For a cross between Halo and Portal, this is not half bad.
The problem is needing a reason to keep playing. Once you have played one round, you have kind of played everything the game has to offer. If you just need a fun, free-to-play game to hang out with some friends on than this is super good for that but the gameplay loop doesn't offer much. It's fun but not very compelling. Shooting someone through a portal or doing a portal jump up to a high area only to pummel three people up there is only so fun for so long. There is no story mode, the battlepass gives you some cosmetic changes and the ranked system isn't so much a ranked "system" as it is a ranked game mode slapped together and labeled a system. The problem with pick-up and play shooters in the online era is there is no real reason to keep playing. Halo or (the good) Call of Duty games are really easy to pick up and start playing but also have comprehensive campaigns and compelling online modes that let you play the game at your own pace. Everything about Splitgate is about getting you into the next match. Matches are timed, no matter what the game mode and lobbies just thrust you into random games, switching up the game mode at a moments pace. You can't just choose to play King of the Hill for a bit, you have to play King of the Hill and a bunch of other games in a jamboree, and if you don't get the mode you like, its too bad cus the game has pretty much already started.
Outside of that gameplay loop, there's not much to say. It's exactly what you expect. Halo but with portals is a really fun concept and when you first jump into this, it is a lot of fun. Trying to find where you can portal to in order to get a high ground advantage, plus using your jetpack to help with tricky jumps and running around the maps trying to pummel someone at close range can be a lot of fun. I love all of the maps with an exception or two, but there's enough variety in each that you won't get tired of any of them, even if you dislike them. The gun variety is really good too. Each gun feels unique in its own way but still easy to use. Rarely ever did I pick up a gun and immediately drop it for another.
Overall, a really solid time for what it is, but you won't see it winning any awards. It doesn't push the boundaries, it doesn't do anything new, it just takes what you've liked about shooters in the past and mashed them into one free, easy to play experience.
The problem is needing a reason to keep playing. Once you have played one round, you have kind of played everything the game has to offer. If you just need a fun, free-to-play game to hang out with some friends on than this is super good for that but the gameplay loop doesn't offer much. It's fun but not very compelling. Shooting someone through a portal or doing a portal jump up to a high area only to pummel three people up there is only so fun for so long. There is no story mode, the battlepass gives you some cosmetic changes and the ranked system isn't so much a ranked "system" as it is a ranked game mode slapped together and labeled a system. The problem with pick-up and play shooters in the online era is there is no real reason to keep playing. Halo or (the good) Call of Duty games are really easy to pick up and start playing but also have comprehensive campaigns and compelling online modes that let you play the game at your own pace. Everything about Splitgate is about getting you into the next match. Matches are timed, no matter what the game mode and lobbies just thrust you into random games, switching up the game mode at a moments pace. You can't just choose to play King of the Hill for a bit, you have to play King of the Hill and a bunch of other games in a jamboree, and if you don't get the mode you like, its too bad cus the game has pretty much already started.
Outside of that gameplay loop, there's not much to say. It's exactly what you expect. Halo but with portals is a really fun concept and when you first jump into this, it is a lot of fun. Trying to find where you can portal to in order to get a high ground advantage, plus using your jetpack to help with tricky jumps and running around the maps trying to pummel someone at close range can be a lot of fun. I love all of the maps with an exception or two, but there's enough variety in each that you won't get tired of any of them, even if you dislike them. The gun variety is really good too. Each gun feels unique in its own way but still easy to use. Rarely ever did I pick up a gun and immediately drop it for another.
Overall, a really solid time for what it is, but you won't see it winning any awards. It doesn't push the boundaries, it doesn't do anything new, it just takes what you've liked about shooters in the past and mashed them into one free, easy to play experience.