EMPULSE Review – A Parkour-First Arena Shooter with Rough Edges
EMPULSE puts movement front and center in a 6v6 shooter. Smooth wall-runs, grapples and mech fights make chaos — Early Access polish aside, it’s a promising foundation for fans of fast arena shooters.
I jumped into EMPULSE expecting a Titanfall-ish itch to be scratched and left with something both familiar and its own beast. Movement truly is the star here: wall-running, grappling hooks, jetpack boosts and those weirdly satisfying P.A.I.N.T. bomb interactions chain into frantic, vertical gunfights. The game launched in Early Access, so there’s a clear foundation and a lot left to build — that’s exciting and frustrating in equal measure. If you like arena shooters that reward momentum, EMPULSE will grab you fast; if you want a polished, content-rich package, brace yourself for growing pains.
Flowstate Parkour Warfare
EMPULSE plays like someone glued Titanfall’s movement to an arcade 6v6 shooter and asked players to improvise. The core loop is simple to describe but devilishly deep to master: chain wall-runs into grapple swings into Holojump boosts and don’t forget to slide into a Speed P.A.I.N.T. to keep your velocity. Most kills come from mobility—position, angle and momentum matter more than camping a corner. Gunplay supports that rhythm: weapons have a relatively satisfying TTK that rewards aim but lets skillful movers escape or close with melee. Matches feel kinetic because the maps are deliberately vertical; every district in Freehold is designed to be surfed rather than walked.
When Mechs Decide the Pace
Two mechs spawn mid-round and they’re supposed to be a power spike — a focal point that forces fights. Piloting one gives you a chaingun that ramps, rockets that delete poor positioning, a hard-hitting melee, bubble shields, charge jumps and a surprisingly quick dash. In practice, community feedback is mixed: some matches the mech swing is match-deciding; other times it feels clunky or underwhelming, more like a big gun pickup than a Titanfall-style landmark. EMPULSE’s mechs are tunable, though, and 1047 has explicitly framed Early Access as the time to iterate on them. I enjoyed moments where a coordinated crew used a mech to lock down a point, but I also got matches where mechs spawned and then vanished into chaos with little impact.
Neon Streets, Soundtrack, and Technical Reality
Visually EMPULSE leans functional: neon-soaked districts that read clearly in combat but won’t win art awards. Sound design is punchy—grapples, wall-run swishes and weapon cracks give satisfying feedback that helps you read fights without peeking the HUD. Performance is mostly solid on my rig, but other players reported crashes (notably AMD driver issues) and occasional stutters; Early Access means some optimization still has to land. I appreciated accessibility touches like clear movement indicators and the lack of ADS mechanics—this keeps the combat arcadey and approachable. The developers’ promise of no store, no battle pass at launch and a roadmap shaped by player feedback is a refreshing note in today’s market, though whether that stays true will be decided by future updates.
EMPULSE is a lovable, rough-around-the-edges movement shooter: its core parkour combat is genuinely thrilling, but Early Access leaves noticeable holes in content and polish. For $15–20, the game is a solid buy if you crave fast, momentum-driven multiplayer and don’t mind helping shape the roadmap. If you expect a finished competitive arena title, wait for more updates—but if you want to surf neon streets and chain absurd kills, EMPULSE is worth the ride.
Pros
- Fluid, momentum-based movement that feels joyful
- Arcade-y gunplay that rewards aim and mobility
- Mechs provide a dramatic, tunable power spike
- No store/battle pass at launch; community-driven Early Access approach
Cons
- Thin on content at launch — maps, modes and weapons feel limited
- Movement and mech tuning still rough; some control clunkiness reported
- Technical hiccups for some players (crashes, stutters, spawn issues)
Player Opinion
Players are surprisingly split but there's a clear pattern: most praise the movement—wall-running, grappling and chaining P.A.I.N.T. for creative plays—and many call the core loop addictive. Fans of Titanfall, Splitgate and The Finals often say EMPULSE scratches a similar itch but isn’t a direct clone. The main complaints repeat: early access feels content-light, mechs sometimes miss the mark, and a few players report movement nerfs or clunky grappling since beta. Technical issues (crashes on some AMD setups, stutters, spawn frustrations) appear in multiple reviews, but so do notes about solid optimization on many rigs. If you liked Titanfall’s mobility or want a fast arcade shooter without immediate microtransactions, you’ll see why people are buying; if you want a fully polished competitive title day-one, expect patience.