Ever since SuperHot and Hotline Miami, throwing guns at enemies and expecting them to do the work for you has been an interesting risk vs. reward gameplay mechanic. Since then, Severed Steel and I Am Your Beast have made it one of the pillars of their gameplay systems. This year, it’s SPRAWL zero’s turn to take it up a notch and do it with all the swag in its ruined, dystopian world.
SPRAWL was a nice little FPS that flew under most people’s radar back in 2023. Like recent Boomer Shooters, it too blended old-school FPS design with modern sensibilities to a decent effect. It was not the most exciting BoomShot ever made, but it was good enough. SPRAWL zero, on the other hand, is the Chad version of SPRAWL. The movement is tighter, the gunplay is more beefy, and the controls hit just the right spot.
Oddly enough, SPRAWL zero is marketed as “inspired by 2000s console FPS games.” From the looks of it, it surely reminds you of the “brown and grey and realistic” FPS of the mid-2000s, like Resistance or Killzone, but the gameplay is anything but. Granted, it’s still a bit more grounded than its predecessor, but it punches above the weight of any 2000s console FPS.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you about the fine points of SPRAWL zero’s story. There is a story, and it doesn’t intrude on the action. The gist of the story is that you play as Five, the enhanced super soldier working for the oppressive regime of JUNTA. Your job is to find and eliminate SILAS, leader of the radical techno-religious group IMAGO-DEI. Suffice to say that things don’t go as planned and you’re dragged down into the thick of things.
The story reminded me a great deal of the underrated Christian Bale film ‘Equilibrium. ‘You can see where it is going from the start, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the game at all. This is a gameplay-first, rest-second kind of game and is all the better for it. While the story of the game doesn’t get in the way, there’s plenty of world-building and lore for those who are interested in a brief respite among all the chaos.
When it comes to the gameplay, SPRAWL zero absolutely rules. There are no permanent loadouts in the game; instead, Five relies on his gravity gloves to manipulate objects in the environment, as well as those in the hands of the unlucky enemies. The gameplay loop is all about throwing stuff at enemies, grav-pulling the weapon before their hands get cold, unloading the full clip into the others, and just as a final touch, entering bullet time and watching as the bullets magnetize towards the enemies. Once the clip is empty, you can throw the gun at the enemies and just as quickly grab another one the same way, or get up and personal with the supercharged grav punch.
This rhythmic dance of throwing objects and snatching guns (even out of mid-air) and triggering bullet time feels so fluid and intuitive that it quickly becomes second nature. Bullet time is central to the combat, as enemies only lose HP when they’re hit while it’s active. Despite being a supersoldier, Five is surprisingly fragile, with his HP draining almost as quickly as his enemies’. The result is a combat system that heavily rewards aggressive, push-forward play. Since most encounters unfold at mid-to-close range, getting in the enemies’ faces often pays off more than hanging back, making the risk of playing aggressively well worth the reward.
Just when you think this gameplay loop sounds like it gets repetitive, SPRAWL zero throws more enemies and suit upgrades your way. From upgrades to the gravity glove and bullet time, it also rewards you with entirely new abilities like a shield that can collect and reflect bullets as well as a supercharged melee mode where you practically become invincible. Who said that this game is similar to early 2000s console FPS again?
Weapons lacking punch was one of the major criticisms levelled at SPRAWL. SPRAWL Zero takes that feedback to heart, improving its gunplay in almost every conceivable way. While it lacks the verticality of its predecessor’s combat, it makes up for it with a buttload of weapons, each with its own distinct feel and belonging to different tiers of firepower. The result is a much more varied arsenal that gives every weapon a clear purpose in combat. While YMMV, I found every single weapon in the game to be viable, from the single-shot makeshift pistol to the minigun you can rip apart from helicopters. It’s hard to think of a recent shooter with an arsenal that matches SPRAWL Zero in both quality and sheer variety (Borderlands excluded).
If I have to criticize any parts of the game, it would be the simplistic enemy AI and the level design being a bit too same-y. Everything else, SPRAWL zero does with elegance and grace.
Real Talk
SPRAWL zero is, without a doubt, one of the standout first-person shooters to emerge from this otherwise depressing year. From its immaculate mid-2000s FPS aesthetic and soundtrack to its snappy, fluid gunplay infused with modern sensibilities, it nails the BoomShoot formula without feeling stuck in the past. It’s a game worth experiencing at least once.
FINAL SCORE: 95/100
