Why Is Everyone Suddenly Playing Splitgate?

Don’t Ask Me, My Main Rig Took A Dump And I Have To Download All The Things Again

You might have noticed a plethora of pop ups informing you some of your Steam friends are playing Splitgate, and haven’t bothered to check it out.  The great news is that it is a free shooter available on Steam, the less wonderful news is there are bundles you can pay for that will give you new skins and unique thingys.  The designers, 1047 Games, assure you that the skins are only cosmetic but don’t indicate if the Exclusive Legendary Portal or Jetpack give those that fork over a few dollars an advantage.

It is described as a mix between HALO multiplayer and Portal; Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN suggests that perhaps “Elmer Fudd gets a 360 no-scope” would also be a good description.  The shooter part will be familiar to all, with sniper rifles, shotguns and even a one shot kill baseball bat.  As well, the portal portion will be familiar to GladOS test victims, with entry and exit portals able to be opened on specific surfaces. 

It is the combination of the two mechanics, along with the fact that you can only see through your own portals adds a totally new dimension to an online shooter.  That means any opponents portals are an ominous red circle which reveals nothing of what is through it.  It could be an enemy sitting with their gun at the ready, waiting for someone to walk by, or it could be an entrance to a death pit, for you see the physics of Portal were included.

You will be able to place portals in such a way as to maximize the momentum of an enemy to launch them huge distances or fire them off the map … or to get yourself moving so fast you can barely be hit.   They are also a great escape method, if you find yourself outgunned and need to make a quick escape; though you might want to close the portal behind you as soon as possible.

The review can be found here.