Line #82 VideoGame/Strife


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strifecover_606.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Fight for the Front and freedom! Move out!]]
3	->''You are a wandering mercenary, led to the small town of Tarnhill by rumors of conflict between The Order, a well-equipped religious dictatorship, and The Front, the rag tag resistance movement. While searching for The Front you decided to take a brief rest somewhere that you thought was safe. The Order acolytes have been rounding up all suspicious characters in the area. Yes, you happen to be one of them. What they didn't expect, though, is the knife you keep concealed for situations just like this one...''
4
5	A comet struck the planet, unleashing a virus that ran rampant and killed countless human beings. Those that were infected and survived began to hear the voice of a malevolent god known as The Entity in their minds, and began to worship it. They formed a cult known as The Order and began their conquest of the planet, using technology far superior to those outside The Entity's sway. Their brutal reign lead to the creation of The Front, a resistance movement dedicated to overthrowing The Order that, as of recently, has been stymied by their lack of manpower and The Order's technological advantage.
6
7	That is until ''[[ItsUpToYou you]]'' came along, of course.
8
9	Released in 1996 by Rogue Entertainment, ''Strife'' is the last commercial game to use Creator/IdSoftware's ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' MediaNotes/GameEngine (now officially known as ''id Tech 1''). It featured [[HubLevel hub-based levels]] and small RPGElements such as {{cutscene}}s, {{Dialogue Tree}}s, shops, a rudimentary [[CharacterLevel leveling system]] and an actual, relevant plot. Unfortunately it never received much attention or commercial success due to it using a more "primitive" engine compared to what was out at the time, and it was overshadowed by [[VideoGame/QuakeI id's latest technology-advancing game]] that was slated to be released a month later. Despite this, it was [[VindicatedByHistory eventually rediscovered]] by fans of 90's shooters and became something of a CultClassic.
10
11	''Strife'' was considered {{abandonware}} for a long time due to Rogue Entertainment no longer existing, and the game can be played on modern operating systems with ''Doom'' source ports such as [=ZDoom=]. At the tail end of 2014, Creator/NightdiveStudios acquired publishing rights for the game, and on December 12, 2014, the game was re-released via Platform/{{Steam}} as ''[[http://store.steampowered.com/app/317040/ Strife: Veteran Edition]]'' for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux-based [=PCs=]. This updated version of the game features many new enhancements such as high resolution modes and widescreen support, [=OpenGL=] rendering capabilities, dynamic lighting and bloom, rebindable keys, and restores lost features of the original game.
12
13	Not to be confused with [[VideoGame/StrifeMOBA the MOBA game of the same name]]. In fact, the Steam release was [[{{Retronym}} retitled]] ''The Original Strife: Veteran Edition''.
14	----
15	!!This game features examples of the following tropes:
16	* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts:
17	** The quartermaster at The Front base will give you a few magazines of assault rifle bullets if you run out, but aside from that don't expect any hand-outs from him. Or from the citizens that you're trying to save from the evil empire/cult, for that matter.
18	** For a man of medicine, the Front medic is fairly stingy with medical supplies as well, refusing to patch you up unless you've been injured to a certain threshold -- the same threshold that automatically uses healing items, if you let the game handle your healing for you.
19	* AnnoyingArrows: The electric bolts shot from the pistol-crossbow are one of the weakest distance weapons; it takes four such bolts on average to kill an acolyte. On the other hand, the poison bolts will kill humans instantly.
20	* ApatheticCitizens:
21	** The locals don't particularly seem to care that a heavily-armed individual is wandering in and out of buildings that ''rather coincidentally'' end up suffering either catastrophic destruction or massive death tolls. For that matter, neither do the Order troops standing guard just outside. Hell, you can shoot people with poison arrows and punch them to death ''in plain sight of their friends or allies'' and most of the time they won't even move. However, acolytes will attack if they see you attacking a comrade.
22	** The guard outside the Sanctuary's front door will strongly object if you try to get in that way, but won't bat an eyelid if you ''come out'' of that door. He will also ignore you if you head towards the Sanctuary's river entrance, barely five meters away (fortunately for the plot).
23	* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:Losing to the FinalBoss results in a 3b type - humanity gets rendered extinct by The Entity.]]
24	* ArtificialStupidity:
25	** While you do have allies, The Front's soldiers are only about as competent as The Order's. Which is about as competent as a Doom zombie soldier. In other words, not very.
26	*** Particularly bad/laughable in that they'll do things that they themselves warn the player ''not'' to do in NPC conversations. "Whatever you do, don't stand too near the big robot with the flamethrower--oh hey, it's a big robot with a flamethrower, I'll just run right up to it so I can't miss my shots!"
