Even in alpha, Splitgate 2 already feels like the next great shooter

Back in 2021, Splitgate took me by surprise. While it had been kicking around for two years prior, I didn’t dig into it until its relaunch. Once I did, I was mesmerized. It was an incredibly tight shooter that brought me back to Halo’s golden years, but one with a truly innovative portal mechanic that made action feel more cerebral. Developer 1047 Games wasn’t expecting so many people like me to fall in love with it either. After a whirlwind year of popularity, the studio decided to end support on the viral hit and start building a sequel with a stronger foundation rather fixing a rusting one on the fly.

The result of that decision is Splitgate 2, which has entered alpha just two years after its predecessor’s support ended. As it turns out, 1047 was busy in those few years. While the sequel has the same core portal-shooter hook, it also brings a character class system that once again changes the shooter genre.

After binging over two hours of its alpha, I can already tell that those changes are going to make an impact. The dozen or so matches I played expanded the strategic gameplay that I loved in the first game in ways that push it beyond a one-trick gimmick. Considering how shaky the current multiplayer shooter scene is, it very well could be the king of the hill when it launches.

Halo Reach meets Portal

The fundamentals of Splitgate 2 are unchanged. It’s a fast-paced shooter with lightning-quick time to kill. Its defining hook is that players can fire portals on certain surfaces, allowing them to teleport around arenas to flank unsuspecting enemies. That core conceit has not lost its step. In my early matches, I was already feeling like a strategic genius as I escaped from enemy gunfire by jumping into a portal, coming out behind the team flanking me, and taking them down before they could clock what’s going on.

Rather than overhauling that, 1047 focuses on small quality of life changes that make it all smoother. Walls that can have a portal placed on them are