SPRAWL zero

SPRAWL zero was provided by Kwalee for review. Thank you!

Three years ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing SPRAWL, a new shooter that was heavily inspired by retro FPS titles. I fell in love with it, with the constant action, slow-motion bullet time, and sci-fi visual style enchanting me as I played. So, when I saw that a sequel was on the way, which was digging deeper into its sci-fi roots, I was intrigued, but I was left with mixed feelings after playing it.

SPRAWL zero goes in a completely different direction than its predecessor. It’s still a retro-inspired FPS, but the fundamentals and focus have changed. Instead of worrying about ammo and which gun in your arsenal to use, you now have to constantly pick up new weapons and get rid of them as soon as ammo runs out. And thanks to our trusty gravity gauntlet, we can pick them up from far away and throw them at our foes when we are done with them.

When the concept works, it feels fantastic. The loop is filled with dynamic action that continuously keeps you on your toes. You have to keep track of which weapons drop, where to throw them, and it can lead to some increasingly awesome moments of grabbing guns out of the air and using the gravity gauntlet to throw environmental objects, like barrels and pieces of concrete, at enemies. It’s like if John Wick took Gordon Freeman’s gravity gun and planted it in his hand; that’s how it feels when everything hits just right.

We can pick up a wide variety of weapons, and they're organized by type and tier. We have our usual pistols, rifles, shotguns, SMGs, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and some specialty weapons that enemies will drop, and they feel as you’d expect. However, they are also sectioned into different tiers, with higher tiers dealing more damage and being more effective. It’s easy to tell the difference because of the obvious color coding and highlights, which makes it easier to plan your next move or pick up specific guns you prefer. Even if there are tons of them lying on the ground, I never felt like I didn’t know what I was getting, as it has all the information easily readable on the screen as you’re looking at it.

But what surprised me most was how different each weapon felt. A Tier 1 pistol felt very different from a Tier 2, which felt different from Tier 3, and so on. The difference is obvious, not just in the damage it’s dealing, but in how it behaves. Tier 1 pistols shoot in dual bursts, Tier 2 are semi-automatic, and Tier 3 are fully automatic. We see these differences across all weapons and tiers, and they keep combat interesting. I started to learn which weapons do what just by seeing their model, and I could plan accordingly.

And just like the previous game, SPRAWL zero features a few powers we can play with. Bullet Time returns, along with two new powers that utilize our new equipment. We can create a gravity shield that can catch bullets and fling them back to enemies, and we can become temporarily invincible and punch anything in front of us. All of these can be upgraded to be even more powerful, and while they all have their uses, I love the gravity shield most. Not only can you catch bullets, but when it’s flung back, it can make enemies drop more health packets for us to heal.

That chaos is genuinely addictive. Destroying pillars and bridges, throwing objects at enemies, sliding around and shooting guns in bullet-time slow motion before throwing those said guns to keep killing others just felt like a gift that keeps on giving. The shooting itself is tight, reminding me of older shooters like Halo, but still feels fresh and modern with a great, unique gameplay loop. It’s easy to pick up and understand; everything is readable, and I look forward to getting into gunfights as often as I could.

Most of the time, it feels incredible, but it falls short of greatness at times. In a few scenarios, I found myself with a gun with barely any ammo and no other weapons around, so when the onslaught of seven different enemies came, I was a sitting duck. There are also a few enemies that have shields, which take too long to break, and air vehicles that shoot missiles faster than you can grab and send them back. The shielded enemies are the most annoying, since we only have limited ammo for each gun, and we have to use a bunch of it to actually damage them. We can’t punch them to eliminate their shields, but we can’t do that while holding a gun, so we have to throw away the gun we have to punch them.

At some points, it feels like it can stop the entire flow of combat. Having to either waste all ammo to bring down shields or throw away our weapons just to punch the shield away ruined more fights than I can count. I actually resorted to running away from some just so I didn’t have to deal with them. Some enemies do feel like bullet sponges, but they also drop higher-tier guns to pick up, whereas the shielded ones can vary.

The story does its job of explaining why we do what we do, but I found it more confusing than anything else. We play as a cybernetically enhanced soldier named FIVE, aiming to eliminate the leader of a techno-religious organization to save the city.

There are some unexpected twists and turns here, but I never felt as compelled by the narrative. It has some interesting moments, but mostly felt like it was there to move the game from level to level. It does its job, but I wouldn't say it would win any awards for its storytelling.

I was also very pleased with the level design. Each level felt unique while still fitting the same apocalyptic sci-fi aesthetic. The crumbling cities, towering spires, and neon-lit alleyways kept me intrigued as I ran through each level. On top of that, there is a good chance of finding collectibles in each one, ranging from Codecs to Relic Fragments, and I had a good time trying to figure out where they all were.

SPRAWL Zero - Steam Deck Performance

I loved playing the first SPRAWL game on the Steam Deck, and with SPRAWL zero, I had high hopes. However, it isn’t as stable as I had hoped, and there are a good chunk of moments that remind me of the limitations that the Steam Deck has.

In most stages where we fight a few enemies here and there in open areas, it runs at 60 FPS on max settings. It gave me a very good first impression, so I really thought that this was going to be an easy section to write about. That impression changed as soon as I got to the third level and looked up.

There are more moments than I expected when the CPU and GPU are fighting for resources, and that leads to stutters and framerate drops. I wouldn’t mind as much if it was only a few times, but it happened often whenever I looked up into the sky, which we need to do sometimes, and whenever we were in heavy combat with a good chunk of enemies.

Even if we lower the settings to almost their lowest possible, there will still be drops in heavy scenes, when looking up at the sky, and when there are tons of explosions on the screen. It doesn’t happen nearly as often, but it’s unavoidable. So, if you wanna play at 60 FPS, lowering everything except for Texture Quality will be the way to go. It will still look decent, but there will still be some drops here and there. 

Turning down the Texture Quality puts the game in Potato Mode, so I don’t recommend changing it.

If you wanna play at the max settings and want stable performance, you will need to lock it to 30 FPS. For a game like this, 60 will be the way to go because it feels best when at its smoothest. However, if you can stomach it at a lower framerate, you can play at the highest quality with only minimal drops when there’s tons of explosions on the screen.

Conclusion

SPRAWL zero is another example of how developer MAETH knows what makes a great shooter. The destructive chaos that comes from having to constantly pick up new guns and use the environment to our will is addictive when it works. There are more moments than I’d like where it doesn’t, and some enemies that really stop the flow of combat, but that doesn’t change how worthwhile this experience is as a fan of retro shooters.

However, I do wish it was performing better on the Steam Deck. It can’t hold a stable 60 FPS, which I would consider a must for a game like this, and it will drop even on the lowest settings (not counting Texture Quality). It’s still playable, but expect some drops in large combat scenarios or when looking up into the sky.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

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