There is this cool new FPS game named Spectre Divide that I’ve been beta testing and wanted to leave some first impressions for the site as it has a very unique gameplay loop. I’ve been playing since alpha, and while it’s not ready for a full release just yet, I have a feeling this will be big and figured some early coverage would be helpful.
The game takes place in a world where gangs fight each other in a bloodsport. They meet in abandoned locations and fight each other with disposable bodies that can be abandoned at any time. They are also live streaming their fights, which are sponsored by the manufacturers of the weapons and tech they use.
Moving on, the selling point of the game is that it’s a 3v3 bomb, first to eight rounds, with each player having two lives, a mechanic they label as duality. It feels good to have a second chance in a round to make an impact –and don’t think of it just as another life to fall back upon, it can also be used proactively. This is because you can switch between your two bodies anytime during a round. This leads to some really cool play potential as you could be fighting someone with your first body, see things aren’t really going in your favor, so switch to your other body and attack from behind. You can also move your other body at any time by throwing a puck, allowing you to reach high ground or flank.
Even the weapons and abilities are tied into the duality mechanic. When you buy weapons, they come in pairs, for example an AK and SMG come together, each being used in a seperate life. Abilities, too, feed into duality.. one such ability is a sonar bolt that tells you where enemies are by scanning towards your current body, if you switch to your other body, it will scan towards that direction. A smoke isn’t simply blocking line of sight, you can throw your other body to where the smoke lands and make a crazy play off of it. Any throwable abilities such as a flashbang, also have a trajectory line, relieving a lot of stress, worrying about where the thing is going to land. The duality system is truly integrated into every aspect of the game. There are also no ultimate abilities present, which makes things feel more skill based as you don’t have to worry about the enemy steamrolling you at any time with a powerful move. Finally, matches being 3v3 compared to the traditional 5v5 makes getting a group together for the game easier as you only need two friends.
The weapons also feel really good to use. Unlike some popular shooters like Valorant, when you aim down sights (ADS), your bullets go exactly where your reticle is pointed, even if you are moving. As a Rainbow Six Siege player, that’s one thing I really hated about Valorant, and really makes me feel right at home when playing. One thing that is similar to Valorant is that weapons are accurate from the hip (without ADS). Hip fire is similar to Valorant in that, once you start shooting, your reticle starts getting wider and wider meaning more chance to miss. Your reticle also gets wider the more you are moving. These two things mean that your first shot accuracy and standing still are very important if you decide to fire from the hip. Spectre making it viable to ADS and hipfire might bring a lot of players in given not everyone is comfortable with one style of shooter.
Performance is also well ironed out. The game runs super smoothly and I’ve never had any lag or game ruining bugs.
Considering the faith perspective, there is some moral concern that comes from having two bodies. It could be seen as implying a gnostic/tranhumsitic view of humanity suggesting that our bodies don’t matter and are just vessels and nothing more (Herta Star Rail moment). While there might not be any real danger due to the bodies being disposable, the Church teaches that both body and soul are important. Then instead of having male and female options, the game opts to have body types instead. If viewed charitably, it could just be the devs giving the player more options, if viewed uncharitably, it could be seen as an attack on the gender binary. If the developers intention was the latter, I would respond by saying that our sex is an important aspect of what makes us human, and while aspects of gender can legitimately vary between cultures, (for example, Scottish men wearing skirts) one’s sex shouldn’t be obscured. Ultimately there might not be any attempts to make any philosophical/social takes, but just be the backdrop to an FPS where players have two bodies.
Overall, the game feels really good to play both from a mechanical and performance sense and I believe this will be the next big FPS.
Scoring: 100%
Gameplay: 5/5
Art and Graphics: 5/5
Music/sound design: 5/5
Replayability: 5/5
Morality/Parental Warnings:
As mentioned earlier, if you take the game’s narrative seriously, (which I wouldn’t) you are presented with a gnostic/transhumanistic view which questions the worth of the human body and sex. Since this is an FPS game, the focus of the game is obviously around killing your opponents with guns and other tech. Guns for the most part, look and sound like real weapons. A small amount of blood is present when you shoot someone, but this can be turned off. As this is a multiplayer game, there will be online interactions with other players. Finally, since the nature of the game is competitive, I would warn against wrath as it may be easy for some to get frustrated with losing and take it out on others. There also may be some foul language present but I haven’t personally heard any myself.
