The game
What is STRATA?
STRATA is a free 2D pixel-art battle royale you play in the browser: jump from a dropship onto a layered island, loot weapons and armour, and be the last soldier standing inside the closing ring. Bots fill empty slots, so a match starts even when you play alone.
Is STRATA free?
Yes. Every match and weapon is free, and you do not need an account. Premium soldier cosmetics unlock as you level up, win and land kills, not with money. Your callsign, look and career are saved in your browser.
Is STRATA like Soldat?
Its movement is inspired by Soldat: jets, momentum on slopes, slides and ragdolls that fly from big hits. The match loop of dropship, loot and closing ring comes from modern battle royales.
Who makes STRATA?
STRATA is an independent game built from scratch in TypeScript. The About page explains how it works.
Playing
Do I need to download or install anything?
No. Open playstrata.io in a desktop browser and press Play. The game is a few megabytes and loads in seconds; it runs on WebGL, which every current browser supports.
Which browsers does STRATA run in?
Recent desktop versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. A computer from the last few years is enough; the game renders a low-resolution pixel image and scales it up.
Can I play STRATA on a phone or tablet?
Not yet. STRATA is played with a keyboard and mouse, and there are no touch controls. On a phone the site shows what the game is and lets you send yourself the link for later.
Matches
How many players are in a match?
Up to 40 people can play in one match. When fewer are online, bots join so every match starts with about 20 soldiers.
How long is a match?
About eight minutes after a short warm-up. The ring closes in six stages, and the first one starts as the dropship takes off, so you are already on the clock in the air.
Is the map the same every match?
No. The island is rebuilt for every match. Lighthouse Point is always the west end and Red Mesas the east end; between them the game picks two to five of the other locations, shuffles them and joins them with new terrain, and bigger matches get a bigger island. Practice mode also has the Classic island, with all seven locations in their original order. See the map.
Can I play alone or offline?
Yes. Online matches are topped up with bots, and Practice mode plays offline against 5, 10, 19 and 29 bots on easy, normal, hard and brutal difficulty. If the game server can't be reached, Play starts the same match against bots inside your browser.
How do I play with friends?
Open a private room: pick Private in the menu and press Create room. You get a five-character room code and a link; friends who open the link, or type the code, land in your warm-up. As the host you choose how many bots join (none, or 3, 5, 10, 19 and 29), how well they play, the island, how fast the ring closes (slow, normal and fast) and whether the loot is richer than usual, then start the match when everyone is in. The room stays together between matches. Or all press Play at the same time to meet in the public match. There are no squads yet: every soldier fights for themselves.
How do the bots play?
Bots loot, heal, swap to the right gun for the range, move with the ring and aim with human-like reaction times. There are four levels: Easy (slow to react, sloppy aim, rarely heals or throws. good for learning the map); Normal (a fair fight: decent aim, strafes, heals, grabs upgrades); Hard (quick reactions and tight aim; pushes weakened foes, uses grenades and high ground); Brutal (scary: fast, disciplined, rotates early, finishes you. still not perfect).
Is there progression?
Yes. Every match earns XP for how long you survive, your placement, kills, damage and headshots, with a big bonus for a win. Levels add up to ranks, from Rookie to Strata Legend, and unlock premium cosmetics for your soldier. Your career stats are kept in your browser. Public online matches also count towards the daily and weekly top-player boards in the menu (wins, kills and the longest kill), listed by callsign; private rooms and offline matches do not.