If you haven’t heard, there’s a new Free-to-Play game that is gaining a lot of fanfare. I say “new” but this game has been available on Linux and Windows, via Steam, for over two years now. Splitgate is a shooter that has recently come to consoles (Sony PS4/PS5 & Microsoft Xbox One/Series X/S) and has been gaining a lot of attention.
Find out more about the game and the studio at the 1047 Games website.
Just before its console launch, Splitgate experienced severe overload on its servers. This caused the game to go down temporarily, which helped to fuel the media coverage. In the weeks after the outage the studio, 1047 Games, made some changes that greatly improved server stability and load capacity.
Gameplay
For those who’ve not yet had a chance to experience this game, it has a lot of elements familiar to others in the shooter genre. Much of the game is similar to the look and feel of Halo, with alien-looking landscapes and characters. The one game mechanic that sets it apart from similar games is the ability to open portals. The portal feature allows for players to view and jump to different parts of a map. I found this piece of gameplay to be an awesome and refreshing aspect.
It took me a little while to get used to portals and how to effectively use them, but they offer a strategic and tactical advantage. Not only can you hop to and from locations but you can also peer through and shoot opponents in a different part of the map. Be careful, though, because this is a double-edged sword and it’s just as easy to fall victim to bullets flying from seemingly nowhere.
Weapons
One aspect of this game that I truly appreciate is the fact that there are no weapon load-outs to chose from in matches. Every player starts with the same weapons, and in some maps, there are weapons to pick up. This effectively helps to levels the playing field and helps limit a player’s advantage to their skill. Even the available options for weapon swaps are limited to a small handful of choices.
Look and Feel of the Game
Given that there were server issues plaguing this game early on, I expected that gameplay would be affected as a result. Every time I play this game, however, it is consistently smooth and reliable. I’ve experienced no choppy frames or lag in matches. I find this to be rare in this type of online game as a whole.
In terms of graphics or visuals, the game is fairly basic but looks good. There is a somewhat simple element to the level environments. It’s hard to say this without making it sound like a negative feature. There’s not a ton of fancy detail, but maps and landscapes are simple and work well for the game.
Overall I would recommend this game to any fans of the genre, or those who may not play FPS games much. Splitgate is very fun to play and offers a level playing field; it’s no fun to get worked in a game because the opponents have fully stacked loadouts. The best part is that it’s a free-to-play game that operates smoothly every time. Check it out on Steam, PS5, or Xbox Series S/X.