SPRAWL

This is quite a nice game with great gameplay and absolutely standout music. Its rare that I praise music as much as in this game but to be frank, its a 10/10 for me and believe me, I rarely ever give such scores since thats pretty much as close to perfect as it gets and out of the top of my head one of the very few other games that would get such a score would be Unreal Tournament. Anybody who knows me or my game soundtrack related work probably knows what it means when I praise a games soundtrack that much. The soundtrack is a mix of classic 90s and early 00s electronic genres displaying various styles of Techno including Drum & Bass, Acid, Big Beat, Cyberpunk mixed with choral elments. And it sounds absolutely amazing and not only that, its well implemented and with that I mean the transitionings between calmer and action ridden game parts because it is well coded. The various sequences really hype up the gameplay on screen. Whats crazier is that the great majority of composition work was done by a single person who is also the main developer behind the game. I dont know if the artist has any previous experience in composition but its certainly breathtaking what he displays here. I HIGHLY recommend to grab the soundtrack plus the bonus tracks from his Bandcamp. But lets get to the gameplay. The gameplay feels very satisfying and is probably the second best part of the game after the music. All weapons are well balanced and feel different. Also shooting feels really satisfying. Also its one of the few games were running on walls and jumping feels actually good. You also need to take frequent use of your timeslow abilities to overcome enemies and it marks weak spots of enemies. Really fun! Now we sadly get to the meh elements of the game. The graphic pixel design looks quite nice and oldschool but the art design and levels themselves look really 08/15. Plus everything looks more or less the same and fade into one big pile of mush. I did have seen similar artstyles in futuristic dystopic cyberpunk games. I am not sure if its just how its meant to look but it really doesnt do much for me and just bores me. While levels are partly set in different environments, you dont notice the difference much and the levels really just seem to serve a means to an end. However, I do have to praise the games anti aliasing! I am not sure what it uses but it does seem to have quality similar to SSAA and looks really georgous! Wish more modern games had such good anti aliasing. Mostly you either have to use DSR or DLSS. The story could be interesting especially since I feel like the creator really put a lot of thoughts into it. Sadly in the game itself its not that well transmitted to the player. Sure, there are some logs to collect all over the levels but they only partly help. Until the final episode I wasnt even sure what the hell is going on plot wisely but it does get obvious from that part on. Its probably one of these cases were the whole lore and story gets more meaning ful with more games in the franchise and thats gonna be Sprawl Zero. But on its own, its just ok. Sounds design is alright, guns feel punchy. Quite frankly there isnt that much sound design wisely that I could talk about. I mean the music mostly overlays that entire element but the guns sounded as they should. So all in all, music is pure bliss and the gameplay really fun. Everything else? Ok at best. But thats probably due to being low budget and mostly a one man developer show. Personally I look forward to Sprawl Zero since I see great potencial. Would I call Sprawl a masterpiece? No, there are definitely better oldschool shooters such as DUSK or Ion Fury. But music wisely I am blown away and for this alone was well worth it for me. But the gameplay is also really nice. Music 10/10 Gameplay 9/10 Graphics 7/10 Levels 7/10 Story 7/10 Sound 8/10

The game would be very fun if not for it randomly dropping mouse inputs all the time. The bug has been known about since the game's release and it has not been fixed as of the time of this review. I put up with it for 3 hours because the gameplay is really good but I just cannot stand it anymore.

