Everyone wants to be the next big live service game. I've mentioned before, however, that you can't break into the space – you have to break out in it. 1047 Games gave a sequel to their popular Splitgate game a chance last year, and it was a rough landing to say the least. Amid the chaotic release and subsequent development, they pivoted and learned from their mistakes. With that game squarely in the review mirror, EMPULSE is the latest idea, a shooter in the vein of Halo, Titanfall, and Black Ops 3. At first sight, I had my doubts. After playing it at Summer Game Fest, I'm totally sold.
As mentioned above, EMPULSE draws on previous movement shooters to build its playground. In hand, you'll quickly see the comparisons. This really feels like Halo's shooting had a baby with Titanfall and Black Ops 3’s movement systems. Melding all of these kinds of things together sounds great, but there is a lot going on under the surface that makes it all work.
You're not just speed incarnate right away – you earn that capability through chaining your movement. This creates incredible momentum when you do it right, but it can feel a tad clunky if you're doing it wrong. When it clicks, though, the dopamine hit you get is sublime. You FLY around, sliding long distances, hitting jump pads to get to another section of the map, bouncing off of walls, and firing your grapple to continue your momentum. The team almost called the game “FlowState”, and it fits, given the ways you can achieve that via their movement mechanics. Heck, you can even wall-run backwards, quite the achievement for a smaller development studio.
Said momentum is a reward for learning the maps, which certainly look built for the style EMPULSE has. There’s a lot of verticality without forcing in extra lanes or lines of sight, along with opportunities to boost your momentum with things like jump pads. I’m also struck by how little cover there is – it’s not that you can’t duck around a corner, but this game really wants you to square up and slide/bounce/wall-run into battle. I’ve done my fair share of speaking to map flow and how important it is, and the team at 1047 Games seems to have a grasp of this concept with EMPULSE. While there could be more detail involved in the map design, it’s a small nitpick when they work this well.
One of the other things maps had to be designed for is the big mechs that spawn in. Think of these as power weapons that appear after a countdown and are available to the first player to get inside. The first time I got in one of these, I went on a 10+ kill spree. Yes, the majority of them were bots, but getting the mech can be a true win condition in EMPULSE. They also aren’t too powerful; you can run out of ammo, and certain weapons are available to really drain the health down and take it out. It’s a fun idea, and I’m intrigued as to how it may evolve as EMPULSE does.
Gunplay feels snappy, as I assumed it probably would, given the devs' prowess from Splitgate. There is a decent variety of weapons, and while I didn’t see the whole arsenal, your bases look covered. Where EMPULSE is different lies in a more streamlined loadout. Your primary weapon is your only projectile weapon, so choose wisely. There isn’t any aiming down sights for many weapons – like Halo – but certain guns like the Battle Rifle and Carbine allow you to scope in. Even so, they all feel pretty accurate. The most interesting gun in the arsenal has to be the explosive SMG, which fires, you guessed it, explosive rounds. Still, it feels balanced, which was the case for most of the guns.
Your secondary is a sledgehammer, which is neat, although probably ineffective. What is more engaging is your equipment. Here, you have a grappling hook – necessary for navigating the map – and special “P.A.I.N.T.” grenades. These grenades aren’t about hurting opponents (except for one variant), but provide buffs for you and your teammates. Things like Speed P.A.I.N.T. make you faster, Heal P.A.I.N.T. tops off your health bar, and Jump P.A.I.N.T.… you get my drift. Explosive P.A.I.N.T. can also take out an enemy, and Sticky P.A.I.N.T. can slow them down. There are a lot of cool and creative options available through this area of effect gear, and I’m looking forward to exploring them.
With a decent chunk of modes (I saw team deathmatch, an Uplink clone, and was told Ranked is at launch), and a couple of maps, there’s work to be done. However, 1047 Games isn’t trying to overplay their hand as they did with Splitgate 2. EMPULSE will release into early access on June 24th, and will only be $20 ($15 during launch week) on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles. There are also no microtransactions, a clear lesson learned. If they can stick the landing, the momentum EMPULSE could gain as 1047 updates could carry it far.
