Bloody 90s-styled shooter Strafe is coming out in March

The blocky, gore-filled FPS Strafe [official site] is sidestepping onto PC on March 28, channeling the rocket launchers and shotguns of 1996 and combining them with some roguelite shiz. You pick a main weapon out of three guns to start then pile-drive through randomised levels, leaving the blood of your enemies behind as a “guidance system” - a blood-soaked corridor that shows you where you’ve been. It’s solid stuff, says our Adam, who wrote that it was more than a simple parody of the olden days and that “it has enough tricks of its own to feel elegant and modern, despite its grungy graphics”.

Here’s a wee release trailer they posted with it.

That’s okay. But you might remember it better for its first 90s styled advertisement from a couple of years ago, which showcases some of the expected humour – the work of Pixel Titans and lead designer Thom Glunt, who really was a commercials man before the vidgam business stole him away. Don’t worry, there’s at least one FMV tutorial sequence in the game.

As for the game itself, the levels come in short batches of three or four and even though they are put together randomly, they will focus on a certain theme – weird organic planet, spaceship, etc. You just have to murder your way to the next door, picking up upgrades and pieces of kit as you go. Short bursts of violent 90s mayhem – that’s publisher Devolver Digital’s raison d’etre for sure, and it doesn’t always work. But Adam’s faith in this homage is a bolstering thought. We'll remind you about it again, blood fans!