Sometimes you boot up a game on a complete whim and suddenly find yourself glued to the screen, blasting your way to the credits while genuinely muttering, “Why the f##k is this so fun?” Sprawl is the answer to what happens when Max Payne steals Doomguy’s arsenal and becomes a Titanfall pilot. It’s a boomer shooter fused with movement-shooter DNA and a liberal dose of bullet time. I’ve played plenty of movement shooters, retro shooters, games that try to blend the two, yet none of them hooked me quite like this. It's not like the arsenal is revolutionary, and the mechanics aren’t the deepest in the genre. it's something that made me curious. I even went back and played a few minutes of similar titles I’d previously bounced off, trying to figure out why I got bored there and became addicted here. In the end, it comes down to something I deeply appreciate: Sprawl doesn’t try to do everything, but what it does, it does perfectly. The guns feel and sound incredible. Every weapon earns its place from the very first level to the final boss, including the starting pistols. There are no upgrades or unlocks padding out artificial progression. They’re fantastic right out of the gate and stay that way. Levels and enemy encounters deliver constant variety and challenge without ever tipping into frustration. Each arena feels thoughtfully designed, forcing you to constantly reassess which weapon to use while soaring between structures. The movement system is the real star. It’s not just “an option in the toolkit”. It’s omnidirectional, unrestricted, and buttery smooth. You can wall-run backward while shooting, pivot mid-air, and seamlessly scale the next building. It’s not tacked on. It makes you feel like an absolute badass carving through the city. Combat strikes an excellent balance, too. Some shooters treat weapon choice as a loose suggestion, while others make every enemy feel like it was built for one specific gun. Sprawl lands perfectly in the middle. Each weapon has a clear role: pistols for quick, precise shots; SMGs for hosing down fast movers; the shotgun for devastating close-range bursts (at the cost of a slow reload). Every fight becomes a split-second decision about positioning, timing, and loadout. My decision to use the railgun ofd the grenade launcher on the big guy is predicated on how close I am and if anyone is next to him. No option ever feels pointless. Generous bullet time ties it all together. Activating it slows everything down and highlights weak points. It is a total godsend. It starts as a crutch and quickly becomes an essential part of your flow, whether you’re planning your next route, lining up a tricky shot, or simply reading the chaos as you rocket past enemies. It’s not infinite; you refill by overkilling foes, but smart use keeps you topped up almost constantly. There is a story… sort of. You play as a super-soldier named SEVEN. She's been a very naughty girl, and now "daddy” wants to kill himself... Or something. It’s dystopian robots, you shoot them, you save the city. I may not have paid the closest attention. What I did pay attention to is how damn good the city looks. Sprawl sports something that has become one of my favorite art styles: retro textures and models paired with modern post-processing. The result is a grimy, lived-in, industrial metropolis that still feels alive and full of personality. The art direction and filters give it real soul. A few minor complaints: the final levels lose a bit of momentum, especially the last one, which starts to feel like a series of platforms scattered around empty space. The movement controls shine brightest in wide-open areas; tighter precision sections are the weakest part of the game. And occasionally the “press any key to continue” prompt after death takes an annoyingly long time to appear, breaking the flow. I don't know if this is on my end or something else. These are small blemishes on an otherwise tight, confident package. Sprawl is phenomenal. It makes you feel like a god-tier super-soldier while still offering enough challenge to keep you mastering its systems. It runs circles around most AAA attempts at the same fantasy; games that drown themselves in bloat and empty spectacle. If you’re craving a damn good shooter, few titles hit this hard. Highly recommended.

The game looks good, and certainly the gameplay video on the store page makes it look fun. But I keep failing to actually get into it because in practice, the combat just feels kind of clunky - which isn't a forgivable sin for a boomer and/or bullet-time shooter. Enemies tend to have too much health and don't usually feel good to kill unless you manage to land a headshot with a revolver (which is tricky to pull off and feels clumsy). Even then, once enemies get strong enough to survive one headshot (which is annoying to pull off even though you feel forced to do so), you just don't get the feedback you need that you are in fact doing damage and killing the enemy.

A true love letter to the classic FPS genre. Gun play is great, music is epic, and the movement is great. Enemies have a nice variety and the game doesn't overstay its welcome. Excited for Sprawl Zero.

