Forget the latest Call of Duty flick—ahem, game—or whatever Marathon’s cooking up. Battlefield 6? Pff, it’s all about Splitgate 2 for me, baby. You know? The first one was like Halo and Portal had a baby, but man, it just kinda fizzled out ‘cause, guess what? It didn’t have the infrastructure to keep chugging along. But, Splitgate 2? It’s ready to roll, with this open beta kicking off today. And here’s the kicker: no end date. Your progress? Oh yeah, it tags along when the full version drops later this year.
So I dabbled a bit during one of the last playtests, and yeah, it’s ticking all the right boxes again with the gameplay. Running on Unreal Engine 5 now, which makes seeing and moving just… chef’s kiss. Anyway, it feels like they’ve kept the gunplay just as tight as before, very Halo-esque if you catch my drift. And those portals? Still a thing and more brain-bendy than ever with those tricky abilities layered in.
Knowing the whole live service scene is like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube while blindfolded, the developer—1047 Games, that is—has packed Splitgate 2 to the brim with modes and maps right there in the beta. Got your arena classics, got your massive 24-player chaos blowouts—they call ’em Onslaught modes. And maps? Tons of new spots to get lost in or blitz through, depending on your style. They even tossed in a new big hitter, some chargeable boomstick called the Borealis. Sounds like something you’d read about in a sci-fi novel, right?
And oh, they got this little beta battle pass thing going until the big release day. Here’s a fun tidbit: the devs are running around in these funky ‘flaming disco ball’ skins. So if you spot one and take ’em down, you earn a skin of your own. Kinda like a trophy—”I was there, man!”
Right, the crown jewel here might just be The Lab. It’s like their answer to Halo’s Forge mode or something, letting you tweak and craft arenas to your heart’s content. Fly solo or bring up to 15 pals along for the ride to build your dream maps.
So, the Splitgate 2 open beta is live, no kidding, and runs until the game’s full launch sometime in the warmer months. Progress transfers, remember! Hop on via Steam, Microsoft Store, Epic Games, Steam Deck, you name it—Xbox and Playstation are fair game too.
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