You're getting absolutely stomped in Spectre Divide, the newly revealed 3-on-3 online shooter from a fresh game studio. This team comprises talents from Oculus VR, Valorant, Apex Legends, Halo Infinite, and more. While you might not be good at this free-to-play PC game, you can't stop thinking about how you might get better—by cleverly swapping between two bodies to outmanoeuvre your enemies.
Imagine if you'd placed your doppelganger here instead of there. You could've covered your own back. What if you had teleported your clone behind enemy lines to flank them while you drew their attention elsewhere? Maybe if you'd planted the bomb with one body while guarding a door with the other, you'd have caught them by surprise.
Spectre Divide feels like no other shooter you've played before—even if, at first glance, it looks and feels a lot like Valorant.
A new take on the shooter genre
Mountaintop Studios has spent four years building its 70-person fully remote team, raising $60 million, and attracting several popular streamers. Twitch star Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek has been the company's lead gameplay adviser for the past year. However, Mountaintop hasn't confirmed if he'll stream the game.
Initially, you might be disappointed, thinking it's just another hero shooter with anime-inspired graphics similar to Valorant and Overwatch. But you'll quickly realise Mountaintop's first game doesn't feature heroes or Valorant's powerful “Ultimates.” Instead, Spectre Divide offers you two bodies, giving you a second chance if your first one gets wiped out.
“One big thing we've solved in tactical shooters is sitting and watching,” says director Lee Horn.
In this game, you compete in Santai, a relatively bloodless sport in which former military technology, Duality, allows players to control two empty-spectre avatars. It's “one mind, two bodies,” as Mountaintop likes to say. The game is set in Breakwater, a city where the sport is so popular that corporate sponsors have provided gear like grenades, echolocation pings, vision blockers, traps, and more.
Innovative gameplay and features
You can rush with all six spectres, reinforcing yourselves by teleporting your spectre forward as you attack. Your favourite gear is the Dual Amp, which lets you teleport your clone to your location and boost its fire rate. However, if your enemies know you're coming, they can reinforce themselves similarly. This game allows players to camp and actively attack you simultaneously, so be prepared.
You'll also face opponents who can head-shot you instantly or fire nearly every bullet into you if they miss. Unlike Valorant, aimed shots in Spectre Divide are always accurate. If you click the mouse while the targeting reticle is on its head, that's where the shot will land. While the hip fire isn't accurate beyond close range, the bullet spray pattern when aiming down is consistent. Memorising your weapon's spray pattern and moving your mouse accordingly is crucial to winning face-to-face firefights.
While this precision might appeal to competitive gamers, you might need more time to maintain that skill. However, Spectre Divide's dual bodies and gadgets mean you don't always have to engage head-to-head. You can flank, provide covering fire, heal, shield, distract, and snipe with your spectre. Not rushing in is valuable, especially if a round seems lost. Saved weapons and armour carry over to the next round if you don't die. Teams that buy decent weapons every round will struggle to afford better ones later if they keep getting eliminated.
Release plans and anti-cheat measures
Spectre Divide doesn't have a release date yet, but the Unreal Engine 4 game already feels polished. It ran smoothly on a midrange PC with RTX 3060 Ti graphics and barely taxed a colleague's GPU. For now, the game uses BattlEye anti-cheat technology.
Currently, Spectre Divide is planned only for PC, with no controller or console support yet. According to CEO and co-founder Nate Mitchell, Mountaintop is concerned about the Steam Deck as a cheating vector, and the anti-cheat systems might block it.
The game will launch with four maps and a single bomb defusal game mode, with more maps coming in seasonal updates. There are no immediate plans to add more weapons, as Mountaintop wants to “let the meta settle” and balance the game first.
Mountaintop will self-publish the game on Steam. It will be free to play, funded by cosmetic weapon skins, character customisation parts, and “sponsor” equipment you can buy or earn. The company assures that Spectre Divide won't be pay-to-win.
A closed beta will be available soon. You can request access to the next playtest on its Steam page.
