alternative ammo only works on one type of enemy. The sewer level is also annoying, being a confusing maze of gray bricks and green toxic water where it takes a while to get your bearings.
Besides that, it's a fun experience and one last hurrah for the Doom engine. Go for it!

For boomshoot enthusiasts only, cause everyone else will be bored and frustrated. Don't buy the assault gun, you get a free one a few minutes later.

I only got to play the Demo from a PC Magazine CD back in the day. This has been a complete joy to play again!

Probably the most underrated one from the classic, commercially licensed doom engine games. There are definitely some annoying sections (even more so when paired with respawning robots on the hardest difficulty), and the maps range from fairly detailed and open ones to just indoor mazes and corridors. But overall a very enjoyable journey with rewarding secrets (even more added in this Veteran edition), some stealth elements, some great dialogue, definitely a step-up from the Heretic/Hexen games in this matter.
Hoping for a remaster for the upcoming 30th anniversary of the game!
(note: I only need the "Grab the Fancy Cup" multiplayer-only achievement, pls dm me if you can help with this)