Splitgate 2 remains a portal-to-portal FPS, but it needs to be toned down a bit

Now, I didn't play the original Splitgate as much as Brendy did. But I did have a fun time with the Halo-like mix of trigger-pulling and portaling around! So I wanted to try out the alpha version of Splitgate 2 and see if it had a bit more content than its initial reveal, which gave it a “this is Splitgate but for more money” feel.

Well, I think it's a bit… seriously? It's definitely more polished and has some nice extras, but I didn't come away thrilled with its more competitive, class-based FPS leanings. I think it just needs a bit more time, maybe for a portal to open and a bunch of stupid rocket launchers, baseball bats, and zombies to fall out of.


I think it's a bit odd that the developers wanted the first game of Splitgate 2 to be more of a competitive spectacle, since the virtues of the first Splitgate lay in the absurdity of the shooting and portal jumping. And yes, from what I've played the alpha version, Splitgate 2 retains some of the absurdity that all those portal jumping and magical portals pushed. You can stick your head in portals, hang boys with bullets through their necks, and then go back to normal as if you'd just hit someone while driving at a McDonald's. I definitely found myself wringing my hands a bit and grinning a bit during my largely accidental playthroughs.

These portals have also been improved a bit, allowing you to stack portals on top of enemy ones to encourage flanking attacks, and some new tech lets you intelligently position portals in positions it thinks you want to target (though optional toggles in the menu mean you can turn these features on or off). I didn't really notice any of this too much to be honest, but I still think more serious players will appreciate these micro-adjustments.

In Splitgate 2, we use our new dual-wielding pistol and submachine gun against an unsuspecting enemy.

Image credit: Rock Paper Gun/1047 Games

And here’s the thing: Splitgate 2 seemed more serious. The two modes we played, Team Deathmatch and Hot Zone, both fit the way e-sports works. Team Deathmatch wasn’t just a race for how many kills you get, it was also divided into rounds, and the goal was to win three rounds in total, and to win one round It happened Race for 15 kills. And Hot Zone was essentially King Of The Hill, except the capture progress was shared between teams, so you could theoretically gank at the last minute and snatch the capture from the enemy at the last second.

Of course, I understand that Splitgate 2's alpha preview event won't show its full hand, and that these modes aren't the finished product. Even 1047 Games co-founder and creative director Ian Proulx told me that what we were playing was “a very small sample of things to come” and that they were waiting to see “how the community reacts.” For me at least, these modes were a bit jarring and more in line with the Call of Duty death-scrambler philosophy, with a bit of a quick-kill time added in. For the fast-twitch type who likes to wiggle around with their elbows bent over their desks to secure headshots — perfect! But for a former Counter:Striker and Overwatcher who can't be bothered to climb the ranks anymore, I really felt like the game wasn't made for my jaded gloves anymore.

So yeah, I had some fun portal-hopping, but I found myself falling behind a bit and longing for a mode that didn't cater more to pure skill and more to flying through portals like you were in a futuristic playground. Still, at least the weapons had some serious punch and a nice flavor. The shotgun cocking and reload animations? Chef's kiss.

I'm speeding across the map in Splitgate 2 with a DMR in hand.

A team of various factions stands in the Splitgate 2 lobby.

Image credit: Rock Paper Gun/1047 Games

There are also a bunch of new factions, each with their own abilities. The idea is that teams would mix and match rosters to create instant combos that would cancel each other out between rounds; an esports vision that probably stems from the hero swaps of Overwatch or Team Fortress 2. For example, the Aeros faction had an ability that gave you a little speed boost for a short period of time. Another, which I’ll refer to as the Purple Guys, let you throw a small area-of-effect dome that slowed down time for enemies passing through it. Perhaps partly due to the nature of the preview, where teams were full of newcomers, I didn’t feel like our team’s choices hindered or encouraged a sense of cohesion.

To be honest, I rarely used my abilities, preferring instead to focus my few brain cells on aiming and using my portals effectively. Perhaps only once did I realise there was a real advantage in having a teammate using the equivalent of a wall hacking ability to reveal enemy silhouettes and allow me to better track approaching baddies. Perhaps their usefulness changes as time goes on and some different modes are introduced.

Despite my doubts, I think Splitgate 2 is shaping up well. Its fundamentals are solid, and it feels more premium now, with brighter maps and smoother animations. However, I’m a bit skeptical about its classes, which had little impact on any of the games I played during the preview. I’m hoping that the next time the game comes out, it’ll bring some silliness, whether it’s behind us, ahead of us, or both at the same time. None of this serious e-sports, fast-twitch muscle fiber stuff. Just plain stupid stuff. Just plain stupid. I’d love for this to remind me, and others in a similar situation, that this is also a game for us, for the tired ones in the corner who just want a few slaps on the knee after a day’s work.

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