27	** The otherwise fearsome Inquisitors have a quirk in their AI that can make short work of them: If you are on a ledge above them, when trying to fly up to reach you they tend to repeatedly ''almost'' get up to you, then suddenly drop lower and fly back up only to fall again. You can often abuse this with Mauler shots at the top of this see-saw motion.
28	* AsteroidsMonster: The very final boss of the game will split into three smaller versions of itself at low health.
29	* AwesomeButImpractical:
30	** Yeah! Grenade launchers! Awesome! They even fire two at a time! Except that, unless you're fighting in a wide-open area, the grenades have a very bad habit of hitting any damn thing in the architecture and bouncing right back in your face, and you don't have a choice in firing two grenades at once, which is done with a slight delay. The grenades are also launched off-center, making it the worst weapon to use from behind cover, because either you blow yourself up with it or you stand out of cover just long enough to safely fire it and get shot anyway.
31	** The Sigil itself, mainly because it [[CastFromHitpoints uses YOU as ammo]], making most players reluctant to use it. Also, the first Sigil form causes a bunch of lightning strikes to occur in the general area, and can make players believe they cannot target a specific foe with it (you have to be aiming directly at them and be close enough, and if so the node that drop the lightning spawns at the target's feet, otherwise the node spawns at ''yours''). You ''are'' required to use it on the spectres and [[spoiler:The Entity]], as they NoSell everything else.
32	* BatDeduction: If you take the long path to get the GoldenEnding, you are sent at one point to shut down some factory where people are turned into Order cyborgs. At one point, [[spoiler:Blackbird figures out Macil was behind sending all the factory victims to their deaths and he is actually a villain]]. How she came to this conclusion isn't made clear, but the [[spoiler:teleport beacon for resistance members you can find placed in the open, which you don't normally find just laying around in enemy territory]] might be a hint.
33	* BavarianFireDrill: Pulled off by the Player Character a couple of times.
34	* {{BFG}}: The Mauler, a combination energy supershotgun and radial plasma bomb launcher.
35	* BifurcatedWeapon: The Sigil, [[IKEAWeaponry some assembly required]]. Any given piece functions perfectly fine as a weapon, and it grows more powerful the more pieces are combined.
36	* TheBigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:With Blackbird in the best ending.]]
37	* BittersweetEnding: The "Mediocre" ending. [[spoiler:The Entity, who in this ending is revealed to have been disguising itself as Blackbird, is defeated and the Order is dismantled, but because Macil was killed before his research into the Sigil could be completed, the vaccine for TheVirus is never created, and humanity's future is left uncertain.]]
38	* BlackComedy:
39	** "First they slaughter thousands, then they want all able-bodied peasants for unspecified... tests. How does The Order expect me to keep the peace? What the hell do you want?" Seems like nothing special, but the skill with which the Governor's Voice Actor delivers it makes it easily one of the funnier lines in the game.
40	** Also of note. "I stole an ID from the corpse of some fool who fell into the Reactor's Coolant Pit. Blat, instant deep fry... Tell whoever asks that you're the replacement worker for Mr. Crispy. [[CrazyEnoughToWork It's just dumb enough to work!]]"
41	** And many of Blackbird's one-liners, such as "Y'know, from the outside this place looks ''tiny''" and "Let's make Mr. Ugly [[Music/TheBeatles twist and shout]]!".
42	* BladeBelowTheShoulder: The Punch Dagger, although it is held in the hand.
43	* BoringButPractical: The assault rifle and mini-missile launcher. The former is the only {{Hitscan}} weapon the player has aside from the primary fire of the mauler (which isn't gotten until much later), and for some reason can aim a lot higher than the crossbow or missile launcher. The latter does enough damage to kill most common enemies (such as the basic Order troops or the stalkers) in one hit, ammo is fairly common, and you can carry up to 100 missiles at once.
44	* BossInMookClothing: Inquisitors. Cyberdemon-sized robot soldiers that can fly with jetpacks, who have as many hitpoints as some of the bosses, and grenades that deal incredibly heavy damage. Depending on difficulty, there are only four to seven in the entire game.
45	* ButThouMust: Most of the time, when someone asks you to do something, you basically have two options: "Yes, I'll do it" and "I'll get back to you on that." Except, of course, for the times when you have three options: "Yes, I'll do it," "I'll get back to you on that", and "no, I won't do it, but please cause dozens of guards to spawn in and shoot me dead so I learn my lesson". Noticeably, it is possible to make the game unwinnable doing this. Harris's mission comes to mind (see MoonLogicPuzzle below).
46	* CastFromHitPoints: The Sigil uses life energy to function. The more pieces, the more health it takes. Fortunately, your maximum health does increase as the game goes on.
47	* CatchPhrase: ''"Fight for the Front and freedom! Move out!"'', given by Macil after sending you on your latest mission.
