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Empire of Ember

71%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
optimization, stability
71% User Score Based on 168 reviews

Platforms

PCPCSteam DeckSteam DeckWindowsWindows
Buy Nowfrom €20.99
Buy NowGet on Steam€20.99

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
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
Empire of Ember screenshot
+5

71%
Audience ScoreBased on 168 reviews
story12 positive mentions
stability12 negative mentions
  • The game has a unique and interesting concept, blending city building, RPG elements, and combat reminiscent of Mount and Blade.
  • Despite its rough edges, many players find the gameplay enjoyable and engaging, with a satisfying loop of building, combat, and exploration.
  • The developer is active in addressing bugs and implementing updates, showing a commitment to improving the game based on community feedback.
  • The game is plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues, making it frustrating and at times unplayable for many users.
  • The user interface and controls are clunky and unintuitive, leading to a steep learning curve and confusion during gameplay.
  • There are concerns about the game's abandonment by the developers, with some players feeling that it lacks necessary updates and support.
  • story
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is generally well-received, featuring a solid concept set in a fantasy universe with engaging quests and character choices, though its execution has room for improvement. Players appreciate the variety of missions, including dungeon crawls and large-scale battles, as well as the well-told narrative and voice acting. However, some aspects, such as character generation and certain glitches, detract from the overall experience, indicating that while the foundation is strong, further refinement is needed.

    • “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
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is characterized by a satisfying loop and engaging mechanics, blending elements from various genres such as strategy RPGs and action games. While some mechanics, like health restoration in dungeons, may feel odd, the overall experience is solid for an early access title, with frequent updates from the developer enhancing community involvement. Players appreciate the fun combat and diverse play styles, making it a compelling experience despite some rough edges.

    • “The gameplay loop is satisfying.”
    • “While the game can be rough around the edges and in need of polish, I do believe this is what an early access title should be - solid foundation, fun fighting mechanics, and a decent quest system.”
    • “The game mechanics were very engaging and it 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 got 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
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many users finding them appealing, especially for a small studio title. However, some players experience crashes related to graphics settings, necessitating manual adjustments to utilize dedicated video cards. While the visuals are decent, they may not satisfy those seeking a more modern or high-detail aesthetic, and performance issues persist even at lower settings.

    • “The graphics are really good.”
    • “The graphics are fantastic for an EA game like this.”
    • “Looks like a small studio and as such the visuals of the game are appealing.”
    • “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 a lot, so I turned down the graphics, but it still crashed.”
    • “I turned graphics options to low and scaled down the rendering scale, and it still burns my RTX 2060 with water cooling.”
  • optimization
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while a recent update significantly improved performance, many users still report clunky controls and subpar optimization. Despite these issues, there is a consensus that the game has potential if further optimization and control adjustments are made. Overall, the performance is generally good, but inconsistencies remain.

    • “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
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is currently a significant issue, with frequent bugs, crashes, and frustrating freezes, particularly during the tower management system. Many users note that it feels unpolished and often gets stuck on loading screens or terrain. However, as it is still in alpha, there is hope that these issues will improve with future updates from the developers.

    • “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
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising the fantastic voiceovers and fitting tracks. While some users find the music to be merely "alright," updates have significantly improved the sound effects, enhancing the overall audio experience.

    • “The music and especially the voice overs were fantastic.”
    • “The music is fairly fitting with some good tracks.”
    • “Music is alright, with updates sound effects have become a great deal better.”
  • grinding
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding for materials to be engaging rather than monotonous, though the process of individually placing wall sections is often described as tedious and clunky. While the game has many positive aspects, the wall-building mechanic stands out as a significant 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
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers note that the monetization strategy seems to favor a specific play style that was not effectively communicated in the game's marketing, leading to confusion among players about the intended experience.

Buy Empire of Ember

4h Median play time
4h Average play time
2-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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