Deal | Doom meets Gothic: Retro RPG shooter hits $1 on Steam for the first time

Back in 1996, the shooter landscape was largely dominated by Doom and Quake – games known primarily for their fast-paced action. Rogue Entertainment wanted to offer something more with Strife, adding RPG mechanics to the familiar shooter formula, similar to those that would later appear in games like Gothic. The result was a remarkably ambitious genre hybrid for its time. Today, the game is available on Steam as Strife: Veteran Edition, featuring modernized graphics – and it's currently 90% off, reaching a new all-time low of around $1 instead of $10, according to SteamDB.

Strife takes players to a grim post-apocalyptic world where a fanatical organization known as The Order rules the population with an iron fist. As a nameless mercenary, players join a resistance movement and attempt to overthrow the oppressive regime. Instead of separate, self-contained levels, Strife features an interconnected world consisting of 28 linked areas, complete with NPCs, merchants and quests. Players can also improve their character's attributes and make decisions that influence how the story unfolds – with three different endings to discover.

At its core, Strife remains a first-person shooter, with gameplay that isn't fundamentally different from Doom. However, the action is regularly interrupted by stealth sections, meaning the game already featured mechanics 30 years ago that would later become familiar in titles such as Deus Ex. The RPG elements also bring classics like Gothic to mind, although players generally consider them fairly shallow by comparison.

Overall, the Veteran Edition, which launched on Steam in 2014, has been well received. Of the nearly 700 user reviews submitted so far, 89% are positive. Players praise the unusual blend of genres, particularly the engaging story and extensive weapon selection. However, the stealth mechanics can reportedly be frustrating, while the level design can sometimes be confusing. It's also worth noting that both audio and text are available in English only. Still, anyone who enjoys RPGs and has a soft spot for retro shooters like Doom can hardly go wrong at just $1.

For a closer look at the gameplay, check out the trailer:

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