SPRAWL zero was a happy surprise during the Summer Game Fest week. Published by Kwalee, the game is developed by a small team, MAETH, with a remote team all around the world, and sitting down to play, I could really see the passion behind what they are building. You play as FIVE, a cyber soldier controlled by the Junta. I was told you’re basically a bad guy in a sea of other bad guys.
MAETH created SPRAWL zero as a love letter to early 2000s FPS shooters, and it oozes that style everywhere from gameplay to graphics to the soundtrack. The team member we sat down with came from a music background but left it behind to pursue his first love, video games. He even went so far as to insist that they didn’t use any tools for the music that wouldn’t have been around in the 2000s era to stay true to their vision. The music is outstanding and keeps you pumped from the very second you drop in to SPRAWL Zero.
A lot of the inspiration for the game comes from Half-Life 2, right down to tools like the Gravity Gloves. Halo was also mentioned as a major influence—they just wanted to go back to the golden age of FPS titles. The graphics, characters and enemies definitely remind me of that era, with a lot of darker tones in the story and design.
The gameplay loop is where SPRAWL zero really hooked me, even though I wasn’t as familiar with the games that inspired it. After you choose your difficulty—there are three meant to purposely not guilt you for your play style, named Martyr, Formidable and Unstoppable, as hard, medium and easy, respectively—you are taken to your mission overview, and then you drop in.
As you move through levels in SPRAWL zero, there is no time to think, only react. The game doesn’t require reloading or finding ammo, as you constantly swap out your weapon for the next one you find, keeping you on your toes constantly as you have to adjust your play style to adapt to the conditions. Items, including guns and medkits, can be thrown at enemies to cause damage (the medkit heals you as it smashes them), and you rock a sick pair of Gravity Gloves that can punch, pull and crush things.
There are three main skills in SPRAWL zero, Bullet Time, Gravity Shield, and Rush Down, that you get in that order. Bullet Time reminded me of VATS in Fallout, where time is slightly slowed to shoot or throw at enemies. Gravity Shield blocks bullets but then offers you the opportunity to launch them back at your attacker. I didn’t experience Rush Down, but it was explained that you become invincible, rush towards your enemy unarmed, and punch them…hard. It also applies shock damage, and you can overrush your enemy to do damage to others.
Another feature is the ability to take out our team leaders, which then highlights the rest of their team for a short while. As for your team, if you come upon allies in battle and assist them, they can join and help you fight some baddies later on. These are mechanics that the team at MAETH don’t spell out for you, but rather things you learn as you play. The more I played, the more I learned, and I slowly developed a groove that felt so good.
There are various weapon rarities, from grey, green, blue, purple, gold and red—legendary. You snatch them from your fallen enemies, find them in chests, and there are even some fun chests that will rotate through items before landing on a winner. Movement is also vital to the game, and MAETH has mastered it. Running, jumping, sliding, vaulting and aiming feel exactly like an FPS should, even better than some AAA games in the last few years. It felt so good ripping around the map and taking out my enemies.
Make no mistake, SPRAWL zero is fast, and it feels like a game that is easy to play and hard to master. One thing is for sure: SPRAWL zero is addictive, and I want more.