48	* Catch22Dilemma: Averted. You gain Sigil parts by killing Spectres — which are invulnerable to all weapons except the Sigil. Fortunately, you gain your ''first'' Sigil part by killing the Programmer, and unllike the later bosses, you don't have to face his Spectre immediately afterward. In fact, you only get to face and kill the Programmer's Spectre some time later, after you've already gained your third Sigil piece — and then only if you're on the "good" walkthrough path.
49	* ClimaxBoss: The Programmer. Up until now, you've been setting things up so that it's possible to attack the castle, which is an enormous DiscOneFinalDungeon.
50	* CometOfDoom: It brings the plague which gives rise to The Order and sets the plot in motion. [[spoiler:It turns out to actually be The Entity's spaceship.]]
51	* CoversAlwaysLie: Looking at the cover would lead you to believe "Trust no one" is the game's TagLine. The actual game has very little to do with anyone trying to deceive you into doing things you shouldn't, with one or two notable exceptions.
52	* CrateExpectations: Well ''duh'', what kind of game do you think this is? Many levels have crates acting as walls and obstructions, and multiple levels are based entirely around navigating through warehouses full of crates, notably the dockyard section of the power plant, and the fortress warehouse, an entire bonus level based around crates.
53	* CurbStompBattle: A lot of the bosses after The Programmer seem to fall into this category, at least before [[spoiler:the Spectres erupt from their bodies, forcing you to kill them with The Sigil]].
54	* CuteAndPsycho: Blackbird. At times, she's a bit ''too'' enthusiastic about watching you gun down dozens of enemy troops and explode critical infrastructure.
55	* CycleOfHurting: Averted. Doom featured featured inescapable pits of poison or lava that slowly drained your health. ''Strife'' added falling damage to the engine so that you'd just die on impact instead.
56	* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Attacking the Oracle reveals that under its robe is a human skull on a non-human body. Oh, and its Spectre then attacks you.]]
57	* DeathCourse: The Training Facility.
58	* DevilInPlainSight: The Oracle has one of those "Entity spirit" boss monsters floating right above it, making it pretty obvious what he really is [[spoiler:and indeed, if you attack him in his "human" form, he is immediately revealed to be some sort of dummy, and the spirit attacks]]. In spite of this, no one (including Blackbird, who's implied to be able to see what you can see and thus can presumably see the spirit thing too) suspects anything. This even gets an unintentional [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] when you kill the Entity spirit that comes out of the Bishop and Blackbird says it looks familiar.
59	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:You know The Entity? Malevolent godlike being worshipped by countless members of The Order, creator of The Sigil? ''You kill it.'']]
60	* DieChairDie: You can smash glass windows, as well as the numerous computer monitors and screens that fill the Order's bases. Wooden barrels can also be destroyed.
61	* DiscOneFinalBoss: The Programmer is implied to be the BigBad at first: [[TheDreaded everyone seems scared of him]], and Macil implies that killing him will make the Order's soldiers (who are mostly cyborgs) malfunction. When you finally fight him, he is pretty tough, however, not only are the soldiers unaffected, killing him gives you the first Sigil piece, starting the main quest which requires you to find four more pieces from other bosses.
62	* DisintegratorRay: The Mauler. The first NPC who brings it up even introduces it as "the weapon that vaporizes." [[MissionControl Blackbird]] is [[GunPorn strangely excited]] by the prospect of you getting one for yourself.
63	* DownerEnding: Either of the two "bad" endings to the game. [[spoiler:Trusting the [[ObviouslyEvil Oracle]] leads to the Entity taking over Blackbird, and even when you kill it, the future of humanity is uncertain. Lose to the Entity and the ending is completely hopeless, as [[TheBadGuyWins the Order triumphs]] and the Entity drives humanity '''extinct'''.]]
64	* DressingAsTheEnemy:
65	** Weran, the Rat King and leader of the sewer dwellers, wants you to kill the Acolyte guarding the sewer exit and bring him the guard's uniform, so that they can impersonate the guard and keep a ready path to the surface (And food) open.
66	** Blackbird tells you to find an officer's uniform as you enter the Fortress to 'blend in.' While some non-hostile Acolytes will treat you cordially assuming you are wearing the uniform, the in-game effect is more limited. Having the uniform in your inventory simply prevents sounding the alarm when crossing the amber barriers. But green ones will still alert all enemies to your presence.
67	* EarnYourHappyEnding: Emphasis on "earn", as to get the GoldenEnding requires you to both make a crucial choice [[spoiler: kill the Oracle instead of Macil]], as well as go through several levels you wouldn't have to do otherwise, increasing the total length of the game by about a third.
68	* EvilEmpire: The Order.
69	* EvilWeapon: The Sigil. Made by an evil god? Check. Created to corrupt the people of the world into evil desires? Check. Worshipped by a jack-booted empire/cult? Check. Uses [[CastFromHitPoints the wielder's own life force as ammo?]] Check.