On paper, this isn't a bad game. In fact on paper it should be a good game. But there's something (or more than a few things) about it that just doesn't gel with me. Let me start with some positives. The music is really great, and so are the aesthetics. The voice acting is actually pretty okay and not too cheesy. The wallrunning and slide mechanics are definitely serviceable and so are the guns. Except for your starter dualies, they feel really lightweight. The core gameplay loop is that of a classic boomer-shooter. Run to environment, shoot bad guys, get keycard, move to next area. There's something about the encounter design that doesn't really make fights feel...very dynamic. By my best estimate it's a combination of just "serviceable" combat-feel mixed with pretty dumb AI. They just kind of run to get in your LOS, stand there, and get killed. It's no FEAR and not even really Trepang2. Now I'm not asking for Half-Life here, but maybe something to mix it up a bit like an evasive enemy, or one that tosses grenades to force you to move, would start to leverage some of the wall-running and sliding to make it more interesting. It's not too far removed from a Serious Same game, but without the grand scale of a SS game. There's also a weakpoint mechanic which feels kind of...mixed. Enemies' heads glow in bullet time, and also other opportunities like explosive jetpacks which cause enemies to blow up. But at least early on in the game, the weapons are so imprecise that trying to target backpacks feels really strange. Half the time I don't even try to aim for them and a stray bullet detonates the backpack. The mechanic is there but the execution doesn't feel solid or controllable. The third sin that comes to mind is the level design. They look great (at least at first) but the arenas often feel cramped and the signposting isn't so great, which kills the forward momentum frequently. Considering that most enemies are bullet projectile enemies or charger-types that require constant strafing, failing to navigate the cramped levels properly can get you killed often. And some areas are just really cramped corridors and force you to just crunch enemies as fast as possible so you don't get overwhelmed from being unable to dodge their projectiles properly. This game, to me, is almost good. It's missing some tweaks here and there to make it really click with me. If you like it, I'm glad you enjoy it. It's just not for me.

Take the "not recommended" vote with a lot of salt. I was initially going to reocmmend the game but then my review ended up mostly focused on the downsides and I felt the need to change the recommendation accordingly, since those ended up being my main takeaways from the game... Now onward to the review! --- SPRAWL often comes across as a shooter that does not really know what it wants to be. Do we want to be a twitch shooter like Quake? Do we want to be a slow-mo focused shooter like SUPERHOT ? Do we want to be a mindless horde shooter like Serious Sam? And to what degree should parkour matter for the actual combat? It is an interesting premise, to be sure, and perhaps the elements can be mixed and realized and create something truly unique and engaging. However sadly SPRAWL falls quite short of the target. There is also apparently a story in the game? I am usually a story-focused player (story is the main reason I play most games) but I'll be honest and say that the story in this one didn't make much sense or didn't hook me at least. ♥♥♥♥ happens for some reason, and it is all an excuse to blast some enemies and do the occasional wall jumping "puzzle". !!! Spoilers for the combat ahead !!! Once you get the hang of the combat it mostly boils down into the same extremely simple combat loop: shoot, take a step to the right/left/back, maybe jump a bit, and then shoot again. Rinse repeat until everything is dead. If there is one thing that ties all enemies together, it is that they're all effectively braindead and simple in their approach. - Most enemies, whether ranged or melee, will mindlessly approach you from straight ahead. No evasions, no tactical thinking, no thought into it other than traveling the shortest distance from their current position to the player's position. This means that "effective combat" often boils down to funneling mindless enemies into running in single file, one after another, straight ahead and into your shotgun blasts while you make minor movement adjustments and maybe some strafing here and there to avoid any return fire (if they even fire any). - Enemies will actually "forget" about the player if they are beyond a certain distance or if they lose sight of you. This mean that you can easily snipe targets far off in the distance with them making the occasional return fire, then they disappear around a tiny edge/wall and instantly forgets all about you and returns to their regular patrol route. Enemies will similarly also not take into account the distance that their weapons can travel. Like, one of the mechs in the game shoots grenades that bounces and explodess. Those grenades travels 15-20 meters at most, yet the mechs will still stand still and fire mindlessly at you when you are well beyond that distance and slowly damaging them. - Ranged enemies fires projectiles that does not take into account the player's current motion but instead mostly fires where the player is currently standing. This means that you will get hit if you are near them enough or if you stand still, but if you are moving, even slightly, and more than 10 meters or so away from them, their shots are almost always guaranteed to miss even from making tiny movements. --- Towards the end of the game most of the combat for me boiled down to sniping enemies from a distance with the pistols, or funneling melee enemies into a tight group or single line that I could then strafe a bit around and blast with my shotgun. For bosses, even major ones, making micro-jumps and movements in one place was often the most effective way of handling them. And yet, despite the combat being this "easy" in general, it could also feel surprisingly unfair at times, in that you took way too much damage than expected. I did not die often but the times I did I usually always went "uh, what?" That could just be down to bad indicators and the game generally not being good at conveying "danger" to the player properly though. Or it could also be a matter of damage scaling across enemy types. Anyway, because of the mindless combat I never really felt threatened all that much. The game does occasionally throw new enemy types at you, and even "bosses", throughout the game but nothing that really changed things up all that much or challenged the player. Even the larger and more "difficult" mechs that gets thrown out is handled the same as the smaller ones and so just became a matter of doing the same thing, for slightly longer, while shotgun blasting them to death. The most engaging boss I ran into was one where the level design actually necessitated the use of the parkour elements occasionally during the combat, which is saying as much. I had more difficulties from that one enemy than the final boss itself, despite the final boss involving far more enemies and much more health and weak spots. Was it a short but engaging FPS shooter? Sure, I guess. I was looking to do some mindless shooting as a time waster for a couple of hours and this met that need. Do I ever imagine myself replaying the game or playing more of it? No, not really. There's probably a lot of other FPS games that I have in my library that uses a similar style and blend of games that does some of the things better than this one did. --- Edit: I forgot to mention anything about the bullet time and that was because I almost never used it. Once you understand how simple the combat is, there's really no reason to use bullet time. Slide jump around or away from enemies, pick up ammo/health/armor when you need it, funnel everyone into single file or similarly bottlenecks, and then just blast away using your main arsenal (shotgun, pistols, and grenade launcher, in that order) and use the rest of the guns when a situation occurs or you run out of ammo.

