I know I’m around two decades late to the party, but I recently purchased and then completed the excellent FPS, F.E.A.R. This came after beating Sprawl zero, an exciting new shooter by a small developer called Maeth. It definitely says a lot about Sprawl zero, then, that I went back and played one of the very games it was inspired by.
Sprawl zero hearkens back to the age of early 2000s FPS titles, taking inspiration from the likes of the aforementioned F.E.A.R., but also Halo and Half-Life. Those are some of my favorite games of all time, and, as time has proven, some of the best games of all time, as well. Sprawl zero does a great job at capturing the feel of such titles, but it also has more than enough tricks up its sleeve to have an identity of its own.
A Super Soldier By All Accounts
Take the slow-mo from F.E.A.R., the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2, and pack those powers into a Spartan from Halo, and you might get something resembling Sprawl zero. Basically, some of the best elements from these amazing games are all thrown together into this package, making Sprawl zero play and feel adrenaline-inducing from minute one.
In Sprawl zero, players take the role of a badass, enhanced super soldier called FIVE. The powers of FIVE are quite amazing, as you’ve probably deduced. Combat encounters are quick and deadly. Despite being a powered-up, hulking menace, these powers are absolutely essential for your survival. Being a super soldier only goes so far when you have hundreds of bullets flying your way.
Powered by your adrenaline meter, powers can’t be abused, but they refresh fast enough, thankfully. Slowing down time to take out a group of enemies is thrilling and definitely feels akin to F.E.A.R., taking out a squad in one fell swoop. Shortly into the campaign you’ll unlock another power; essentially, it’s a bullet shield that soaks up enemy projectiles.
The bullet shield can then reflect those bullets back into the face of the enemy, toppling them over and dealing damage. The intensity of this effect — along with all other powers — amplify as you find upgrades throughout the campaign. This forcefield was my best friend, often being far more useful than slow-mo, but it still wasn’t even my favorite power to use.
FIVE also has gravity-like powers, with the ability to pull in guns or objects like explosive barrels and boxes. Throwing those at enemies knocks them down and, while perhaps not as effective as weapons, is always fun.
Later on, you can pull in enemies and throw them a mile into the sky, which is everything I love about Half-Life 2‘s Gravity Gun now in the palm of my hands. This is a late-game inclusion, but through some post-game content, you’re able to unlock this permanently. It absolutely breaks Sprawl zero, but come on: I threw a dude against the wall, and he exploded. How awesome is that?
Last but not least are your gauntlets, which are a powerful alternative to guns. Punching weaker enemies with these will pulverize them, and later on you can charge and sort of relentlessly pummel beefier foes. This ability is great but situational: it can also be a little finicky to get used to and control. Not my favorite, but it’s still a good time.
A Cornucopia of Guns
All of these abilities are on top of the gunplay in Sprawl zero. Going into it, I was a little skeptical about the gun variety, which Sprawl zero touts proudly: There are over 40 weapons in total, and while I didn’t count to be sure, I’m certain that they aren’t lying. Some would say it’s excessive, and I’m usually inclined to agree, but it actually works in Sprawl zero‘s favor.
With games such as Halo: Combat Evolved and F.E.A.R., less is more when it comes to guns. That approach works well in those instances, as each gun serves a niche with few overlaps. Sprawl zero is different than most FPS titles, however, because of how fast battles are and that there aren’t any ammo pickups. You’re not going to be looking around, trying to get a clip of ammo for your favorite gun.
Once you’re out of ammo, you have to ditch it. You can throw your gun at enemies — which is so disrespectful to them but hilariously cool — and grab weapons from afar with your gravity powers. The ideal scenario is blasting an enemy with a clip of ammo, throwing it, grabbing a new one, and the action proceeds seamlessly.
And because there are so many weapons, all of which have a limited amount of ammo, weapons don’t feel old or boring to use. You’re constantly finding new and cool guns to use, and it’s exciting to once again find ones that you really jelled with. Despite the sheer amount of guns we’re talking about here, Maeth finds a way to make them feel distinct.
One way to keep guns fresh is through this rarity system. It uses a looter-shooter-type system in that weapons are color-coded, with blues and purples being higher tier. You can pick up a gray, Tier 1 Shogo S9 (a standard, Glock-like pistol), but you might come across one in a higher tier, which makes it automatic. While you’ll see similar weapon models, the way they operate varies based on rarity. This works heavily in Sprawl zero‘s favor.
Just as a side note, one of my favorite things I discovered with a weapon in Sprawl zero is from a grenade launcher. You can shoot the grenades in their regular way and have them land on target, or you can shoot and immediately use your gravity arm to pull the projectile in so you can do a more precise throw. There’s also something akin to a Halo Gravity Hammer, so that’s bonus points from me.
Diving Into the Sprawl
The campaign is structured like most shooters from the era, with a linear, story-based campaign. There are moments allowing players to catch their breath for a minute or two, but the action is pretty relentless; which, I say, is all the better for it.
The story has me very intrigued, but it’s hard to follow. There’s clearly a lot of lore and effort put into it, but it’s difficult to get invested when you’re not sure what’s going on. The developer helps to remedy this by adding in collectible datapads and such, but it still requires some knowledge that was just lost on me.
What I can say about the story, however, is that the overall theme of two warring entities — a low-technology, strange religious cult versus a heavily militarized organization with superior firepower — is a cool concept. I can glean some information as to why these two factions are butting heads, but it still feels like I’m missing a good amount.
One way that Halo: Combat Evolved excelled with its story was through the environmental storytelling. While at the time players didn’t really know the nature of the Halo rings, the motivations of the Covenant, or who the heck the Forerunners were, the mystery slowly unraveled through various cutscenes and by exploring and understanding the environment of the ring.
I’m not saying Sprawl zero has to have an environment or setting as iconic as Halo: Combat Evolved, but it definitely feels like they’re going for something more with the “Sprawl” setting. The game takes place within this giant, sort of brutalist city full of megastructures and concrete. Unfortunately, a lot of these environments look too visually similar.
Level design is another area I’m conflicted on. Outside of visual storytelling, environments feel repetitive for a good chunk of Sprawl zero. Some levels are a bit more open-ended, but even with an in-game directional aid can be difficult to explore when everything is drab concrete. I still want to commend the fact that the visuals are quite excellent, achieving that 2000s style pretty darn well. It’s just that a few of the later levels are more distinct than most, and as a result, were more exciting to play because of this.
Sprawl zero Review | Final Thoughts
Sort of like skulls from Halo, Sprawl zero has excellent replayability. There are various challenging modifiers you can toggle on to complete challenges to unlock some really fun abilities. Big Head mode, for instance, is a classic and does exactly what it says on the tin. One of my favorites gives you permanent use of the ultra-gravity arm, so you can play at the beginning, slinging people around into the sky or into walls.
With New Game +, I even noticed a greater degree of difficulty due to the way enemies are placed. While you retain your powers from the original campaign, New Game + adds some surprises with stronger enemies and more of them in different areas. So, I’ve been compelled to replay Sprawl zero, even when I don’t normally replay a whole lot of games.
Sprawl zero is an excellent FPS. While I talked a lot about its inspirations, it’s clear that there are enough things going for Sprawl zero that it has its very own identity. The amount of weapons and the combination of powers are clear highlights, and it doesn’t hurt that there’s a good incentive to come back and play again.
Sprawl zero was reviewed on PC via Steam, with a copy provided by the publisher over the course of 12 hours – all screenshots were taken during the review.
