Empyreal News

Gather your courage, mercenary. Your time has come. Empyreal is launching today on Steam, PlayStation®5, and Xbox Series X|S. Priced at £24.99/$29.99/€29.99, there is a 10% launch discount here on Steam.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

How will you tackle the task of conquering the Monolith and unearthing the secrets inside. Which weapon will you wield? Whose questlines will you complete? Will you aid fallen mercenaries or leave them to die? Just how stylishly can you defeat the automatons in your way?

Need more information before you set out? Over the past few months, we have released several pieces of intel - such as a Gameplay Overview, details of the different members of the Expedition, the different quadrants of the Monolith and how Cartograms are used to get there, and a few of the foes you will face.

I was initially excited to take a look at Empyreal. Based on the initial trailers I watched in preparation, it looked like a pretty fun ARPG—and I’ve been on a bit of an ARPG kick lately, but I’ll get into that a little later. As they say, though, never judge a book by its cover—or a game by its heavily doctored reveal trailers.

It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to stop playing a game as quickly as I started. Empyreal is a bog-standard ARPG that tries to use a modicum of style to wallpaper over its lack of depth and immediately unenjoyable gameplay.

The story of Empyreal is moderately interesting. It follows Morys, who is burdened with the legacy of a failed quest once pursued by both his father and grandfather. The quest? In some remote part of the galaxy lies an ever-shifting, mysterious ziggurat that may contain the secrets of both existence and non-existence. Now an old man and seemingly unable to reach the heart of the Monolith, Morys passes the task to the player—to... Read more

I was initially excited to take a look at Empyreal. Based on the initial trailers I watched in preparation, it looked like a pretty fun ARPG—and I’ve been on a bit of an ARPG kick lately, but I’ll get into that a little later. As they say, though, never judge a book by its cover—or a game by its heavily doctored reveal trailers.

It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to stop playing a game as quickly as I started. Empyreal is a bog-standard ARPG that tries to use a modicum of style to wallpaper over its lack of depth and immediately unenjoyable gameplay.

The story of Empyreal is moderately interesting. It follows Morys, who is burdened with the legacy of a failed quest once pursued by both his father and grandfather. The quest? In some remote part of the galaxy lies an ever-shifting, mysterious ziggurat that may contain the secrets of both existence and non-existence. Now an old man and seemingly unable to reach the heart of the Monolith, Morys passes the task to the player—to... Read more

Can you believe that it’s only two days until Empyreal releases?

We’re excited to see how your journey of uncovering the secrets of the Monolith unfolds. To give you a taste of what’s to come, enjoy our brand new character trailer!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This beautiful rendition of The Parting Glass was sung by the amazing Choral Scholars of University College Dublin.

We’re only a few days away from the start of the expedition. Empyreal will launch at 10AM BST/ 5AM EST/ 2AM PT. What’s your strategy for release day? We’d love to hear them in the comments below!

[h3]What is Empyreal?[/h3]

Empyreal is a complex, challenging, feature-rich action RPG. In a far-flung corner of the galaxy an Expedition arrives on a hitherto unexplored planet to find a colossal Monolith built by a lost civilisation. You are an elite mercenary, tasked with helping unearth the secrets that lie inside.

Over the past few months, we have released several pieces of intel - such as a Gameplay Overview, details of the different members of the Expedition, the different quadrants of the Monolith and how Cartograms are used to get there, and a few of the foes you will face.

While it may feel that you are exploring the Monolith all alone you may find other players coming to your aid when you least expect it. This is through three asynchronous multiplayer mechanics - Trading, Reviving, and Into the Aether.

[h3]Trading and the Mailbox[/h3]

Throughout your adventure, you can send most items - including Cartograms - to another player if they are on your friends list. You can do this via the mailbox in the command centre, near Edmund and next to Rohini.

As you progress through the main story, a Trading Post behind Edmund will unlock. This allows players to sell their cartograms to each other either after using them, or if the cartograms are not wanted. Got a cartogram containing a weapon you already own? Trade it off and pick up something else - someone else could need it more than you. They can even have special properties imprinted into them after trading!



[h3]Reviving[/h3]

During your exploration in the Monolith, you may come across apparitions. Talking to these fallen warriors allows you to donate either one or three of your Reset Charges that will revive a fellow mercenary if they succumb to their fate.

If you face the jaws of defeat yourself and shout into the darkness, there’s a chance another player will heed the call and gift a Reset Charge so you can pick yourself back up and continue on. Be kind and pay it forward for other brave souls, or keep your Reset Charges to yourself and press on - the choice is yours.



[h3]Into the Aether[/h3]

When you defeat a Boss at the end of a Cartogram, an Aether Tear will mysteriously appear. While not big enough for you to enter, it is wide enough for an item to pass to the other side.

If you choose to do this, one of your unidentified weapons or equipment will be sucked through the portal, closing it in the process. Another mercenary will have a chance to receive this item with a special ‘aether touched’ attribute that will provide extra benefits. Likewise, you too have a chance of receiving one of these items from other mercenaries!



Asynchronous multiplayer is not cross-platform, so Steam players won’t be able to trade, revive, or donate items Into the Aether to those on console or on Epic and vice versa - but we're sure there'll be plenty of help out there.

There’s less than a week until the beginning of the expedition! Are you excited? Let us know in the comments below ahead of the big day.