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, and that likely played a major role in Strife only attracting a small cult following.

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, not to mention modern keyboard controls and mouselook. These improvements don't just make the game super accessible to modern gamers and eliminate the need to run Strife through source ports; Strife now looks better than ever before, with bright colors, improved lighting, and optional gore that I found quite startling.

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 since I've never been able to find another player since I tried to take the game online in 2025.

The 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. It made it a joy to play Strife: Veteran Edition more than a decade since I last played - and beat - the original. 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 remain excellent. 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.