Empyreal on PS5 is an action RPG, which I think is fair to call a soulslike, that doesn’t tell you that’s what it is. Secret Mode sent me a copy of this to check out, and I had a great time playing it. They also did a great job lulling me into a false sense of security.
The game starts out with a letter explaining to a young man that he is inheriting a family mission. To explore a monolith full of treasure and secrets. This results in us fast-forwarding to the present day, when you, an elite mercenary, show up to search the monolith that everyone else has failed to truly discover the purpose of.
You start off meeting some people who honestly aren’t thrilled to meet you, except the bartender. The man in charge sends you through the front door of the place, but doesn’t bother telling you that the place essentially spits you back out after you get through the hallway.
The game employs a card system where you enter the monolith, and it informs you if the area is Very Easy, Very Hard, or somewhere in between based on your gear score. The look of the game is to enter the place, find stuff to upgrade your gear, and challenge new places. This moves the story along and lets you find new gear and upgrade certain shops and NPCs.
Unlike most games of this type, where skill means more than gear, they took a very different approach here. If you aren’t upgrading your gear, rerolling stats, and abilities, you will find yourself dead and having to go back to easier places to grind for gear. The first couple of hours, this doesn’t seem all that necessary until you notice the bosses and such getting a bit harder. Then the levels, which do not have a map, start taking more out of you as you have to explore more and more.
The game itself is a ton of fun; it looks and plays great. It isn’t going to match games like Dark Souls, obviously, but it has a nice sci-fi feel to it, and you aren’t limited to a sword. You can smash enemies with a shield or blast them with a /huge gun. The game is definitely a 7/10 experience. The price is $30, so I might wait for a sale if you are on the fence, but if it is something you are definitely looking forward to, feel free to pull the trigger. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
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