Empyreal
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Empyreal Media
Empyreal | Official Launch Trailer
Empyreal | Official Character Trailer
Empyreal - Official Game Overview Trailer
Critic Reviews for Empyreal
"Keeps making the journey feel pleasantly curated despite its semi-random elements."
Empyreal is a solid action RPG with soft rogue-like elements that manages to swing above its weight where it counts, but still suffers from some noticeable jank. The game still plays well and offers plenty of replayability, including a secret ending only accessible in a New Game Plus run. At the end of the day, Empyreal is a solid first showing by Silent Games, a team who clearly knows what they want to create. If you live for games where you can maximize the strengths of your playstyle while minimizing the weaknesses, Empyreal is for you. I see a second climb in my near future. Here's to hoping you'll catch some of what I've left behind.
Empyreal's ambition to do something different is commendable, but it's ultimately the only thing it truly has going for it. While character customization and the Cartogram system are solid enough, the forgettable and generic story and characters, average and clunky combat and the lack of proper multiplayer mechanics make the game a frustrating experience that gets tiring very quickly and one that only the most diehard ARPG fans might briefly appreciate.
I love the fact they hand-designed the levels, but the overall graphics might have suffered as the game certainly is nothing to write home about in that area.
Empyreal is quite successful at providing an excellent combat experience, but if you want more to support that, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Empyreal has a great combat system with lots of opportunities to try something new. Hunting for better equipment is exciting, and developing your character is a rewarding feeling. But there's not much else to do, and the shine wears off quickly. This is also a game that demands a good PC, or you might run into problems. It's a great game for fans of varied combat and boss rushes, but not much else.
Despite its flashy looks, Empyreal is a bog-standard ARPG that somehow lacks any of the things that make these games fun and interesting.
Some people enjoy the hard slog of grinding away at combat to progress others like to have a bit of challenge but ultimately be able to progress without feeling like they are just locked in a combat Groundhog day. If you enjoy the tough grind then Empyreal may well be right up your alley. If you believe that the easy setting on a game should mean just that and not seemingly be completely ignored when the game starts perhaps give it a miss.
