As I get older I find more and more pleasure in things that are pared back and aren’t expansive, seven hundred-hour experiences. I like limitations, things that either through choice or circumstance have something imposed on the design and the player. Straftat is a new free FPS that looks to be exactly up my street as it’s all about one thing – shooting the other player before they shoot you. It’s out now and it’s already doing amazing things on Steam, racking up a colossal amount of positive reviews.
In Straftat it’s just you versus one other player as you duke it out in 1v1 matches. You hop in, grab a gun, hunt down your opponent, and hopefully get rid of them before they get the drop on you. In classic FPS game fashion, everything’s delightfully lo-fi and blocky, but the best thing is how fast it all is. Each match goes by blisteringly quick, meaning you never get a chance to be bored as you’re always on to your next victory – or your next defeat.
While I did wax lyrical about how pared back Straftat is, there are some exceptions. The first is how many maps there are. You’re able to stalk your prey across a huge lineup of 70 different arenas, with them varying from industrial buildings to ancient temples and even something reminiscent of Twin Peaks’ Red Room.
That approach carries over to the weapons, with each level having its own roster of guns and gear to grab. These range from laser tripwire mines to melee weapons, to machine guns, rifles, shotguns, and more. No matter what kind of tool you want to bring to the battle, there’s always something that’s sure to fit your hand perfectly.
For the fashionistas among you, there are also plenty of cosmetics to earn via completing different challenges – and yes, Team Fortress 2 fans, there are hats.
Combine all of that with the fact that the game’s free and you can swiftly see why 97% of players reviewing it have chosen to be effusive about it. With praise for the quick matches, amount of guns, fluid movement, and sheer volume of content on offer flooding in, Straftat is definitely winning over its fair share of fans.
Straftat is out now, and you can play for free over on Steam. Head over there now to see what the fuss is about, and see if you want to dive into a spot of gunplay.
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