Remember when first-person shooters weren’t afraid to throw you into sprawling levels, hand you a ridiculous arsenal and let you figure out how to cause trouble? SPRAWL zero clearly does.
The new FPS from Kwalee and MAETH is now bringing its distinctly early-2000s vision of cyberpunk warfare to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Rather than simply recreating the look of an old-school shooter, SPRAWL zero wants to capture the design philosophy that made that era so memorable. Fast combat, clever level layouts, aggressive enemies and plenty of opportunities to approach an encounter your own way all sit at the heart of the experience.
At A Glance
- Release: Available now
- Price: £20.99
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Publisher: Kwalee
- Developer: MAETH
A Cyberpunk City Ready To Fall
SPRAWL zero puts players in the boots of FIVE, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier working under the control of the Junta. Their mission sounds straightforward enough – eliminate SILAS, the leader of the radical techno-religious group IMAGO-DEI.
Naturally, things don’t stay straightforward for long.
The city is collapsing under the pressure of military rule and competing factions, leaving FIVE caught in the middle of a conflict where simply pointing a gun at the nearest enemy isn’t always going to be enough.
The setting provides a suitably gritty backdrop, combining cyberpunk aesthetics with a deliberately Y2K-inspired visual style. This isn’t a pristine vision of the future either, with the world leaning into the rougher, more grounded atmosphere associated with classic console FPS games.
More Than Just Another Shooter
While SPRAWL zero promises plenty of traditional gunplay, its combat systems are designed to give FIVE considerably more options.
There are more than 40 weapons to experiment with, while cybernetic abilities add another layer to encounters. The Gravity Gloves, Gravity Shield and Rushdown can all be used to alter how you approach a fight.
The Gravity Shield, for example, can catch incoming bullets and send them back towards enemies, while Bullet-Time allows FIVE to slow the action and line up shots with considerably greater precision.
Enemy AI is also intended to make encounters feel less predictable. Squads can communicate, coordinate attacks, use covering fire, throw grenades and attempt to flank the player, meaning standing in one spot and emptying a magazine may not always be the smartest approach.
Find Your Own Way Through The SPRAWL
That emphasis on player choice extends beyond the combat itself.
Handcrafted levels feature multiple routes, vertical spaces and alternative approaches, allowing players to decide how they want to tackle different situations. You can push aggressively into an encounter, use cover and pick enemies apart, or make use of the game’s physics-based abilities to create your own solutions.
It’s an approach that feels particularly appropriate for a game so heavily inspired by the FPS classics of the early 2000s. SPRAWL zero isn’t simply interested in making everything faster and louder – it wants players to experiment with its systems and discover what works.
And with its Y2K presentation, early-2000s-inspired soundtrack and deliberately old-school design sensibilities, there’s clearly plenty of nostalgia baked into the package too.
A Throwback With Some New Tricks
SPRAWL zero arrives in a very different FPS landscape to the one it is drawing inspiration from, but that’s arguably what makes the concept interesting. It takes the DNA of classic console shooters and combines it with gravity manipulation, Bullet-Time and a more modern approach to player freedom.
Whether you’re here for the cyberpunk setting, the retro aesthetic or simply the prospect of throwing enemy bullets back at them, FIVE has plenty of tools with which to make a mess.
SPRAWL zero is now available on Xbox Series X|S (via the Xbox Store), PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC. If you’ve been waiting for a shooter that remembers the era when FPS games were happy to let players experiment, it could be time to embrace the SPRAWL.