70	* ExplodingBarrel: Some barrels explode when shot, setting off the alarm.
71	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The sky, being overcast in the first half and reddish in the second half, implies that the entire game took place in a single day.
72	* FateWorseThanDeath: Being turned into an order minion is implied to be this, as at the beginning Macil mentions the comet impact killed thousands, and then says they turned out to be the lucky ones...
73	* FireBreathingWeapon: The flamethrower.
74	* GameplayAllyImmortality: Shopkeepers and major plot-essential characters such as the Front's leader Macil and the Oracle can't be killed [[spoiler:before you're supposed to be able to kill them]], even though you can shoot everyone around them, often in their presence. Meanwhile, a lot of minor [=NPCs=] that you encounter that you need to talk to in order to progress can be taken out. Fortunately, the programmers have taken this into consideration, often by having them drop the item that they'd normally give you or by hiding a switch in the room that opens the path that they'd normally open for you.
75	* GoldenEnding: The best ending, naturally. [[spoiler:By sparing Macil, he finishes his research before succumbing to madness. With the Entity's defeat, a cure for the virus is made, saving the planet. Blackbird then reveals herself as a woman named Shana, and she shares a kiss with the player.]]
76	* [[GrapplingHookPistol Grappling Hook Arm]]: Used by the Loremaster to fling you around the arena in which you fight him. Not that painful on its own, but considering the very vertical and precarious design of his lab, and with the game having falling damage coded in, well...
77	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: How the game handles stealth kills has some interesting results. Whether a kill alerts others seems to be based purely on two factors: 1) if the weapon you used is loud, and 2) if the target lives long enough to react to your attack. A third person witnessing the event does not appear to matter. You can kill a guard with a poison bolt or an insta-gib punch, and their buddy looking right at you does not react. Then there are instances in the game where robotic enemies will attack you on sight while human enemies are still in an unalerted state, which nullifies condition 2. You can run all over wrecking robots with fisticuffs and again the guards pay no heed.
78	* GuideDangIt: Increasing your maximum health, be it by implants or completing optional objectives, also increases the power of your punches. Nowhere is this mentioned in the game or the manual.
79	* GuiltBasedGaming: Expanding on ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'s'' mocking messages when quitting the game, Strife will have a voice line by one of the many characters (Or just one of the voice actors in general) in the game chewing you out after you quit.
80	--> '''Blackbird:''' I thought you were different.\
81	'''Macil:''' Fine! Just kill and run!\
82	'''NPC:''' Wha, wassamatter, mommy says 'dinnertime?'\
83	'''The Entity:''' You can quit, but you can't hide!
84	* HeroicMime: Averted. While he only grunts, screams, and lets out the occasional "nope" when pushing on a wall, the Mercenary is fully capable of communicating with other people via dialogue windows... you just don't ''hear'' him say anything.
85	* HubLevel: The town.
86	* InfinityPlusOneSword: In ''Veteran Edition'', there are three colored talismans to find. Collecting them all upgrades your punch dagger into a OneHitKill on almost everything in the game, ''including'' Inquisitors. Finding them all, however, requires some painstaking effort.
87	* InterfaceSpoiler: One of the achievements in ''Veteran Edition'' originally had a description that outright spoiled the fact that [[spoiler:you have to defeat Macil]]. Even better? The achievement's name is "[[spoiler:Trust No One]]". Current Steam and GOG Galaxy versions avert this by hiding the achievement description until it's actually gained in-game.
88	* ItsAWonderfulFailure:
89	** If you die in the fight with the BigBad, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OITBkFNP8U He finishes off humanity and leaves the planet.]]
90	** Any other time you die, you fall to the ground as you spin to face your killer, just like ''{{VideoGame/Doom}}'' and all the other games that use its engine.
91	** Lose your life to flames (either the Crusader's attacks, or walking into your own White Phosphorous grenades) and you can control the last few seconds of your life as [[ManOnFire you run around on fire]] (with the brightness turned up to full). No, jumping into water won't help.
92	* KillItWithFire:
93	** You can get a flamethrower that's been jury-rigged from the parts of one of the Order's robots. Unlike most video game flamethrowers, it acts more like the napalm squirt guns that flamethrowers usually are in RealLife rather than just a short-ranged cloud of flame. Mostly due to technology limitations, but who's complaining?
94	** There's also white phosphorous grenades available for the grenade launcher. These produce two roaring columns of flame that slowly slide around and persist for a good long while, handy to block routes.
95	* LaResistance: The Front. With whom you fight for freedom. Move out!
