Empulse (Early Access)

Time and time again, developer 1047 Games has proven its ability to serve up a very high-quality arena shooter base. In an age where we don't see as many pure arena shooters of the Halo and even Titanfall strains, 1047 manages to continue to offer truly excellent core builds that put nearly all others to shame. And yet we don't talk about the developer's titles all that often. Why is that? For all that 1047 does exceptionally, there are an equal number of areas where the developer drops the ball, perhaps most notably in the form of failing to handle its IP and the expectation around it. Splitgate was a remarkable shooter and then the team decided to press reset to work on a sequel, which it mostly handled in the same way, ultimately seeing interest collapse in on itself. Then came the third rebirth in Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, a game that clearly fans didn't want to take another risk on, fearing being burned a third time. The point is, 1047 hasn't been the most reliable of developers, which is why you might not be all too familiar with its newest project, Empulse.

This is very much the same premise as the different iterations of Splitgate, except instead of enhancing basic arena shooter fundamentals with portal-hopping flair, this time 1047 takes a page out of Titanfall's books by honing in on nimble and agile movement and some mech-based warfare too. You could, in a manner of speaking, regard Empulse as a bit of a spiritual successor to Titanfall's multiplayer, albeit with 1047's signature flair and artistic stylings.

So yes, on the surface we're once again talking about an action shooter where gunplay is incredibly refined and tight, where movement flows like an elegant dance, where map design is focussed more on smaller-scale but with a clear creative intent, and where game modes are themed variants of established options. Empulse isn't looking to rewrite the arena shooter formula in any sense, it's simply offering a new option, one that rewards skilful play and doesn't get bogged down in challenges, excessive creative expression, or unnecessary gameplay complexity. Like Splitgate, this is a title that wants you to fall in love with its basic gameplay first and foremost, while spending less time on the added fluff that more often than not bogs down other modern competitors.

To this end, if you've played an arena shooter, you'll feel right at home with Empulse. It doesn't do much beyond the established setup of these types of games, with flair often attributed to the wide-leaping, wall-running, and grappling movement techniques, plus the 'paint' element that trades traditional throwables for more gameplay-oriented enhancements, like a speed-up zone, a jump-pad-like area, or a healing field. It's basic, but it works in favour of keeping the pace high, the action intense, and the flow smooth. Then the added cherry on top are the mechs, which aren't quite as present as say in a Titanfall game. These are heavy and sluggish vehicles that are often used as the objective basis of the game modes, where teams need to steal or protect their relevant mechs, alternatively using them as powerful tools to notch up extra kills in deathmatches. They can feel a tad overbearing, but thanks to the melee tool secondary weapon (you only have a primary weapon and the dedicated melee tool as weapons for each class), you can quickly smash a mech to pieces if it gets too overconfident.

I can't quite stress enough how Empulse is a game about refined fundamentals. There's not a lot of content in the Early Access build as it stands, but the content that is there is well put together and designed with a clear and precise creative vision. The intent of this game is admirable without question, and the execution is there too, not least including from a performance and visual perspective, where Empulse plays like a dream and has a striking and sharp appearance. There's a lot to appreciate already.

But that being said, I've followed 1047 games for a while now, and each time I find myself saying exactly what I've been saying in this review. This developer delivers the basis of a hit, it nails the fundamentals and the core of a wider game, before proceeding to botch it or make odd grander choices that push the community away. And that's a huge problem, because if there's no community, a game like Empulse will not survive, and so far the Steam peak player count of less than 3,000 individuals (I played on Xbox Series X but came across mostly PC players) suggests the community is minor at best. So considering the Splitgate saga, I feel I have to ask: will Empulse still be around in three months time?

I truly hope that 1047 sticks with this game and finds a way to continue expanding it because this team knows how to make a great arena shooter. But the intent that is already present in this build needs to be preserved in the future too, as this rudimentary Early Access build already has the tools in place to eventually overwhelm Empulse with loot crates, battle passes, and flashy cosmetics, instead of continuing its current path and keeping it focussed on quality gameplay through and through.

So until 1047 Games proves differently, I'll simply remain cautious about Empulse. That's optimistic caution, mind you, but considering the journey this developer has taken fans on throughout the different variations of Splitgate, I'd be remiss to outright recommend this game knowing it may not be around, or the team has shifted its focus elsewhere, before the end of the year.