Splitgate 2

The edges have been softened, and it threatens to fade into the omnipresent haze of live-service shooters

- 

Valve first had people considering portals back in 2007. Given the videogame industry’s tendency to propagate any new and popular idea with a speed and aggressiveness that quickly renders it background noise, it’s somewhat remarkable that it took 12 years for another game, the original Splitgate, to take that idea and run with it. As this sequel demonstrates, however, taking a great idea and finding the right fit for it are two very different things.

A firstperson arena shooter with portals remains a strong foundation. Splitgate places no restrictions on how far apart two portal gates are, nor how far you may be from a compatible surface when you shoot a gate onto it. Therefore, portals can be used to instantly travel great distances, or to set up or escape ambushes. Projectiles travel through them as easily as players, and while you can make use of any portal, all but your own are opaque. There’s no way of knowing if there’s a sniper at the other end, or what else may be waiting for you if you leap through. Unlike in any other shooter, then, you have the ability to defend two objectives at once with no direct line of sight between them, snipe an enemy that is dozens of feet behind you, or flee around a corner and reach the (relative) safety of the other side of the map within seconds.