SPRAWL PS5 Review
Summary: SPRAWL is a decent entry into the ever growing list of boomer-shooters that are making their way to consoles. Its fast-paced combat and great soundtrack make it stand out from the crowd.
3.6
Frenetic!
There’s something about first-person shooters released in the nineties and early 2000s that I’ve always loved. The speed, chunky graphics, and an often-uncomplicated style of play are something that started to be lost when Halo and later Call of Duty arrived on the scene.
The throwback shooter has made a comeback in recent times, with titles such as Dusk, Amid Evil, and Project Warlock all doing a fantastic job of bringing back the style associated with older games in the genre. SPRAWL by MAETH is another entry into the growing list of boomer shooters.
Set in a walled-off, cyberpunk megalopolis, SPRAWL is a ‘hardcore retro FPS’ where players assume the role of SEVEN, a disgraced spec-ops super soldier, and her mission to overthrow the military regime that controls the city.
The gameplay is fast and frenetic. The player moves somewhere approaching the speed of sound, and there’s a huge emphasis on movement, to the point that sliding, wall running, and wall jumping are all taught to the player in the opening moments of the game before a gun is so much as even seen.
This focus on agility and being able to swiftly traverse the map is central to the gameplay. Death can come quickly in SPRAWL. SEVEN is surprisingly fragile, only taking a couple of hits before getting killed. Staying mobile and taking full advantage of the environment with movement abilities is key to staying alive. Thankfully, enemies tend to drop just as quickly as the player, if not even more so. Headshots dispatch adversaries in a few shots and become necessary very quickly to conserve what little ammo is available.
Dispatching enemies raises an adrenaline meter, which when filled can be used to enable a slow-motion, bullet-time-esque mode, where the player’s aim snaps loosely to a nearby enemy’s head making dispatching them all the easier. A standard arsenal of weaponry makes itself available across the game. Beginning with dual pistols, a shotgun, and SMG, later heavy hitters such as a grenade launcher and rail gun are available to aid in cleaning up the city. The weapons all feel punchy, and have a satisfying weight and feel to them when used and are backed up with chunky impact effects to sell the destruction.
Being a bit of a boomer shooter, SPRAWL’s cyberpunk aesthetic is presented with low poly models and pixel-heavy textures for a crunchy, software-rendered look straight out of the 90s and early 2000s, while still being high-res and sharp. As someone who grew up in those eras, it’s an art style that I really enjoy, even if it is starting to be a little overdone at this point.
As you might expect, SPRAWL leans heavily into its cyberpunk-theming when it comes to the soundtrack. Dark electronica, ambient soundscapes, and futuristic melodies fill up your speakers while playing. It’s very well done. If you’re a fan of the music in titles such as Deus Ex, Mass Effect, and DOOM (2016) then you’re really going to enjoy this.
Everything so far, all sounds pretty great. Fast-paced and energetic gameplay, a thumping soundtrack, and excellent art direction. So, why did I find myself not really gelling with SPRAWL? It’s difficult to put my finger on any one specific thing, but if pressed, I’d put it down to the controls. Something just didn’t feel right to me using a controller. More specifically, the turning felt really off, and no amount of tweaking the sensitivity and other options ever got it feeling right. Turning while strafing always felt incredibly slow, while regularly turning was almost always too fast. Given that SPRAWL was released on PC quite a while ago, it wouldn’t surprise me if the game played better with a keyboard and mouse.
Final Thoughts
Issues I had with the controls aside, SPRAWL is a solid shooter with a fantastic soundtrack and aesthetic. When you get into the flow of chaining together wall runs and jumps, sliding around, and taking down enemies with precise headshots, it’s a fun time. The story isn’t anything to write home about, but it does what it needs to do and at under $20/£15 at full price, it’s worth taking a look at.
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