96	* LighterAndSofter: Yes the setting is bleak enough to be a CrapsackWorld, but compared to ''Doom'' and its contemporaries, the game is largely set in bright environments, the theme along with the soundtrack were upbeat, demonic sigils and symbols are never sighted in the game, and the design for both good guys and bad guys are leaning into a comic book style. Also, not everyone is trying to murder you on sight for a change, though some [=NPCs=] are not trustworthy.
97	* LivingMacGuffin: Several [=NPCs=]; one early NPC is even called [=MacGuffin=]. This is noted on [[http://doomwiki.org/wiki/MacGuffin the Doom Wiki]] as a possible ShoutOut.
98	* LudicrousGibs: Thanks to the good old ''Doom'' engine, humans and acolytes can blow up quite nicely when hit with a powerful enough attack. Special mention goes to townsfolk, who practically liquefy.
99	* ManInTheMachine: Templars. They are human soldiers of The Order like the Acolytes, but their bodies have decayed so much from The Entity's virus that they need to be wired to a robotic PoweredArmor with life support in order to live.
100	* MegatonPunch:
101	** With enough stamina implants, you can punch people so hard they explode into a shower of meat.
102	** In ''Veteran Edition'', collecting the three talismans exclusive to that version allows you to OneHitKill anything with your punch short of a boss.
103	* MissionControl:
104	** Blackbird, your VoiceWithAnInternetConnection, once referred to by ''PC Gamer'' as the sexiest thing to ever come out of your PC speakers.
105	** Macil, too, gives you reports and sends you into missions... [[spoiler:initially]].
106	* MookMaker:
107	** Inverted; you can find and/or buy teleporter beacons that spawn in Front troops to help you. Unfortunately, they're only good for a momentary distraction and the ammo they drop when they (inevitably) die... against strong enemies. They CAN actually kill ordinary minions.
108	** There is one other good use for them. Unlike your assault rifle shots, their gunfire won't set off alarms. If you set a trio of beacons off in the middle of Tarnhill, you can wreak havoc on the local guards without prompting waves of reinforcements to teleport in.
109	** Played straight by the Conversion Chapel: this is where all the Order's troops come from. Humans go in the huge machine, and partly-robotic Acolytes come out.
110	** Some places in the game, notably in the town, are programmed to look like this, where Acolytes will teleport in if the alarm is sounded. Mechanics-wise, this is done simply by having an isolated room full of Acolytes that will walk into a teleporter if the alarm is sounded, meaning there's only a limited number of Acolytes to worry about.
111	* MoonLogicPuzzle:
112	** A man at the tavern asks you to steal a chalice from the Order's sanctuary and bring it to the governor for a reward. [[spoiler:This will probably get you killed when the governor locks his office door and sics several dozen Order mooks on you. (It's possible to get out through the window, but you'll still get killed.) It's a pretty bad idea,]] though you wouldn't figure this out unless you [[spoiler:talked with the guy you were sent to kill by another man]] and managed to put two and two together. This happens only once and right at the beginning of the game, though, so even if you screw up you're only out five or ten minutes. Later on, you can actually perform said quest and STILL complete the game. Not advisable under any circumstances, but still...
113	** Notably, doing this early on makes the original game unwinnable since [[spoiler:after finishing a few Front missions, you need to talk to the Governor to get your next mission. If you picked up the chalice at all, even if you dropped it, he'll lock the doors and sic a wave of bad guys on you as soon as you try to talk to him. You can escape through the window, but cannot advance the plot.]] In ''Veteran Edition'', on the other hand, [[spoiler:the Governor will instead have you knocked out and dragged back to the start, after which you can continue the game normally]].
114	* MultipleEndings:
115	** 3 endings total. The two big ones hinge on whether [[spoiler:you kill The Oracle or Macil first]]. As for that other ending? Well, [[NonStandardGameOver better save]] before fighting [[spoiler:The Entity]].
116	** You'll know you're screwed out of the good ending if [[spoiler:Blackbird is the Entity]] when you reach the last level.
117	* NiceGirl: Blackbird. Despite being quite the DeadpanSnarker and even kind of a BloodKnight, she really does care about the protagonist, as well as showing compassion toward the "drones" (miners who [[AndIMustScream have their brain function suppressed by a mind control device so they can't even think on their own]], luckily you get to set them free.) She only subverts it [[spoiler:if the Entity takes control of her.]]
118	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The governor can send you on a mission to investigate and destroy a tap connected to the local power main. What you aren't told is that [[spoiler:it's The Front's power tap, and Blackbird isn't too happy with you if you break it. Fortunately, you can trick him with a broken tap]].
