The older I get, the more I start to notice patterns. Remember when 80s nostalgia was everywhere? Remember how that eventually gave way to a milder, yet prominent longing for the 90s? And here we are now, more than a quarter century removed from the turn of the millennium, where we ache for the days of Windows XP, social media’s infancy, and the persistent feeling of paranoia that catalyzed the War on Terror. Okay, maybe not that last part. SPRAWL Zero got me thinking about this recently, and for good reason.
SPRAWL Zero feels like an earnest throwback to the aesthetics of that time. It also attempts to combine this nostalgia with a smattering of different FPS mechanics into a traditional cyberpunk narrative we’re all familiar with by now. It even has the mandatory big twist you’re eagerly anticipating. But is SPRAWL Zero worth around $25? And is it worth playing if you’re not familiar with its similarly titled 2023 predecessor? You’ll find this out and more if you’re willing to hear me out.
A Cyberpunk Power Fantasy
Developed by MAETH, Sprawl Zero is a sci-fi FPS prequel to 2023’s Sprawl. You play as Five, a hulking, cybernetically enhanced soldier enlisted with the blue-tinged militaristic government that dominates the game’s setting. Your enemy? The IMAGO-DEI: a religious cult whose fanaticism is matched by their propensity for heavy weaponry and illegal cybernetics. The lines between good and evil seem blatant at first. At least, they are if you’re naive. Brutal truths and deadly revelations make soon make themselves known, and it’ll be up to you to navigate the shifting tides of power as you shoot and punch your way through whatever wants to stop you. Eventually, you’ll have to come face to face with a threat far bigger than you could’ve possibly imagined — along with the prospect of your own independence.
You’re a giant super soldier, so that means you get all the bells and whistles that come with the title. For one thing, you have a series of supernatural abilities powered by your adrenaline that let you to take on hordes of foes with ease. Bullet Time lets you slow down time and deal massive damage quickly. A Gravity Shield lets you capture small arms fire and hurl it back at your foes. Rushdown turns you into a two-legged wrecking machine, punching and smashing anything directly in front of you. Combined with your endless stamina, your electrically charged punches, and your durable legs, you’re more than well-equipped to take on whatever is bold enough to face you.
Guns Are Purposefully Limited
Did you notice how I didn’t mention any guns? Sprawl Zero is an FPS game, sure, but it lacks the full arsenal you’d find in something like a boomer shooter. Instead, you’re given a hard limit of one gun at a time. No, that’s not an exaggeration.
Sprawl Zero eschews even the famed two-weapon limit that defined shooters in the 2000s in favor of one. Any gun you pick up, via from crates or dead enemies, only has a single magazine’s worth of ammo. Once it’s out of ammo, it’s out. All that’s left to do with it is toss it as a deadly projectile at your enemies before grabbing a new gun. They’re split into numerical tiers, with each subsequent tier dealing more damage or having some other useful utility. A T1 pistol is slow and weak compared to a T5 assault rifle, for instance.
It’s the kind of balance you’d find in something like Hotline Miami, where guns are treated more as immediate tools as opposed to staples you can constantly rely on. Certain weapons are better for certain contexts, and some even interact with your powers in interesting ways. Bullet Time, for instance, turns shotguns into long-range death sticks that can wipe out just about any unarmored foe.
It’s this combination of a limited arsenal and a smattering of powers that give Sprawl Zero a grounded, sort of methodical pacing. Take down a few guys from a distance before trading your gun for something better. Use the adrenaline gained from your kills to shred enemies with your powers or make some breathing room. Rinse, repeat. You’ll occasionally have to switch things up when heavily armored or shielded foes stop by, but for the most part, it’s pretty consistent. You can even pick up small objects in the environment to hurl at your foes if you’re out of options, which can help in a pinch.
Sprawl Zero Isn’t Perfect
You have three difficulties to pick from, with the only significant difference between them being the damage you’ll take. It’ll come down to preference which one you want to choose. Do you want the power trip of being a giant killing machine? Do you want some more challenge? There’s no wrong answer here.
I will say that I do feel like Martyr, the hardest setting, does limit your ability to unleash Hell. Taking twice the damage you normally would means a small turret can wipe out your entire health bar in less than a few seconds. Any time you’re out in the open against a swarm of foes, or you’re forced into a situation where you can’t heal yourself, it’s a nearly guaranteed death sentence. This eases up towards the end, where your powers gain a substantial boost in functionality, but it does get on your nerves occasionally until then. If you do want to try Martyr, don’t discount your Gravity Shield; its initial damage is pitiful, but you’ll gain some precious seconds to reorient yourself after it knocks everyone down.
Speaking of which: I also take some issue with how your powers work. More specifically, how your movement interacts with them. Again, Sprawl Zero is an FPS. Like all FPS games, I naturally want to be sprinting everywhere. And I do. And it’s usually no problem. But anytime you activate a power in Sprawl Zero, sprinting immediately shuts it down. For Bullet Time and Gravity Shield, that’s more understandable.
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For Rushdown? You know, the ability that emphasizes not only movement, but quick forward movement to close the gap between you and your enemy? The one where you already have to be moving forward to activate it? You’d want to sprint with it, because you’d think you’re meant to. But you can’t. It feels like it’s fighting every ounce of muscle memory you’d have if you’ve played the games that Sprawl Zero takes lessons from. You acclimate eventually, but it’s still an odd thing to get used to.
