Empyreal (PlayStation 5) Review

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