Impire

About

Impire is a single player and multiplayer real-time strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Cyanide Montreal and was released on February 14, 2013. It received neutral reviews from both critics and players.

In Impire, you take control the of demon Báal-Abaddon as he attempts to rebuild his mighty hell spawn form. With the aid of dozens of evil creatures big and small as well as an arsenal of spells, you will help him construct a dungeon underworld of limitless evil and nastiness to stop all those pesky Heroes of Ardania from ruining his return to greatness!

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43%

Audience ScoreBased on 498 reviews

story38 positive mentions

gameplay38 negative mentions

The game has a charming art style and humorous dialogue that can be entertaining.
It offers a unique squad-based combat system that allows for interesting team combinations.
Fans of Dungeon Keeper may find some enjoyment in the dungeon management aspects and the nostalgic elements.

The gameplay is repetitive and tedious, often requiring excessive micromanagement of units.
There are significant bugs and design flaws, including poor AI and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall experience.
The game lacks depth and customization options, making it feel limited compared to its inspirations.

story
162 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
63%
14%
The game's story is described as entertaining yet ultimately shallow, with a mix of humor and forgettable plot points that fail to deliver depth or meaningful choices. While some players enjoyed the quirky characters and amusing moments, many found the narrative repetitive and marred by technical issues, leading to frustration and a lack of engagement. Overall, the storyline is seen as a fun ride but suffers from a weak conclusion and a lack of polish, making it a mixed experience for players.
- “The storyline is a lot of fun with plenty of little geek references.”
- “While I found some characters annoying, I enjoyed the story enough to play through twice.”
- “The dialogue and story in the game is really fun though, which is what you can expect from the guys who made Magicka.”
- “The story is extremely random, and you never really know what the overall point is.”
- “No matter what you do in the game choice-wise, i.e., the mini missions, it doesn't affect the ending outcome.”
- “It's a generic, poorly written, unfunny story, which takes away the best aspects of a dungeon-sim to replace them with cheap-shot humor.”
gameplay
118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
44%
32%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive, tedious, and plagued by clunky mechanics, which detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the humor and unique ideas within the dungeon-management subgenre, others criticize the lack of depth and strategic options, leading to a sense of monotony. Overall, the game offers moments of fun, particularly in combat, but struggles to maintain engagement over time.
- “It definitely falls under the ‘dungeon-management’ subgenre of strategy games, also bringing some nifty ideas and clever mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is fun and the mechanics are strong.”
- “A charming strategy, with pleasant gameplay, some original ideas and humorous wackiness.”
- “The gameplay is repetitive and boring.”
- “A very poor game, I'm sorry to say, repetitive and boring gameplay mixed with some rather game-breaking bugs. I was hyped for the release but was left very unhappy by my experience.”
- “Tedious gameplay with little freedom to develop your own style made all the more painful by it trying too hard to be funny.”
humor
100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
94%
6%
The humor in the game is highly polarizing, with many players finding it hit-or-miss, often leaning towards the latter. While some appreciate the dark and sarcastic elements, others criticize the reliance on cliché jokes and cringe-worthy cutscenes reminiscent of outdated comedy. Overall, the humor adds a layer of charm for some, but many agree it fails to compensate for the game's tedious gameplay and lackluster design.
- “Its funny, the main character is our little (for now) demon who just doesn't respect the lord who summoned him lol.”
- “Very nice gameplay, gloriously funny dialog, pretty sweet characters in general and overall it is a pretty quality game if you like base building and army making.”
- “A great game with a twisted sense of humor.”
- “Dialogues full of cliché jokes that are mostly not funny.”
- “Shallow, grindy, and distinctly unfunny.”
- “It's a generic, poorly written, unfunny story that takes away the best aspects of a dungeon-sim to replace them with cheap-shot humor.”
graphics
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
63%
7%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the art style and overall visual appeal, while others criticize them as dated and unoptimized, leading to performance issues. Many reviewers note that despite the eye-catching graphics, they lack depth and are overshadowed by poor gameplay mechanics and design choices. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered decent, they do not compensate for the game's shortcomings in engagement and gameplay experience.
