Empyreal

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.

75%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

optimization, grinding

76% User Score Based on 96 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $3.92

Buy NowGet on Steam $29.99 Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store

About

Empyreal is a single player role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Silent Games and was released on May 8, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Empyreal is a challenging single-player science fiction action RPG set on an unexplored planet housing a mysterious Monolith built by a lost civilization. Players choose from three distinct weapon archetypes and engage in skill-based combat against deadly automatons while exploring complex RPG systems. With good game mechanics and graphics, Empyreal offers a deep and immersive experience uncovering ancient secrets.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 96 reviews

story8 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Empyreal features breathtakingly beautiful maps and polished gameplay, providing an engaging experience for players.
The combat is fun and satisfying, with a unique status effect system and meaningful build options that allow for diverse playstyles.
The developers are active in the community, providing support and gathering feedback to improve the game, which enhances the overall player experience.

The game suffers from a lack of weapon variety, with only three types available, which can limit gameplay options and strategies.
The quest system is confusing and lacks clear direction, making it difficult for players to understand objectives and progress in the game.
Performance issues and optimization problems can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences, including crashes and stuttering during combat.

story
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
59%
19%
The game's story is intriguing and features multiple endings, with well-written dialogue and interesting NPCs that enhance the lore. However, players often find the quest system confusing and lacking direction, leading to a repetitive experience that can detract from the narrative flow. While the story elements are compelling, the lack of clear guidance and the mission-based structure can make progress feel vague and frustrating.
- “The story's mystery is intriguing, and getting new dialogues in the hub between missions is always nice, with well-written content and some interesting lore.”
- “The story is interesting, and every run feels like you either see something you've not seen before or you get enough interesting loot to make the run worth it.”
- “However, not everything is negative; the game has cool armors and weapons, graphics are okay, and the story has potential, but unfortunately, the gameplay can hinder the overall experience.”
- “My problem is that the runs don't feel very interesting and you don't really have a good sense for if you're making progress or not. Sometimes you get rewarded with more story, but other times you feel like you're running through the same zones and not sure how to advance. There's interesting voice acting and story elements that get teased, but getting to them feels like a vague chore.”
- “The story doesn't flow when it is just mission after mission like this.”
- “The story unlocks via completing quests that have very little guidance, and often leave you with a tease that more is coming.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
57%
12%
The gameplay is generally well-received, featuring polished mechanics, engaging combat, and a unique trading post system for acquiring maps and items. Players appreciate the variety of weapons and the satisfying movement through enemy encounters, though some express concerns about certain mechanics feeling unfair or janky. Overall, while there are areas for improvement, the game offers a fun and replayable experience, especially for fans of similar titles.
- “The gameplay is well-designed with engaging mechanics, a cool art direction, and high replayability.”
- “After getting a feel for the mechanics, it was really satisfying to quickly move through groups of enemies alternating between dodges, finishers, and abilities.”
- “Each weapon has its own mechanics that makes the game feel totally different in an almost new game type of way, especially when using the cannon.”
- “The difficulty so far lies more in jank than mechanics, in my opinion.”
- “However, not everything is negative; the game has cool armors and weapons, graphics are okay, the story is mediocre, and gameplay has potential, but unfortunately, stunlock is killing all the fun.”
- “There were a lot of things that could have been done to make this better, and as a core part of gameplay, I think it really hampers the experience.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with players appreciating the aesthetic and art style reminiscent of titles like Xenoblade and Phantasy Star. While the visuals are considered good, they do not push the boundaries of modern graphics, leading to some performance issues on higher-end systems. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “I enjoy the aesthetic; it does remind me of a Xenoblade/Phantasy Star single-player MMO with a hub world and venturing out to do runs in a giant ruin complex.”
- “A few hours in - I'm really enjoying the aesthetic and mystery.”
- “I also enjoy the graphics and the art style.”
- “I had more crashes than I like, and performance should be better, considering the graphics.”
- “The armor visuals fit the silly class names.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including crashes and inconsistent frame rates, even on mid-range systems. However, some users have experienced stable performance without stuttering, indicating that optimization may vary depending on individual setups. Overall, the consensus suggests that further improvements are needed to enhance the gaming experience.
- “I have a mid-range PC and performance has been great, not one crash in my almost 19 hours of gameplay.”
- “The game runs surprisingly well with no stuttering at all for me.”
- “Works on Ally X and Steam Deck decently but needs more optimization.”
- “Optimization is still horrible; it freezes every so often.”
- “Performance: Optimization isn't the best. Even at the lowest settings, I couldn't consistently get 60 FPS on my 3060 at 1080p.”
- “The game has massive performance optimization issues that need to be solved.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be both enjoyable and rewarding, particularly for those who appreciate dungeon crawling and loot collection. While some note that the game leans heavily into grindy mechanics, the streamlined farming and map exploration enhance the experience, making targeted farming accessible and satisfying. Overall, it appeals to fans of similar grind-heavy titles like Anthem, Warframe, and Outriders.
- “The game is a bit on the grindy side.”
- “This is another grindy game, like Anthem, Warframe, or Outriders.”
- “The dopamine of grinding a set to unlock its powers is a great feeling; it's streamlined, and you learn the maps you can farm as fast as you want or explore.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The atmosphere in Empyreal is widely praised for its depth, bleakness, and immersive quality, enhancing the overall experience of the game. Players appreciate the strong world design and how it complements the challenging gameplay, making it a standout feature alongside the responsive combat.
- “I've only scratched the surface in Empyreal, but I'm impressed by its atmosphere and depth.”
- “If you like challenging games with a cool atmosphere, you’ll probably enjoy this.”
- “It nails the atmosphere — bleak, mysterious, and immersive — and backs it up with tight, responsive combat and satisfying progression.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the sound effects and find the overall audio experience enjoyable, others feel the music is uninspiring and lacks the ambient depth needed to enhance the game's atmosphere.
- “Considering this game was produced by only a small team of devs, they have done an amazing job of making this game both fun to explore, visually stimulating, and supported by great sound effects and music.”
- “The music is uninspiring and fails to motivate me to keep playing.”
- “There are no ambient sounds or music to make the game feel more alive.”
- “Even with the music set to 100, the sound effects are still a bit too loud.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is generally positive, with few game-breaking glitches or bugs reported. However, players have noted issues with optimization, including occasional freezes and some clunky mechanics that can lead to bugs during gameplay. Despite these drawbacks, many find the experience enjoyable once they acclimate to the game's quirks.
- “Optimization is still horrible, freezes every so often.”
- “A little clunky and at times kind of buggy (pretty often shield charge myself and my target through the world).”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers high replayability due to its engaging gameplay and appealing art direction; however, players feel that increased tile variety or more diverse quadrants could enhance the experience further.
- “It is well-designed with engaging gameplay, a cool art direction, and high replayability.”
- “There is replayability, but it would have been nice to see more tile variety or just all the different quadrants have more variety.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is perceived as subtle and situational, with players likening it to a blend of sci-fi adventure and exploration, reminiscent of a tomb raider experience.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a mix of frustration and anger when navigating challenges in the game, often feeling overwhelmed or inadequate in their attempts to solve problems.