Your powers are also hard counters for specific enemies, which I’m admittedly on the fence about. Flying helicopters are frequently taken down via your Bullet Time or Gravity Shield if they’re using bullets or missiles, respectively. Shielded enemies eat bullets like they’re nothing if you can’t immediately break their shield with Rushdown. Some enemies, like snipers or especially dangerous ones wielding revolvers and katanas, need a perfectly timed Gravity Shield to avoid taking a massive amount of damage. Some of these ideas are really cool. I especially enjoy the latter. But I just wish there were more reliable options for the former, even though heavier weaponry and electric guns do make themselves available at certain points.
Then there are control points. That’s what I call them, at least. They’re parts of a level that force you to stand in an area and wait until an objective is completed. This includes stuff like blowing up pipes or activating other things. These sections aren’t really exciting to begin with. But they’re incredibly easy to break. Simply stepping inside of the area, waiting for enemies to spawn in to attack, and then returning once they’re all dead practically nullifies the challenge that they present. I can’t imagine this was intentional, but if it was, I hope this is changed at some point.
A Feast for the Senses
Sprawl Zero proudly wears its inspirations without a hint of shame or irony. Hell, if you have a close eye, you’ll even catch some blatant homages to franchises like Ghost in the Shell and Halo. The brutalist megacity you run around in is undercut with a grungy underbelly, the sky lit up by distant fires and flickering lights, with cracked concrete and bundles of wires filling the veins beneath the surface. It’s a step above what was originally introduced in Sprawl. And while Sprawl Zero still maintains some visual designs from its predecessor, they’re given a much stronger refresh here. They do get too referential sometimes, though. You’d be forgiven for comparing some of the spider-like robot bosses here to the Tachikomas of Ghost in the Shell. These can be forgiven, at least, since the rest of the game is so strong visually.
But the score. Good God, the score is legitimately fantastic. Composed by Carlos Lizarraga, it’s an incredible mix of dance compositions mixed with thudding drums, trance elements, chorus samples, and heavy synths that all mesh well with the weighty action on-screen. The guns sound incredible too, almost demanding a touch of volume reduction with how loud and punchy they are.
In an interview with Niche Gamer, Lizarraga specified how the game’s overall presentation was a result of understanding their influences and how they were made, as opposed to just taking what already existed and copying it:
“It is dangerously easy to fall into the trap of ‘skimming the surface’; taking an artifact of an era, tweaking a few dial settings, and presenting a superficial replica. That is facsimile. Authenticity, however, demands that we ask why. It requires deconstructing the past to understand not just what things looked or sounded like, but why they were made that way.”
The full interview is worth a read if you have the time, but I’d say that this approach really paid off. Hell, I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me this was a game made in Unreal Engine 5. Barring a few tells here and there, it really does feel like an embodiment of what made Y2K-era sci-fi so compelling. It’s the first time in a while that a game managed to hook me with its aesthetics so quickly. I’m even contemplating buying the game’s soundtrack as we speak.
Despite being made with Unreal Engine 5, the game’s performance was as smooth as butter, too. You have the typical gamut of graphics options with a surprising amount of depth when it comes to fine-tuning your aim. No, really. I don’t think it’s wholly necessary here, I rarely ever used the sights on my guns, but it’s a nice inclusion. If you’re feeling artistic, you even have access to a built-in photo mode to grab some nice screenshots. I used my own for this very review.
New Game+ Incentives
Sprawl Zero also has some decent replay value. You have collectibles you can look for in the form of relic fragments and codex entries. The latter just gives you some extra lore bits and more background story. The former, however, can unlock unique modifiers that you can apply to future playthroughs or individual levels. Want to disable the ability to sprint? Have you ever wondered what persistent toxic gas might feel like? Did you ever want to be the size of a rat? All this and more can be toggled on and off to your heart’s content. If you’re willing to put several modifiers together on specific levels, you can even unlock special ones that grant you incredible powers. God mode, Spartan mode (in a fun nod to Halo), and even a Randomizer can be attained if you’re brave enough to tackle them.
New Game+ is also more than just a revisit of previous stages. You keep your fully upgraded powers. But you’re given remixed enemy placements to really put them to the test. It boils down to more enemies in levels overall, and enemies from future levels appearing earlier, but it’s still a nice inclusion.
Should You Play Sprawl Zero?
Sprawl Zero is good, sure. Is it one of the best games of the year? Maybe? I’d say it’s consistent enough in what it does to deserve its positive reception so far. But I do feel like there’s some room for improvement with a few more patches. At the very least, is it better than Sprawl? Absolutely.
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Whereas Sprawl didn’t have enough of its own pizazz to make itself unique amongst its boomer shooter contemporaries — which is probably why I remember very little of playing it — Sprawl Zero does a much better job of giving itself its own identity. Is it still derivative? Maybe a little bit, if you really want to insist on it. But I’d argue that its efforts to mishmash a lot of what made 2000s shooters fun are more positive than not. Being aesthetically gorgeous, both in its visuals and in its music, certainly helps.
If you want an FPS game that isn’t a boomer shooter, but it isn’t some colorful multiplayer outing either, I’d say Sprawl Zero is worth your time. Who knows? Maybe this will be the start of a new wave of shooters, like what 2013’s Rise of the Triad and later DUSK did for the dwindling supply of boomer shooters. Or maybe in the larger wave of Y2K nostalgia, it’s just another small piece of reassembled memories. Or maybe I’m probably just rambling.
Sprawl Zero is available on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S , and Nintendo Switch 2.
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