To be successful in Splitgate, you must embrace the fools

I’m not afraid to say that I enjoy silly tricks. For example, racing games generally don’t interest me. However, when do you drop some Koopa shells, loop loops, and Waluigi? You got me. When I play Super Smash Bros., I want all the elements to be on and play in the most wacky settings available. If it aligns more with the “Fox Only / No Items / Final Destination” style of play, I’m more impressed with how it manages to make an inherently silly game more boring than the number of frames it can read.

The same applies to shooters. Sure, I can enjoy standard multiplayer titles like Call of Duty or Halo, but they rarely hold my interest in the long run, especially if I don’t have friends to entertain me. “Do you do the same thing you did in the campaign, but less interesting and with real people who behave like gremlins?” No, thanks. It takes something extra special / weird to keep me on board, which is why I recently liked Splitgate.

Splitgate is an arena shooter reminiscent of Quake and Halo and it also gives you a Portal gun. Yes, you can create portals that function identically to those found in Valve’s acclaimed puzzle series. The difference is that you use them to find creative ways to shoot people in the face. You may remember when it was released in beta for PC in 2019. Since then, the game has been revamped and recently landed on consoles in a new open beta that has proven to be insanely popular.

I finally joined in the fun last week and as a Portal fan I was immediately on board. The portal mechanic works very well and adds an entertaining and thoughtful layer of strategy to what would otherwise be a decent but not surprising arena shooter. It’s been a blast figuring out which places with heavy traffic to create windows of death for you to get through. I also really enjoy shooting portals under opponent’s feet and watching them fly off a wall somewhere. I couldn’t care less about everything around the edges, like the mandatory Splitgate Battle Pass and cosmetic unlocks. Using portals to maneuver and outsmart other players is all I need to have fun.

Even though I’m getting my kicks, it seems like a lot of the players I’ve faced are still adjusting to the (regular) Splitgate learning curve or falling into their shooter comfort zones. In at least half the games I’ve played, most players don’t bother using the portals. Again, it’s like playing Smash Bros. with that overly competitive player. The one who insists on maintaining the “purity” of the experience while I argue with them about why all players deserve abundant Smash Balls and assistive trophies.

The difference now, however, is that while that direct Smash player probably ruining myself harder without having my toys to lean on, you’re at a serious disadvantage by not using the portals in Splitgate. I bet the best pure gamer would still have a hard time dealing with someone who has mastered portal jumping as it really creates all sorts of wacky moments and strategies that you don’t see elsewhere. It’s like playing Fortnite if you’re a good shooter, but you suck at the construction mechanics. Speaking from experience, pure gunplay only takes you so far before meeting someone as capable with a firearm, but who can also erect the Taj Mahal in seconds to protect themselves and shoot you from above.

I have demolished portal resistant players in ways that often feel unfair because I have embraced fools. For example, I seriously screwed them up, and that’s weird to me because even though I’m an above-average shooter, I would never consider myself anywhere near the top tier. Splitgate makes me feel like those sages who keep their permanent residence at the top of the leaderboards by rewarding my innate desire to play games in the most creative way possible. That’s an eloquent way of saying that it pays to be a chaos-loving idiot.

So if you plan on playing Splitgate, my advice to you: loosen your tie, mess up your hair, and remember that there is more than one way to skin a cat. You can also use a portal to send it off a cliff or something. So go crazy and use that portal gun! It’s more fun and I probably won’t break up with you that often.

Splitgate is currently available in open beta on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The full release is scheduled for sometime this month.

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