It’s tempting to paint Straftat as a throwback to older, better days for multiplayer FPSs, when jargon was coded in bits and pieces and sucked out of it, when satisfaction was derived solely from performance rather than some convoluted, artificial progression system. Not only would that be incorrect, but it would also do a disservice to what Straftat really is, which is a wild, over-correction in response to the direction of newfangled multiplayer shooters that flies straight through retro stations to get to something modern and stimulating.
Developed by the creators of urban exploration game Babbdi and boasting a similar visual style, Straftat pits two players against each other in fast-paced deathmatch tournaments. Taking place on petite maps, each match is a best-of-three match where the first player to win a certain number of matches (six by default) can achieve final victory over their common murderer.
Setup couldn’t be easier. And what makes Straftat so fascinating is the fact that these tournaments consist of massive series of maps. You’ll have at least 70 arenas at your disposal, and if you’re willing to part with the fiver for the DLC (the base game is completely free), that number will double to 140.
These maps vary greatly in terms of subject matter and structure. The arena ranges from abstract cat-and-mouse kill pits where victory can be as much about outsmarting or outdoing your opponent, through “realistic” sections of streets and apartment blocks with echoes of Half-Life 2 and Call of Duty 4, through to absurd trick levels that will have you squealing like a delighted toddler trying to figure out what exactly is going on.
It’s strenuous to know where to start with this deluge of level design, but the maps that stand out the most are the ice-themed ones. There are several, but let’s take ICE_03 as one example: you will be thrown onto an undulating island of frozen water, swinging dangerously in a lake of lava that gradually melts that ice into pieces. When the match begins, it drops a gigantic pile of random weapons onto the map that slide over the bumps in the ice and into its crevices. Therefore, you must rush to your weapon and try to kill the enemy with it before you fall into the hell below – all while sliding. This leads to some fun, crazy fights where luck and reaction time play as much a role in victory as the skill of the shooter.
While the ice levels are the most absurd, very few of the other maps in the game are uninteresting. For example, in Neo_Arena_6, both players jump over floating blocks to two skyscrapers dotted with sniper rifles. It’s like a compact variant of Facing Worlds from Unreal Tournament, but with a twist. There are portal doors in both towers that teleport you to opposite structure, allowing you to sneak up on an enemy while his crosshairs are trained on the scope.
Even the more time-honored arenas are full of tactical potential. WestVillage_04 is a seaside slum consisting of a petite cluster of buildings where you chase each other through winding streets and corrugated iron roofs with guns and submachine guns. HK_02 is a slice of commercial Hong Kong where you weave a deadly dance around a row of shops selling assault rifles and grenades. When you try to blow yourself up through multiple storefronts, the glass explodes, just like in a low-budget John Woo movie. And since you can throw grenades over buildings, you can try your luck and blow up your opponent before you even see them.
As for weapons, I should point out that the selection is almost as diverse and stupid as the maps. Some of the more familiar guns, shotguns, and rocket launchers include blunderbusses, elephant guns, flamethrowers, miniguns, stun guns, laser rifles, plasma guns, swords, and more. Indeed, many maps are defined by the weapons they provide. One map revolves almost entirely around proximity mines, with you building your own minefield while trying to find your way through your opponent’s minefield. Another priority is “repulsor” guns, which do no damage but push your opponent, forcing you to try to knock them over the edge of the map.
Cycling through all this variety is incredibly fun, especially considering the speed at which Straftat travels. Individual rounds rarely last longer than thirty seconds, while an entire six-match tournament usually ends within ten minutes. It’s a fantastic game for your lunch break, but it’s equally capable of keeping you hooked for hours as you return to the game for the last time.
However, it’s worth pausing for a moment to put Straftat’s diversity aside and ask the arduous question: “Is the fighting good?” The answer is that he is mostly excellent, although his inherent roughness sometimes works against him. The movement is reminiscent of Half-Life and its sequel in that it is elegant and clinical. But Straftat weaves some acrobatics into the mix, adding the ability to lightly skate on walls and perform amazing knee slides that are sometimes tactically advantageous and always feel amazing. Shooting an opponent in the head with a revolver as I skated past them like a child being shown a polished floor is probably the most satisfying act I’ve performed in a game this year.
Weapons are also largely fun to utilize, although their handling is less refined than their movement. Honestly, many of them are designed specifically to look metallic and rattley, like this ball-bearing firing gun from the Metro series. For the most part, it fits Straftat’s sullied, rundown aesthetic. However, some weapons, such as the elephant rifle, would benefit from meatier feedback. Melee weapons require the most work because they lack proper body animations during attacks. That said, Straftat has excellent explosions, again reminiscent of the earth-shattering explosions from Half-Life 2, which are perfectly positioned to launch ragdolls into the air.
There are a few other nits I could pick. First, I wish the maps had more distinctive names. I understand that it must be arduous to come up with names for 140 maps, but when almost fifty maps have the prefix “Arena” or “NEO_Arena”, compiling a list of favorites becomes more arduous than it should be. Going back to what I said at the beginning about Straftat’s throwback status, it has a distinctly newfangled progression system where you earn XP by playing to unlock maps and cosmetics. It’s very lightweight and largely benign, but I still don’t think Straftat needs it and I would argue that his presence goes against the philosophy and tone of the game.
Finally, I tested Straftat on an ancient Steam Deck, and while it works great, I still wouldn’t recommend playing it on one right now. Menu navigation on Steam is cumbersome, and the game itself is uncompromisingly designed for keyboard and mouse control.
Other than that, Straftat is a blast, a grungy, underground virtual LAN party that, by pushing so strenuous in the opposite direction of gigantic, shiny team shooters, breaks modern ground for an older style of shooting. There have been various attempts to revitalize arena shooters over the past decade, from Epic’s aborted Unreal Tournament revival, to Doom 2016’s disappointing multiplayer offering, to Bethesda’s more successful Quake Champions spinoff. Straftat, however, outshines them all, puffing casually from a cigarette as he slides into the future on his knees.