119	* NintendoHard: This game ''loves'' to screw you. Most enemies either use hitscan weapons, or fire very fast projectiles with almost no telegraphing. The game is remarkably stingy with ammo and health pickups, and even when it isn't, you're still going to burn through them in no time because damage from the aforementioned weapons builds up quickly, and even the weakest enemies take a surprising amount of hits to kill (acolytes will take about 10 hits from an assault rifle to kill, and the clips they drop only give you 5 bullets back). Sure, you can go back and buy weapons, ammo, and armor, but that requires money, which you can only get in sizeable quantities by clearing missions. If you get stuck on a mission with no pickups and no money, tough shit. And sure, if you're stuck with low health and no ammo, you can limp your ass back to base for some free healing and ammo replenishment... except that the people in charge of that are just as stingy as the rest of the game. The medic will only refill your health halfway, and the guy in charge of weapons will only give you 20-30 bullets; just enough to kill 2-3 acolytes. And as mentioned elsewhere on this page, if you even ''think'' about deviating from the path the game sets out for you in any way, bam! You just rendered the game {{Unwinnable}}.
120	** To be fair, in at least some levels. the pickups aren't exactly thin, just ''well''-hidden. The Power Station in particular is ''full'' of items — nearly all hidden behind waterfalls, in secret cupboards, etc.
121	* NoFairCheating:
122	** Unintentional, but due to numerous {{Event Flag}}s and required plotline items, level warping and cheating can really screw up the game by locking out areas you can't enter without a PlotCoupon, or assuming the worst scenario because you haven't done the missions to unlock the preferred route.
123	** Warping to the final boss directly will automatically get you the worst ending, since you haven't triggered the condition to get the better ending. Not to mention the final boss is immune to everything but the Sigil, which isn't given to you by the All Weapons Cheat.
124	** Cheating to get the Sigil earlier than you should can leave you locked out of the game, since holding the Sigil automatically moves the Front Base to the castle, and the gates to the castle are locked at the beginning of the game.
125	* NonIndicativeName: The Bishop is a military leader, not a religious one. Ironically, the Loremaster is more like a Bishop (or, rather, a Pope, as he's the leader of the whole Order religion.)
126	* NonStandardGameOver: The worst ending is earned by losing to the FinalBoss.
127	* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: A variation. The game certainly offers the ''illusion'' of freedom, but the player finds very quickly that if they don't do this exact chain of events at the exact right times, the game is easily rendered {{Unwinnable}}. Hell, right at the start of the game the player is offered a sidequest that turns out to be a RedHerring and renders the game {{Unwinnable}} if they complete it. There's exactly two moments where you're allowed to decide for yourself what to do, but even then, if you pick the wrong choice with the latter, you're stuck with the bad ending.
128	* NoWomansLand: Because of their use of cybernetics and assimilation, the Order is entirely uninterested in reproduction, and kill women and children on sight. As a result, all the planet's surviving women and children are hiding in underground shelters, even Blackbird.
129	* {{NPC}}: Notable in that an early FPS game featured [=NPCs=] that aren't trying to kill you: peasants, shopkeepers, and plot-relevant ''characters''.
130	* OrcusOnHisThrone: All the Order ever does in the game is basically ''being there'' and maintaining buildings so that you can infiltrate them and massacre everyone. [[spoiler:"Our castle conquered by LaResistance, one of our higher-ups killed, [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement his important artifact]] captured by the mercenary? Eh, I suppose we should be taking action, but maybe later, when we feel more like it"]]. This could be because you're moving so fast, and some [=NPCs =] do comment that the Order is likely planning a retaliatory strike.
131	* PermanentlyMissableContent: The game, for most part, allows you to revisit any of previous maps at any time outside of a PointOfNoReturn near the end. However, killing a certain boss [[note]]or more specifically, obtaining a special weapon right after his defeat[[/note]] results in two of the maps being permanently replaced with new versions, with the old versions of these replaced maps no longer being available. Due to this, three maps that were accessible from the latter replaced map end up being sealed off forever, including a BonusDungeon. This results in a permanent stamina and accuracy upgrade being lost as well as several secret areas required for an achievement in the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Veteran Edition]]''.
132	* PointOfNoReturn: Near the end, once you enter [[spoiler:the alien ship]], a wall closes behind you shortly afterwards and you can no longer return to any of the previous areas.
133	* PoisonedWeapons: In addition to the standard electric bolts, the crossbow can fire poison bolts, which are a OneHitKill to organic targets and won't set off the alarm, or even alert nearby enemies.
134	* PowerCrystal: A decent amount of Order equipment seems to run on these. [[StuffBlowingUp They all tend to make rather satisfying explosions when you shoot them, too.]]
135	* PrecisionFStrike: There isn't a whole lot of cursing in the game at all, but when you witness [[spoiler:Macil's descent into Sigil-induced madness and self-perceived godhood]] first-hand, Blackbird lets loose the game's only f-bomb:
136	-->'''[[spoiler:Macil]]:''' I am the one God! I need his spirit to be free, so that I can leave my body and join him ''in flight''! You have ''no idea'' what you possess, and what terror you've faced! The one God must be '''free'''! He will reward me... '''I will be one'''!\
137	'''Blackbird:''' Sick fuck... ''Waste him!''
