Ahead of Splitgate 2’s release later this year, I got to spend several hours playing through its new modes and maps. As someone who sank a few dozen hours into the first game, I quickly noticed how fresh online play felt thanks to the variety of modes available, with Multi-Team Portal Warfare being a standout.
If you’ve played the first Splitgate, the sequel will feel largely familiar to you. Moment-to-moment gameplay is the same: it’s an arena shooter reminiscent of the early Halo games that uses a portal mechanic to revolutionize mobility and turn combat on its head. It’s still ridiculously fun to snipe an unsuspecting enemy through a portal, or to make a quick escape and close it off before hostile players can pursue.
Source: 1047 Games
What’s different, though, are the available modes. The first I played during my preview was Hotzone, which sees teams of four competing to control zones around the map to score points. It’s broken up into three rounds, with the first team to score 2 being crowned victorious. This round-based treatment has also been brought over to Team Deathmatch, which uses a best of five format. A round of TDM ends when a team reaches 20 kills.
Arguably the most unique experience I had while playing Splitgate 2 was in Firecracker mode. Those who have played Call of Duty would compare it to Search and Destroy: two teams compete to either plant or defuse a firecracker at two sites on a map. Unlike S&D, Firecracker mode allows players to respawn after getting killed. Still, the stationary objectives force players to slow down in a game that otherwise moves at a breakneck speed. In one triumphant sequence, I won the round for my team by emerging from a portal with a baseball bat and killing three (!) unsuspecting enemies who thought they were going to defuse the firecracker in time.
Source: 1047 Games
Splitgate 2’s most ambitious mode is Multi-Team Portal Warfare. It’s 1047 Games’ take on Big Team Battle, and sees three teams of eight doing battle on a map exponentially larger than any other in the game. These large distances make traveling through portals all the more satisfying, setting up delicious opportunities to third-party gunfights and quick escapes to the other side of the map. Multi-Team Portal Warfare has TDM and Domination versions.
Splitgate 2 feels like a welcome return for one of the more inventive arena shooters of the past several years. With modes that incentivize players to experiment with the game’s unique mechanics, fun times should be abound when it hits full release later this year.
-
Shacknews
replyDonovan Erskine posted a new article, Splitgate 2's new modes offer a much-needed variety
