Spectre Divide is a new tactical shooter with one big gimmick: controlling two bodies at once

rockpapershotgun.com:

With Valorant, Riot set out to integrate a bit of hero shooter into the Counter Strike template and made it a little more accessible than CS in the process. Now Mountaintop Studios, a new studio whose ranks include ex-Bungie and Respawn devs, have chucked themselves into the tactical FPS gauntlet with Spectre Divide. Made with input from former CS pro and streamer Shroud, it looks a bit like a mix of CS and Valorant, but has a big gimmick that sets it apart from the two: you can swap between two bodies. I… am cautiously optimistic? I think?

The game's a competitive 3 vs 3 FPS, so those team sizes are a little smaller than your typical CS or Valorant ones. Otherwise, it fits a fairly typical mould: you attack or defend a bomb site, death comes quickly, there are "sponsors" (loadouts with abilities) and the guns are standard military fare.

But one of its major differences is its "Duality" feature, which they describe as controlling "two bodies at the same time". From what I've seen through preview videos and explainers, you essentially chuck a little device that generates a clone of yourself wherever it lands. Press a button and you'll switch to that clone in an instant.

At the start of a round, for instance, you could plop your clone generator behind a box on a bombsite and then wander off and cover an entirely different part of the map. Someone gave you info that there's an enemy creeping near the bombsite? You can just warp over there and reposition in an instant. On the one hand I think it's cool that it eliminates tedious jogs to cover gaps you might've left, and in turn, speeds up those critical defences or attacks. On the other, I do wonder if it eliminates some of the thrills that can come from steady repositions and bombsite retakes.

Then again, if everyone can whizz around a map in seconds, then I'm sure dastardly techniques and strategies will emerge and possibly cement Spectre Divide as a unique, speedy hybrid of tactical and arena-y. I mean, a small