New sensations can crop up in the gaming industry at a moment's notice, and Splitgate is an excellent example of that. Although Splitgate has been on Steam in a beta form since 2019, it seems the game finally found its big break in August 2021. Player count has skyrocketed so drastically that developer 1047 Games has decided to extend the beta indefinitely, meaning Splitgate could see plenty of big changes in the future, polishing and expanding the game until it presumably exits beta. In the meantime, Splitgate's fans certainly aren't hurting for game modes.
Splitgate's basic gameplay concept is pretty simple. It's a Halo-like FPS with a small roster of guns and traditional movement, but it throws in one simple twist: Each player can create portals on certain walls, allowing them to quickly slip between different points in the map, shoot from unexpected angles, and so on. Splitgate's concept is easy to pick up and rewarding to master, but perhaps more importantly it lends itself to all kinds of other ways to play. Splitgate offers a long list of game modes that encourage players to think differently about the game's guns, portals, and other mechanics.
Splitgate's Many Game Modes
The majority of Splitgate casual modes are played 4v4, pitting two teams against each other. Some Splitgate game modes will be easily recognized by FPS lovers. Deathmatch sees players rack up kills until they reach the winning score, Free for All plays like Deathmatch with six players and no teams, King of the Hill makes teams capture a point and defend it from the other team, and Domination has teams earn points for maintaining control over multiple points on the map.
Some more unique modes include VIP, in which each team has a VIP with more health but no portals and the goal is to eliminate the other team's VIP; as well as Team Oddball, where players earn points for their team by carrying a ball that keeps them from shooting and opening portals. Splitgate also has two versions of Capture the Flag. In normal Capture the Flag, each team has a flag to attack and defend to score points, whereas Neutral Capture the Flag puts one flag on the map for both teams to fight over.
Splitgate features a couple of skill-intensive game modes aside from those. For example, Team Shotty Snipers mostly plays like Deathmatch, but players can only use shotguns and snipers, putting pressure on their marksmanship. Team SWAT is also Deathmatch-adjacent, but in SWAT headshots are instakills, putting Splitgate fans' speed and accuracy to the test. Aside from these 4v4 modes, there's some modes that split players up differently. The six-player free-for-all Gun Game gives players new guns for every kill they get. There's also two 3v3 modes: Showdown and Takedown. Showdown randomizes player loadouts and gives victory to the team that wins the most rounds, while Takedown grants one team a point when the entire enemy team is dead at the same time.
Beyond Splitgate's Core Gameplay
Splitgate has some extra featured game modes that rotate in and out of availability. Featured modes tend to bend the rules of Splitgate more drastically and introduce more chaos. For instance, Team Fiesta resembles Deathmatch, but constantly gives players random new loadouts when they die. Instagib and Team Instagib give every player instant-charging railguns, while the similarly explosive Laser Tag simply caps every player's health at 30. Splitgate also has One in the Chamber, where each player's gun has only one bullet, but each shot kills instantly and kills grant more bullets. Lastly, there's Teabag Confirmed, another Deathmatch-like mode where the twist is that kills only count if players teabag their enemies' body.
Splitgate also has Ranked to offer players. In Splitgate's Ranked system, players queue up to play various 4v4 modes, but 1047 Games has plans to expand Splitgate's Ranked offerings. It's amazing how much Splitgate has to offer as a free game that's still in beta. Between this long list of game modes and Splitgate's diverse maps, every match is different, keeping the game fresh. Tons of players have compared Splitgate to a cross between Portal and Halo, but the breadth of Splitgate's gameplay proves it's much more than just a mashup.
Splitgate is available now in open beta for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.