The original Splitgate came and went in a flash, a multiplayer FPS that, to put it reductively, combined Halo-style gunplay with a Portal gun. It made a splash at launch thanks to an eye-catching premise and responsive core feel, but its player base quickly fell off after a strong first few months, prompting 1047 Games to end active development and shift all their resources towards a sequel. Having played an early build of Splitgate 2, this follow-up retains the engaging central flow of its predecessor while adding bells, whistles, and more ways to play. With an increased focus on customization options and different classes, there was much more variance from match to match, which was a key flaw the last time around. But even with these improvements, it’s hard to say if the game can survive in a cut-throat market oversaturated with life-service titles; I certainly hope it does, but it’s hard to remain optimistic these days.
Splitgate 2’s unique element compared to other shooters remains the same: you can create portals that let you flank foes. Set up a portal to quickly jump on an objective or fire one behind an enemy to get the drop on them. It also allows for neat mobility options because you can leap towards a portal below you and maintain momentum when coming out the other end, allowing you to cover impressive distance when combined with your built-in jetpack. This all still mostly works the same in the sequel, with the only major change being that instead of there being a separate button for setting up the entrance and exit of a portal, it’s now all bound to a single button by default, automatically cycling between the two. This makes things more streamlined at the cost of a bit of precision, but it can be toggled to the previous game’s default if needed.
But while teleporting around these stages is still relatively familiar, there are some big pivots, mostly in that this new game is much more tailored towards adding variety to each match. As the developers explained, one of the biggest mistakes they want to fix from their previous release is players feeling like they’ve quickly seen all there is to see as games play out too similarly.
To address this, they’ve introduced a new class system with three character types, each with special abilities and weapons. While I was initially worried about this change because it seemed like the game could be pivoting too much towards the even more overstuffed hero shooter market, in reality, these classes are much more similar to those in Halo Reach rather than Overwatch; these abilities are limited use power-ups instead of skills that fundamentally change how you play. For instance, the Sabrask class comes with the Smart Wall ability, where they can deploy a temporary barrier to shoot through, while the Meridian can temporarily enable a tracking mode that lets them see enemies through walls. These moves come with fairly sizable cooldowns, but they added flavor to the matches without getting in the way of the game’s general fast-paced shooting.
Some other additions meant to add variance are the Call of Duty-style loadouts. Beyond your class, you also select from one of six main weapons, like a single-shot rifle, shotgun, or SMG, which are slightly different for each class, a sidearm, attachments for both, class-specific gear, and two perks. Although I had a hard time differentiating weapon attachments, the weapons themselves felt distinct enough that I had a clear favorite by the end: the Sabrask Burst Rifle and its weighty kick are the stuff of shell-cased dreams. The perks, gear, and sidearms didn’t feel quite as central as choosing your primary weapon or class, but when combined, these smaller customizations made each loadout feel distinct.
And beyond these changes, the blazing-fast central loop remains gratifying as you blast, teleport, and boost across these stages. The pace is great, not quite as twitchy as Call of Duty, but a bit faster than Halo, with a time-to-kill (how long it takes to down a foe) in a satisfying spot between the two. The general movement speed is nice and quick, with a long-reaching slide and a jetpack that lets you zip through these arenas. The original felt snappy, and that’s just as true with this follow-up.
However, all the changes weren’t necessarily positive, and at least from the levels we saw, there seemed to be less of an emphasis on the portal mechanic this time around. This is a bit of a problem because that was precisely what made Splitgate unique compared to the abundance of shooters out there. Similar to the first game, you can only place a portal on specific surfaces, a restriction that makes sense in a vacuum: it would be impossible to balance levels if you could put it anywhere. However, the issue is that they’ve gone too far in limiting where you can set up portals while also minimizing the verticality in the stages, making it rare for you to jump off a ledge towards a portal below, utilizing this downward momentum as you shoot horizontally out the other end. While it’s still extremely satisfying to get the drop on your foes by sniping them through a perfectly placed portal, this felt more like the exception than the norm.
Additionally, I didn’t entirely gel with the new big team battle mode, where three teams of eight duke it out in chaotic brawls. Part of the problem is that there’s simply too much going on here, with three teams and an unruly number of portals spewing lead in all directions. Thankfully, the rest of the game modes seemed well-considered, and while most were fairly standard takes on Team Death Match and capture-point objectives, one highlight is that they upgraded Halo’s tedious Oddball mode into a new variant called Splitball, a sporty battle where teams scrum to get three orbs back to their base first.
While I’ve enjoyed my time with Splitgate 2 so far thanks to its responsive gunplay and customization additions, the game’s biggest challenge will be finding its place in a positively swamped multiplayer market, a veritable graveyard where games go to die. In a space where even the Master Chief is struggling, stellar execution isn’t enough anymore: you also need novelty, name-brand recognition, or just plain luck. While Splitgate 2’s rewarding central loop has me hopeful that it has what it takes to find a place in this crowded space, it may need more than portals to get the drop on its rivals.
Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant Games and TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to playing and watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves film, creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.
