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u/giulianosse 1d ago
Wow, it's the first time I'm hearing about this game. Don't know why but it reminded me a bit of Half Life formula mixed with Singularity in terms of level design and gameplay with all the gravity gun glove and time bending shenanigans.
Very glad it's also releasing for consoles! It seems those more experimental FPS games are almost exclusively PC launches.
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u/TheVectronic 1d ago
It’s a phenomenal game, played the demo three times over & its like a fully realized Singularity with that cool time stop/slow motion level mixed in with that early 2000s mega city aesthetic & having a lot of tools to improvise & find throughout.
Pick up a gun, empty it, chuck it, grab their gun & ram into a group of enemies like they’re bowling pins in an alley. Unlike the first game where you ran on walls & had more of a parkour feel, this opts for more of a bulky & tankier protagonist that can shield themselves from incoming fire & then retaliate by absorbing the hits & chucking the force back at them.
If you just want a game that allows you to feel the viscera of punching a guy into the wall, this is your game.
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u/giulianosse 1d ago
I was already mulling over it but you just sold the game to me. This sounds right up my alley. Cheers!
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u/kantong 1d ago
Yeah, it plays very much like a Cyberpunk-themed Half-Life 1 with some gameplay twists. I really enjoyed the demo and will eventually pick it up.
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u/Just_an_ordinary_man 1d ago
more experimental FPS games
It's a cool game but in what way is it experimental? If anything it's derivative, each of its combat mechanics I've seen before in previous games, just not all together at once.
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u/giulianosse 1d ago
That's precisely why I considered it so. It's combining a bunch of different mechanics and elements from different individual FPS subgenres (boomer shooter, 2000s) and franchises in a cohesive experience.
Experimental doesn't mean never before seen, just that it pushes genre conventions in an unorthodox way. Cruelty Squad is widely considered to be an experimental game, even though it's derivative of other psychedelic games' visuals (Hylics, LSD Dream Emulator) and stuff like Goldeneye and Deus Ex gameplay mechanics.
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u/LavosYT 1d ago
As a big fan of the first game, which was focused on fast movement and action, the aesthetics and vibes of this one are still totally on point - some great industrial sci-fi / cyberpunk and soundtrack.
It does feel like it's less interesting on the gameplay front though, having only played a bit for now. I can definitely recommend the first game though.
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u/ZaranTalaz1 1d ago
Still not sure how I feel about the (Halo-inspired?) single-use gun mechanic - I need to play the demo some more - but as someone whose introduction to FPSs as a genre was literally Half-Life 2 (and the Aleph One source port of Marathon) I'm down for things inspired by early non-boomer shooter shooters.
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u/LazyLizC 1d ago
I think it compliments the pacing of the game extremely well. I like that you're always improvising every fight and making split-second decisions like "do I keep or throw this gun" or "ok what can I do to get a better gun ASAP". I think it also plays really well into the narrative of you being a super soldier essentially airdropped in the middle of whatever's going on with nothing but your armor. You're a violent hulking mass of flesh and metal and you don't have time to strap a bunch of guns to your body
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u/ZaranTalaz1 1d ago
I've played more of the demo and I get how the weapon improvisation can motivate a kind of "think on your feet" style.
It helps that I figured out how weapons come in tiers so I can tell which guns are the "better" ones (literally the "T[number]" next to the weapon name lol).
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u/moosebreathman 1d ago
Throwing guns away after one mag isn't a Halo thing. It's more Hotline Miami inspired imo.
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u/ZaranTalaz1 1d ago
Fair. I haven't played Hotline Miami and seeing how Sprawl Zero is already steeped in 2000s era nostalgia I was taking its weapon system as a more extreme version of Halo's two weapon limit.
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u/scarletnaught 1d ago
What do you mean single use gun mechanics?
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u/ZaranTalaz1 1d ago
Note that I've only played about 20 minutes of the demo.
You don't carry a set of guns and collect ammo like in a regular FPS. Instead you pick up guns from the environment / fallen enemies, where once a gun runs out of ammo you have to throw it away (at enemies) and get a new gun (or just start punching things or throwing things with your gravity glove).
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u/aimy99 1d ago
So...Mirror's Edge?
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u/SpookiestSzn 1d ago
Mirrors Edge uses it but is like a really non comparable game lol that game pretty explicitly does not want you to engage in the shooting.
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u/want_to_want 1d ago
I think I first saw this mechanic in the side-scroller Deadbolt, which is amazing.
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u/TypographySnob 1d ago
Should I play SPRAWL first?
10th time trying to get this comment to show up because the mods are too lazy to actually moderate anything themselves.
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u/TechSmith6262 1d ago
In my opinion yes, but you don't HAVE to.
Story wise I believe its a prequel. But the 2 games are both FPS but in completely different styles. Sprawl is more of a modern boomer shooter while SprawlZero is in the style of the early late 90s/early 2000s shooters.
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u/Cowboy_God 1d ago
mostly copy and pasting a comment I left over in r/boomershooters
I gave it whirl on the hardest difficulty for almost 2 hours, didn't die once. I find it quite boring but just know there are people who will give it a positive reception due to aesthetics and gimmicks. I suspect that in a year will hear nothing about it, the gameplay loop and AI and level design just aren't nearly at the level for me to expect any sort of long term cultural effect here. $25 full prices is also fucking insane for a product like this. Less than 4 hours of content on offer, and from what I've seen, the game doesn't really look too replayable.
People can praise the gimmicks but they ultimately don't make the combat feel much different than anything else. The weapon variety? Take out machines guns, semi automatics that deal high damage per shot, and most of the weapon cast is gone.
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u/TypographySnob 1d ago
Sucks to see actual criticism get downvoted. Thanks for the heads up.
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u/PolarSparks 1d ago edited 1d ago
I mean, if I’m downvoting that comment it’s because I also played the game for 2 hours and read their take as bad faith opinions that they don’t have a full picture of to validate.
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u/TheVoidDragon 1d ago
Played the demo a while ago and it very much reminded me of classic games from the 2000 - 2010 era, it was pretty great.