138	* PyrrhicVictory: The "bad" victory ending. [[BigBad The Entity]] is dead, but there is no hope of finding the cure for the virus which still plagues humanity, and the Conversion Chapel wasn't destroyed, so The Order is probably still going strong.
139	* RedSkyTakeWarning: The skies are bright and sunny in the first third of the game. But when you wake up after killing the Programmer, the sky takes on a much more darker and ominous shade of blood-red. This is most likely caused simply by night falling by the time the player comes to after losing his consciousness. In the Veteran Edition, though, the sky gets red already when you enter the Programmer's Keep, so the boss battle already takes place under the darker sky.
140	* RPGsEqualCombat:
141	** Averted despite being one of the first FPS/RPG games. In addition to improving your killing skills, there were [=NPCs=] to talk to, stores to shop at, a decent storyline, and multiple endings. And then your ability upgrades were rewarded from progressing the story rather then killing your enemies.
142	** This is still hampered by the fact that, in the end, [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption Violence Is Still The Only Option.]] Even in stealth segments, you're going to reach an impassable tripwire and set off the alarms, forcing you to gun your way through the rest of the mission.
143	* SaveGameLimits: On release, you had only ''one'' save slot. You could save as often as you wanted, but good luck if you saved next to a boss while being low on health or ammo. Even the producers found this to be too harsh, and removed the limit in a later patch. Unfortunately, all they did was add six slots, but you were still limited to one slot per run — your only choice is ''which'' you use. Far better to play using [=ZDoom=], or better still play the re-release from Steam, and truly remove that limit.
144	* ScamReligion: The Order's "god" is really just a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien called The Entity who created a virus that [[BrainwashedAndCrazy turns people crazy and makes them want to worship him.]]
145	* SchizoTech: Medieval-looking towns and castles full of robot guards, and armories where crossbows (with electrified bolts) and flamethrowers sit side-by-side? Civilians in peasant tunics starting at computer monitors? Sure, works for me.
146	* SchrodingersGun: [[spoiler:Follow the "Kill Macil first" path, and Blackbird is revealed to be the Entity making you as the UnwittingPawn. On the other hand, follow the "Kill Oracle first" path, and Blackbird is revealed to be a psychic-enhanced woman trapped in Entity's vessel.]]
147	* ScriptBreaking: The game can be painfully easy to break. From minor and recoverable things like going back to break the illicit power tap (and failing a mission you've already completed) to major things like killing the Sigil piece holders in the wrong order, which makes the game {{Unwinnable}}. There's only three 'official' sequences, one for the happy ending [[spoiler:(Programmer, Bishop, Oracle, Macil, Loremaster)]] and one for the BittersweetEnding [[spoiler:(Programmer, Bishop, Macil, Loremaster, Oracle)]], and one for the [[TheBadGuyWins really]] DownerEnding [[spoiler:(lose to the FinalBoss)]] but you have access to two of the last four for the entire second half of the game and can theoretically kill them at any time. The game plays fine as long as you obey everyone's orders, but don't ever think for yourself.
148	* ShieldsAreUseless: Acolytes, the basic soldiers of TheOrder, are shown wielding [[SchizoTech shields and assault rifles]]. This has no effect on how much damage they take, and their [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul enhancements]] make for a whopping 10 more hit points compared to the rebel soldiers they face.
149	* ShipTease: Pretty much implicit from the start with Blackbird [[spoiler: if you get the GoldenEnding, you meet her in person and kiss.]]
150	* SigilSpam:
151	** Literally. ''Thrice''. The Order loves plastering the Sigil on everything. You can [[SpamAttack spam the Sigil]] until it kills you (since it uses [[CastFromHitPoints your health as ammo]]). Finally, the end boss can ''only'' be hurt by the Sigil. Hope you brought plenty of health kits!
152	** A non-literal example is a stylized comet symbol (a circle with three rays coming from it, two of them at about 45 degrees each side of the middle one) which occurs first on Judge Wolenick's bedsheets in the prison, then on the Programmer's bedsheets in the Audience Chamber, and frequently thereafter (the vine-covered stonework in the middle of the Order's stronghold, ''the entire level'' of the Ruined Temple, holes in various ceilings...).
153	* SleazyPolitician: "There's a lying sack named Derwin who has been selling children to the Order. I won't tolerate that kind of depravity...not without my cut."
154	* StandardFPSGuns:
155	** Knife: Punch dagger. With enough stamina upgrades, it becomes much stronger.
156	** Pistol: Crossbow. Electric bolts are the weakest weapon in game. Poison bolts allow for stealth kills.
157	** Shotgun/BFG: Mauler. Fires in a spread and completely devestating at short range.