Short but very intense. Ghostrunner + DOOM with a bit of Half-Life vibes and a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ DnB soundtrack. Very impressive for a game made by essentially 2 people. The arena at the end of e3m2 can go ♥♥♥♥ itself tho.

endless stupid wall-jumping

There's a certain quality that every great, fun game has that's difficult to precisely quantify. Call it what you will, gamefeel, je ne sais quoi, I like to call it The Juice. You can only find out if a game has The Juice when you actually get your hands on it, and even if you can't describe what exactly it's comprised of you always know it when you see it. [i]Sprawl[/i] does not have The Juice. I can tell what this game is going for, I can understand what the intent is, but while many of its individual pieces sound great (wallrunning! bullet time! explosions!) they do not pull together into something that works. It's almost baffling how confused the game is, everything that isn't the visuals and the music feels like it doesn't know what it is or what it's doing. The opening hour of the game promises a headshot bonanza, with all the best moments being the chaining of one-bullet kills while flying over your enemies. Then, about halfway through the game, every single enemy becomes a bullet sponge and the headshots disappear entirely. It feels like someone thought "further in game = harder" and didn't actually bother to consider how this would shift the game's fun zone into an entirely different place right after the player gets in the groove of it. All that being said, the combat in the second half still has its moments, even if it ultimately just feels like ♥♥♥♥♥♥ [i]Quake[/i]. What [i]really[/i] bugs me is the parkour, which just feels absolutely miserable. Wallrunning is limited and unresponsive in a manner that feels really awkward, and it gets much worse when you notice that the level design, constantly and without fail, seems to believe you can jump way higher than you can. Try and jump onto [i]any[/i] ledge in this game and you will fail. Every single jump up to a platform requires an awkward walljump along its edge, and arenas are totally unengaging as a result. Most of the actual parkour sections make you feel like you're barely able to make it onto the platforms, either wildly overshooting or barely undershooting in a frustrating way. There was extremely plainly either supposed to be a double jump (which you can kinda do with shotgun recoil, but requiring ammo and inconsistently) or just a damn ledge grab. I have no idea how this happened. [i]Sprawl[/i] feels like it wasn't playtested, like it was made and shipped and nobody actually bothered to figure out if it felt good to play. There's a joke in the credits about how one of the lead developers never actually played the game and I just had to laugh. I can tell! I can really, really tell! Maybe you should have! As briefly touched on previously, it's the aesthetics where this game really shines. Visual design lands somewhere between [i]DOOM[/i] (2016) and [i]Ghost In The Shell[/i], and the techno industrial soundtrack incorporates this [i]Akira[/i] choir that just hits so spectacularly. I'd say I wish these elements were in a better game, but I may not have to. The sequel, [i]Sprawl Zero[/i], looks to be absolutely killer. I will be delighted to see it land properly and give these devs a redemption they deserve.