SPRAWL Zero retro-style FPS chaos!
As a fan of the original SPRAWL, I was excited to see what the prequel SPRAWL Zero had to offer, and after playing for over 8 hours, I came back extremely impressed. Following on from the original, SPRAWL Zero stays true to the retro “Boomer” shooter style. If you have played games such as Half-Life 2, Quake or Duke Nukem, you will be familiar with the gameplay loop; however, SPRAWL Zero injects its own frantic energy and style into the genre.
Set in a bleak dystopian future, you take control of “Five”, a genetically engineered super soldier working for the mysterious and oppressive organisation called the “Junta”. You are sent to deal with a dangerous religious techno cult before it can spread its radical views to the oppressed masses, with only one option available to you: extreme and excessive force!
Unlike the original SPRAWL, which favoured more verticality and included wall sliding and parkour, SPRAWL Zero changes things with a more brutal approach and introduces a roguelike loot-based aspect with different levels of rarity which, if you have played games such as Borderlands, you will be familiar with the colour-coded style. There are several weapon types; however, there are no ammo drops. Every gun only has a limited amount of ammo; not to worry though, when you run out, you can simply hurl it at the nearest enemy, stunning them and giving you time to launch them into the next time zone with your gravity gauntlet.
The game is set over 11 different missions varying from abandoned scientific research areas, underground train stations and metropolitan city areas. All have a grim, oppressive and futuristic style, and as the gameplay is so fast and frantic, you don’t really get much chance to enjoy the scenery while you destroy cultists with extreme prejudice! Gunplay is incredibly satisfying, and there is a real sense of weight and power as you obliterate your enemies.
SPRAWL Zero borrows many aspects from other games such as gravity manipulation and bullet time and fuses it in a way that just works, landing in the midst of a large group of cultists and dealing with them in slow motion while launching various barrels and other items at the fleeing survivors, all while a retro early 2000s-style techno track is pumping, will never not be satisfying! While the levels are large and sprawling, I found myself having to backtrack several times to find out the correct way forward, which can be annoying, especially when the combat is so fast-paced you suddenly grind to a halt while you spend 5 minutes locating a power switch to crush that you missed in the frantic combat miles back.
Lock and load!!
The gameplay loop is essentially keep on moving; you cannot afford to slow down, as there are no ammo drops. You are constantly searching for new enemies to steal weapons from and gain health while keeping up momentum. As you progress through the game, you acquire several upgrades to Five’s power suit that can affect how you approach fights, such as a charge ability that powers you up to deal more damage or a force field that rebounds incoming fire. The weapon variety is the usual offering in an FPS game, such as pistols, assault rifles and sniper rifles; these all feel powerful and, even at the lowest rarity level, deal huge amounts of punishment to the enemies, particularly the shotguns, which can clear an entire room with one blast! The movement is all extremely fluid and incredibly dynamic once you get the hang of all your abilities, you really do feel like a powerful super soldier.
SPRAWL Zero looks great, and I enjoyed the retro feel of the early PS2/Xbox-style graphics. There is a decent amount of enemy and environmental variety; however, the oppressive and dystopian theme does mean the levels are rather drab and colourless. The game’s soundtrack is excellent and features a pumping retro techno style that blends with the gameplay perfectly.
Are we the baddies?
Initially, I thought I would miss the parkour and incredible movement from the original SPRAWL; the more I played, the more I appreciated the new and more direct method of SPRAWL Zero by meeting the enemies head-on and using my environment and abilities to crush the enemies. The more I played, the more I did wonder, as I looked around at the cowering civilians caught up in the crossfire, if the Techno cult I was happily obliterating were in fact the good guys and I was just an instrument of an oppressive and faceless government entity that thought quickly disappeared after throwing a cultist into several exploding barrels, and I realised it was probably fine.
Frantic and chaotic retro fun.
I really enjoyed SPRAWL Zero leaning heavily into beloved retro shooters from the past; it activated long-forgotten core memories from my all-night Duke Nukem days on the PlayStation or playing Doom into the early hours, and as a middle-aged gamer really appealed to me. With fast and exhilarating gameplay, it’s an incredibly fun experience. If you want to try SPRAWL Zero for yourself, you can find it here.
