Maeth and Kwalee are building a sleek first-person shooter designed to feel like the 2000s console era, where the genre started evolving from corridor firefights into fully realized worlds. Sprawl Zero aims to capture that sensibility in both aesthetics and pacing, with a campaign where momentum and moment-to-moment decisions matter.

You play as Five, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier controlled by the Junta, tasked with eliminating Silas, the leader of the radical techno-religious group Imago Dei. As the mission unfolds, the city tips into chaos while every known and unknown faction fights to seize control. The hook is framed as a blunt choice: “Reconcile your truths or succumb to the Sprawl.”

Combat is built to be fast but grounded, with enemies behaving like squads instead of targets. They communicate, coordinate, flank, lay down covering fire, and use grenades to force you out of position, pushing encounters toward constant movement and shifting lines, with inspiration drawn from titles like F.E.A.R. and Halo. Five is expected to win by outthinking and outmaneuvering, using every edge available: the Gravity Shield can catch incoming rounds and throw them back, while Bullet-Time lets you bend shots midair for inhuman precision.

Weapons and cybernetics are meant to feel like tools of destruction, but the system is not limited to gunplay. Gravity Gloves, the Gravity Shield, and Rushdown widen the options into aggressive pushes, defensive control, and physics-driven clashes, so situations are built to support more than one solution and more than one playstyle.

Levels are handcrafted with multiple routes, vertical layouts, and alternate approaches that reward experimentation and replayability. You can drive forward with aggression, play it tactical from cover, or lean into physics-based combat to take over an encounter on your own terms. Player agency is treated as a core Y2K-era pillar, and Sprawl Zero is designed to let you find your niche rather than lock you into a single correct approach.

The feature set being promised is broad: a dynamic first-person combat experience inspired by classic console shooters; smart, coordinated enemy AI that flanks, communicates, and adapts; gravity-based physics interactions that expand play beyond gunfire; multiple paths to victory built around player expression; stylish Bullet-Time designed to keep your shots clean; a Gravity Shield that catches and returns enemy fire; Rushdown that enables invulnerability-fueled, high-impact pressure; an arsenal of over 40 weapons with distinct roles and mastery paths; a diverse enemy roster across multiple factions, including grounded and airborne threats, organic and mechanical; carefully built levels with routing and verticality; a gritty, grounded cyberpunk tone; authentic Y2K visuals paying homage to the era; industry-leading sound work; and an original, intense soundtrack built to evoke the early 2000s.

Sprawl Zero has been announced for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, but there is no release date yet.

Forrás: Gematsu