158	** Automatic: Assault rifle.
159	** Rocket launcher.
160	** Grenade launcher.
161	** Flamethrower.
162	** BFG/Gimmick: The Sigil. Clears rooms and required [[spoiler:to kill Spectres and the Entity]].
163	* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: The Sigil, quite obviously. Heck, the game is even titled Strife: ''Quest for the Sigil''. It is also required to actually advance the plot — only it can kill the [[spoiler:[[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan bosses' inner boss Spectres]]]], and ''only'' the Sigil can ''do anything at all'' to [[spoiler:[[FinalBoss the Entity]]]].
164	* TheMole: [[spoiler:Macil, according to the Oracle. But in fact, Macil is simply driven to madness later if you kill the Oracle first. If you kill him first, he simply lets his madness take him over. The Oracle is a more straight example, as he pretends to be on your side, but is a bastard.]]
165	* TitleDrop: At the end of the opening narration.
166	-->'''Narrator:''' But there are wispers of discontempt. If we organise, can we defeat our masters? Weapons are being stolen, solders are being trained, a movement is born... born of lifelong '''''strife'''''.
167	* TooAwesomeToUse: The phosphorous grenades. They produce a large wall of flames that do massive damage and last for nearly ''a full minute'' before burning out. This, combined with enemies being too stupid not to walk into the flames, makes it extremely useful for room clearing. That said, you can only hold up to 32 even with the backpack, and they are very rare, meaning it's a good idea to save them for a rainy day.
168	* TooDumbToLive: In the [[PrisonEpisode prison break level]], you meet a judge who brags that you're now trapped here for life as the only way to open the locks is with his handprint, apparently not realizing that you can just [[BorrowedBiometricBypass "borrow" his hand for that purpose.]]
169	* TrickArrow: Electric bolts are the default, pistol-like, ammo for the crossbow. The poison bolts are a special kind of them that instakills organic foes without provoking anyone else.
170	* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: In the Training Facility, when you get to the last part and have to trip three switches to open the triple exit door, the first switch is reached by going up a lift into a small room, then through an archway to another small room... and the archway closes behind you, and cannot be re-opened from either side, so you had better make sure to flip the switch before exiting through another archway beside it, as once you exit that switch is no longer accessible. Worse, if you subsequently ride the lift again you will be trapped forever, as the lift cannot be lowered from the top landing. Fortunately, there is no earthly reason why you should do this.
171	* UnwinnableByDesign: Killing the Sigil piece holders in the wrong order. Also, doing Harris' mission (to get the Chalice) before you talk to the Governor. This is averted in ''Veteran Edition'', which will allow you to talk to the Governor regardless of when you do Harris' mission.
172	* UnwittingPawn: The player in the bad ending, where it is made to seem that [[spoiler:Blackbird was The Entity all along, and wanted you to gather the Sigil to release it. Hilariously enough, Blackbird narrates said ending.]]
173	* UpdatedRerelease: ''Strife: Veteran Edition'' features high resolution modes and widescreen support, [=OpenGL=] rendering capabilities, dynamic lightning and bloom effects, and rebindable keys and gamepad inputs. This version also brought back the game's missing features, such as the "Capture the Chalice" multi-player mode and objective markers for your auto-map.
174	* UselessUsefulStealth: On the one hand, the basic humanoid (non-boss) enemies will normally only be alerted if you use any weapon other than your punch dagger or the crossbow's [[OneHitKill poison bolts]]. But on the other hand, robotic enemies will always go pursue regardless. [[RuleOfThree But on the other, other hand]], many areas where getting through without a fight would be useful have alarms that will be set off simply by entering the place, or be filled with robots. Plus, poison bolts deal no damage whatsoever to robotic enemies (or [[DemonicSpiders Templars]] either), so killing them requires either a noisy weapon or getting up close. Both choices tend to be painful.
175	* VideogameFlamethrowersSuck: Acts a little differently than most game flamethrowers due to the limits of the Doom Engine, looking more like a short-range napalm squirtgun. Still very short-ranged, though sustained fire is quite damaging.
176	* VillainsActHeroesReact: Inverted. The Front is the active side of the struggle, while the Order is completely apathetic, apparently content waiting for the player to come along and wreak havoc in their facilities.
177	* TheVirus: It spread when the comet crashed. Those who don't outright die from it mutate. The mutations make them hear The Entity's voices in their heads, as well as causing their bodies to rot and decay at an accelerated rate. It's the reason behind everyone in The Order being either Cyborgs or [[ManInTheMachine Men In The Machine]].
178	* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Blackbird.
179	* WardensAreEvil: Warden Montag is a brief encounter, but he's quite memorable for this trope, also providing ample amounts of LargeHam.
180	* WorldOfHam: As common as voiced video games of the era.

Context VideoGame / Strife