Sprawl Zero Review
MAETH’s PS2-era throwback Sprawl Zero is a fast sci-fi shooter with novel gunplay.
Sprawl Zero. Credit: MAETH / Kwalee
I divide first-person shooters into two camps. There’s the fast arcade action descended from Doom and Quake. Then there are shooters that aim for realism, the school I’d associate with Call of Duty. I’ve always preferred the first. I like my shooters fast and relentless. MAETH’s Sprawl Zero, published by Kwalee, belongs to that camp, with frantic firefights that demand constant movement and crunchy combat that feels great. Its visuals can get boring, but this is still one of the best shooters I’ve played this year.
Sprawl Zero is a prequel to Sprawl, which I haven’t played. I never felt I was missing any necessary context. FIVE, a cybernetically enhanced soldier controlled by the military Junta, is sent to assassinate SILAS, the leader of a techno-religious group. Frankly, I wasn’t paying much attention to the plot. I just wanted to get to the next gunfight.
There’s no spare ammunition to pick up and no reloading. Guns taken from boxes or dead enemies only have whatever rounds are already inside them. Once those rounds are gone, throwing the gun at an enemy delivers one last lethal hit before you reach for another. Hiding behind cover only lasts as long as the ammo in your gun, and a new gun has to be close enough for your gravity glove to grab. That pressure to keep moving makes the frantic fights engaging. The gunplay loop reminds me of Mullet MadJack, the madcap shooter where you only have ten seconds to live and must constantly replenish that timer by killing. Sprawl Zero has no countdown timer, but the need to reach another weapon creates its own pressure to push forward.
Sprawl Zero. Credit: MAETH / Kwalee
Sprawl Zero. Credit: MAETH / Kwalee
Throwing an empty machine gun to crush an enemy’s face, then pulling another off the ground with the gravity glove to keep shooting, gives combat a strong sense of rhythm. The throw is the period in each sentence of action. It also just feels badass. The gravity glove can also pull in barrels, chunks of concrete, and other blunt objects to fling at enemies. If you can’t get to a gun, you have a slow, powerful punch that devastates your targets with satisfying impact. The Bullet Time ability’s name is a bit of a misnomer. I’d associate it with slowing time to dodge bullets and improve accuracy, but here it’s more like a temporary aim-assist. Yes, time slows while the ability is active, but the important bit is that bullet trajectories bend toward targets for guaranteed hits. It makes the utility different in a gunfight, because it’s meant specifically to eliminate the need for careful aim when things get too hot. The shield power catches enemy bullets and lets you send them back. Combining all of this during a firefight is a lot of fun. I felt fast, powerful, and unstoppable when everything went right. Clearly labeled checkpoints made it quick to try again when it didn’t.
The graphics resemble games from the early-to-mid-2000s, fitting for this throwback. It looks like a PS2 game, for better or worse. Its muddy color palette makes the concrete and industrial environments blend together in a way I remember as typical of that era. The action remains readable; the issue is just that the visuals are boring. I often wanted more contrast in what was onscreen. The sound design, however, is excellent, helping sell the power behind each action.
Visual style aside, Sprawl Zero is a fantastic shooter. The gunplay loop makes it feel fresh even though the game is referencing a bygone era. It’s fun, fast, and violent, just like it should be.
Sprawl Zero
Sprawl Zero delivers the fast, relentless action I want from a shooter, with satisfying gravity-powered violence, though its visuals get boring.
MAETH’s PS2-era throwback Sprawl Zero is a fast sci-fi shooter with novel gunplay.