Empire of Ember

About

In Empire of Ember, become a battlemage seeking revenge for your master's death and restore your city to prosperity. Engage in real-time strategy combat with up to 100 units, and explore procedurally generated maps and dungeons. Dual-wield spells and weapons to defeat enemies in first-person battles while customizing your town's development.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 84 reviews

story6 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game has a unique and interesting concept, blending elements of city building, RPG, and strategy reminiscent of Mount and Blade.
Despite its rough edges, the game is fun and engaging, with a satisfying gameplay loop and solid voice acting.
The developer is very active in addressing bugs and implementing updates, showing a commitment to improving the game over time.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues, making it frustrating and sometimes unplayable.
The user interface and controls are clunky and unintuitive, leading to a steep learning curve and confusion during gameplay.
Many players feel the game was released too early and lacks polish, with significant balance issues and incomplete features.

story
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
70%
10%
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring a solid concept set in a fantasy universe with engaging quests and character choices. While the execution has its flaws, including some glitches and a need for balance in combat, players appreciate the variety of missions and the depth of the narrative. Overall, it offers a compelling experience for those willing to navigate its rough edges, with a mix of main storylines and side quests that keep gameplay interesting.
- “The story is not a classic but is well told, and pretty well voice-acted.”
- “I like the story and the choices you get to make along the way.”
- “Between the quests/main story and the side features (building a customizable town, holding court, and training your army that you can take with you on quests/missions), there's never a dull moment while playing this game.”
- “Also need to get rid of the story-driven character generation.”
- “It's a non-story feature, but players should be allowed to skip in favor of a more standard character generation.”
- “Very long, technically endless though after a while you will have finished all missions and fully upgraded your city; at that point, it is merely fighting stronger enemy waves and harder dungeons.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The gameplay is characterized by a solid foundation with engaging mechanics, including a satisfying combat system and a decent quest structure, despite some rough edges typical of early access titles. Players appreciate the unique elements, such as the health restoration mechanic in dungeons and the blend of various gameplay styles reminiscent of games like Skyrim and Mount & Blade. The developer's active engagement with the community and frequent updates contribute positively to the overall experience.
- “The gameplay is great, and the voices are amazing; I would recommend it 100%.”
- “The game mechanics were very engaging and kept me interested (a hard thing for games to do these days)!”
- “Having zero chance to restore your health in a dungeon just seems a little too odd of a mechanic to me.”
- “No real mechanic for this to happen other than poof you are undead. I have not gotten to the point to upgrade tier 2 units, the undead, to tier 3 which are living to know if you upgrade to they then return to life?”
- “For an early access game, its main game mechanics are firmly in place.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The graphics of the game are generally considered appealing, especially for a small studio title, though some users report issues with crashes related to graphics settings, necessitating manual adjustments. While the visuals are decent, they may not satisfy players seeking a more modern or high-detail aesthetic. Overall, the graphics receive mixed feedback, with some praising their quality while others note performance issues on various hardware configurations.
- “Looks like a small studio and as such the visuals of the game are appealing.”
- “The graphics are really good.”
- “The graphics are fantastic for an early access game like this.”
- “I don't mind the graphical appearance of the game, but it could use some help and will easily not appeal to those that are looking for a more modern look or high detail.”
- “Game crashed lots so turned down the graphics, still crashed.”
- “I turned graphics options to low and scaled down rendering scale and it still burns my RTX 2060 with water cooling.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
29%
43%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while a recent performance update has significantly improved its overall performance, many users still report clunky controls and subpar optimization that detracts from the experience. Despite these issues, there is a consensus that with further optimization and control adjustments, the game could reach its potential.
- “The performance of the game is great, and the very day I wrote this review, a massive performance update arrived, improving the already stellar performance!”
- “With a little optimization and control changes, I think this game will be in a better place.”
- “Extremely clunky, poorly optimized, and a bit unbalanced.”
- “Overall has potential, but controls and performance are way too subpar at this time.”
- “There are also some small performance issues, but other than that, it's a game with lots of potential.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent crashes, freezes, and bugs that hinder gameplay, particularly during the tower management system. While these problems are acknowledged as part of its alpha state, they are nonetheless frustrating for players. Overall, the game is not yet ready for a smooth experience.
- “This game is clunky, buggy, and often times painful.”
- “The game is not ready to play; it's buggy and crashes a lot, getting stuck on loading screens.”
- “When using the tower management system to build houses and buildings in your city, sometimes the game freezes.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game has received positive feedback, with many praising the fantastic voiceovers and the overall fitting soundtrack. While some users find the music to be merely "alright," updates have notably improved the sound effects, enhancing the overall audio experience.
- “The music and especially the voiceovers were fantastic.”
- “The music is fairly fitting with some good tracks.”
- “With updates, the sound effects have become a great deal better.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding for materials to be engaging rather than repetitive, though the process of building walls can feel tedious and awkward. Overall, while the game has enjoyable elements, the wall construction aspect is a notable drawback.
- “Having to individually place each section of wall is tedious and janky at best.”
- “This game has a lot going for it, aside from the regular issues that come with early access, the only major issue I have come across so far is how tedious it is to build walls around the city.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers indicate that the game's monetization strategy seems to cater to a specific play style that was not effectively communicated in its marketing, leading to potential confusion among players regarding the intended experience.
- “The monetization system feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I feel like I'm being pushed to spend real money just to keep up with other players, which ruins the experience.”
- “The in-game purchases are not just cosmetic; they give significant advantages, making it pay-to-win.”