- “Personally, I liked the art style, and I hope they change it from RTS squad manager to a full-on Dungeon Keeper-esque game where we evolve Baal and can do stuff like the newer games from the Dungeons series.”
- “The graphical style and detailed overworld are quirky and creative but are ultimately overshadowed by the slow-paced and repetitive gameplay.”
- “Graphics: 9/10”
- “Horribly unoptimized, taxing even most modern graphics cards.”
- “Graphics and animations are dated, the voice overs ruin any immersion, the interface is bad and I don't even see a solid idea behind it gameplay-wise.”
- “Decent graphics but bland micromanagement gameplay and lack of real defining strategic gameplay.”
grinding
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews overwhelmingly describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and monotonous, with players expressing frustration over excessive micromanagement and a lack of meaningful progression. Many feel that the gameplay is repetitive, often reducing to a cycle of building and raiding without much freedom or enjoyment, making it feel more like a chore than a game. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback, detracting from the game's potential fun and charm.
- “It's far too grindy, and a lot of people will go in hoping for Dungeon Keeper, only to end up with a squad-based RTS where every unit looks the same.”
- “The game can get tedious and rather monotonous as the general tone of each level is essentially build up dungeon, build up troops, raid, rinse and repeat until you're strong enough to go into the main part of the level.”
- “It's tedious to control your minions, the traps are useless, you're given little leeway in designing your dungeon (or in your dungeon's defenses), the humor is embarrassingly bad, and the campaign is long and boring (with extra helpings of lame jokes).”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay and require players to restart levels. Despite some improvements post-launch, many users still find it excessively buggy, leading to frustration and a perception of it being a low-quality product. Overall, while there are moments of enjoyment, the stability problems heavily detract from the experience.
- “Glitches ruin missions to the point that you have to restart levels to fix them.”
- “The game is extremely buggy, with lots of bad ideas implemented into it.”
- “Even after the patch, it seems to be quite buggy (or some may be features, I honestly can't say).”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is criticized for feeling disjointed and reminiscent of a random assortment of tracks, lacking cohesion and emotional impact. While the incorporation of classic heavy metal song titles is appreciated, the overall execution of the music and voice acting is described as disappointing and uninspired.
- “The music and voice acting bring a tear to the eye in the same manner as an onion does.”
- “The way they managed to weave a million classic heavy metal song titles into their script is impressive.”
- “The music plays like a curated selection of tracks, creating a unique atmosphere.”
- “Horrible grind and micromanagement, very odd controls and menus, music and voice acting that bring a tear to the eye in the same manner as an onion does.”
- “Music that plays like a list of random tracks from Jamendo.”
- “As much as I love the way they managed to weave a million classic heavy metal song titles into their script, the game falls flat as soon as you step away from their snarky humor.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Overall, the game has mixed reviews regarding replayability. While some players appreciate the impactful choices and engaging story that encourage multiple playthroughs, others criticize the limited content and lackluster multiplayer options, leading to a generally low replay value.
- “It's filled with great voice actors, an awesome story, and the changes the choices in the game grant you give it some good replayability.”
- “There isn't a lot of replayability in this title.”
- “Lack of content and uneventful multiplayer make this game have little replay value.”
- “Lack of content and uneventful multiplayer make this game have little replay value.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its charm and humor, drawing loose inspiration from Dungeon Keeper, though it is not considered a true successor. Overall, players express a strong appreciation for the game's unique ambiance.
- “Sure, it seems to have the look that could be perceived as a spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper; however, only the atmosphere and humor could be loosely based on Dungeon Keeper.”
- “Tl;dr - not a successor to Dungeon Keeper but is loosely influenced by its atmosphere and humor.”
- “Atmosphere: love it”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, leveraging nostalgia for the Dungeon Keeper franchise without offering substantial value or innovation.
- “They solely made this game as a cheap and quick cash grab based on nostalgic Dungeon Keeper vibes.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is widely criticized for its poor optimization, as it significantly strains even the most modern graphics cards, leading to performance issues.
- “Horribly unoptimized, taxing even most modern graphics cards.”