Empyreal is a unique roguelike RPG set in an original world, with a special focus on dungeon delving. Combat-heavy and boss-fight-focused, Empyreal has you exploring the depths of an ancient ziggurat and fighting through hordes of machines in pursuit of a forgotten secret. Though built on strong foundations, Empyreal is not the most compelling game from a design standpoint and suffers from noticeable problems with its difficulty and learning curve, issues that are sure to put some players off.
The game begins with a cutscene preluding an expedition into an ancient monolith on an unexplored planet. That expedition is not going well, and its success now rests on the shoulders of a skeleton crew led by an alcoholic and the skills of a newly arrived mercenary volunteer. With a lot of danger and very little pay, you delve into the halls of the ancient ziggurat and battle the mechanical golems within, hoping to uncover the secrets of a long-lost civilization. The tone is grim, and the odds are stacked against you, which adds to the atmosphere of tension that the game maintains throughout your journey.
The game is advertised as an RPG. I would venture to say that it’s actually more of a roguelike. Empyreal features a continuous story that unfolds as you complete quests, but it lacks traditional RPG elements like character leveling or a more structured, linear progression through an expansive world. Instead, you are given a central hub area staffed by a few NPCs and a series of miniature dungeons that you enter, clear, and loot. These dungeons offer procedurally dropped gear and items. While the first few are provided to you in sequence, you discover future ones randomly by exploring other so-called “Cartograms.” If Empyreal is an RPG, it leans heavily into its dungeon-crawling aspects, making them the primary gameplay loop.
As you might expect, this means that Empyreal is very, very combat-heavy. The combat system is fairly straightforward. You have several weapon types, each with distinct playstyles, a basic attack button, and a defensive move that functions as both a dodge and a parry depending on your timing and input. You’ll frequently find yourself fighting off waves of enemies, using your primary attacks along with a handful of gadgets to deal damage while avoiding incoming blows.
New gear, gathered from completing dungeons, is identified at base to generate their stats and mostly provides different improvements to your numbers during combat. Abilities can be purchased and used based on the kind of weapon you have, and are the most impactful part of combat, though be warned, you can often still take damage during the animation of your ability casts.
It’s simple. Certainly nothing revolutionary. But it generally works well. You’ll grasp the basics of combat quickly, and the pace is fast enough that the simplicity doesn’t wear thin too quickly. However, the real issue lies in how the developers chose to balance the game.
Empyreal places a heavy emphasis on two things: boss fights and hordes of enemies. Frequently, these two elements combine, resulting in boss battles where smaller enemies flood the arena, making already difficult encounters even more overwhelming. The problem is that enemies tend to have several frustrating things in common. They hit harder than you. They have more health. They recover faster. They are usually quicker than the player. This leaves little room for error, even in early encounters.
Many enemy attacks in Empyreal suffer from poor telegraphing, often only signaled by a small loading bar above their heads. This frequently leads to situations where you don’t even see the attack coming. You might be forced to turn your back on an enemy only to get hit by an incredibly fast, gap-closing attack that wipes out half your health bar.
Getting stunned in this game always feels terrible. A stun usually leaves you unable to act for a full second or two, plenty of time for an enemy to kill you outright. Since nearly every enemy in the game can end you in just three or four hits, this mechanic becomes less of a challenge and more of a source of frustration. Fighting shielded enemies can be a slog, and dealing with both ranged and melee attackers at once often feels unnecessarily punishing.
It’s not what I’d call Soulslike difficulty. In a Dark Souls game, deaths usually feel deserved. When I die in those games, it’s typically due to my own mistakes. Mismanaging stamina. Dodging at the wrong time. Being greedy with attacks. In Empyreal, however, most deaths feel like they were outside of your control. The game isn’t unwinnable, but the difficulty spikes dramatically as early as the second level, which you can reach in under an hour, and it remains punishing from there on out.
Artistically, Empyreal is a bit of a mixed bag. In terms of character design, I found the clothing and armor to be fairly generic and uninspired. The more realistic character models and the sci-fi neon aesthetic on a lot of gear didn’t really capture my interest. On the other hand, I thought the environments were gorgeous, creative, detailed, and visually interesting. I also really liked the design of many of the enemies. It almost feels like there was a disconnect between different aspects of the game’s visual direction. I can’t say for sure why this is, but it does create an uneven impression when it comes to the game’s art.
The Final Word
Empyreal is an interesting take on its genre with a unique focus on everyone’s favorite part of an RPG, dungeons. However, the simplistic combat is poorly balanced, with a difficulty curve that becomes very difficult as early as the game’s second level.
Try Hard Guides was provided a PC code for Empyreal. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Empyreal is available on Steam.
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