Game Dev|Jul 5

Desert Strike Remakes: The Original Series and the Games It Inspired

There is no official Desert Strike remake. The series has been dormant since 1997. Here are the original Strike games and the modern titles inspired by them.
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Desert Strike Remakes: The Original Series and the Games It Inspired

There is no official Desert Strike remake. Electronic Arts released the last Strike game in 1997 and hasn't returned to the series. This page lists the original games and the modern titles inspired by them.

The original Strike series

  • Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf (1992). Isometric helicopter action built around fuel and ammo management and winch rescues. One of EA's best sellers of its era.

  • Jungle Strike (1993). Added new terrain and pilotable vehicles.

  • Urban Strike (1994). Near-future setting with on-foot sections.

  • Soviet Strike (1996) and Nuclear Strike (1997). The 3D PlayStation-era entries, and the last games in the series.

Modern games inspired by Desert Strike

As of 2026, three games draw directly on the Strike formula:

Cleared Hot is a physics-driven helicopter action game from Not Knowing Corporation (the studio behind this site), published by MicroProse. In Steam Early Access since November 2025. Built around a physics rope and magnet, squad commands, and open-ended missions. PC Gamer described it as a "Desert Strike spiritual successor."

Cleared Hot screenshot 1
Cleared Hot screenshot 2

Thunder Helix is a retro-styled helicopter action game by solo developer David Walters, in Steam Early Access since 2024. Styled after the 1990s originals and LHX Attack Chopper, with fuel management and winch rescues.

Megacopter: Blades of the Goddess is a top-down sci-fi twin-stick shooter from Pizza Bear Games, released in 2024. Lists Desert Strike and Choplifter among its influences. You pilot a sentient attack helicopter for an Aztec goddess.

Other influences behind Cleared Hot

Cleared Hot's developers also point to two other games as formative:

  • Battlefield 1942 (2002). DICE's large-scale combined-arms shooter.

  • Desert Combat (2003). The Battlefield 1942 mod from Trauma Studios. Its helicopters are still talked about twenty years later.

Classic retro helicopter games

Older titles that come up in the same conversations as Desert Strike:

  • Choplifter (1982). Dan Gorlin's Apple II game that started the helicopter-rescue formula.

  • Return Fire (1995). Vehicle capture-the-flag on 3DO and PlayStation, with the helicopter as the star of its four vehicles.

  • LHX Attack Chopper (1990). EA's more simulation-leaning helicopter game from the same years.

Desert Strike Remakes: The Original Series and the Games It Inspired | Cleared Hot