If you ask me, an RPG isn't complete unless it features a bit near the end where the conflict has escalated to the point where you're battling against the fundamental forces underpinning the metaphysics of reality. Luckily, Empyreal—an upcoming action RPG that just got its full reveal during our PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted—seems like it won't be wasting any time in getting you into combat against cosmic entities.
Developer Silent Games calls Empyreal a "feature-rich action RPG about transcendental revelation." Evidently, those revelations aren't going to be pleasant ones, judging from the amount of fighting shown in the trailer—and from the text shown on-screen halfway through that says "the final secrets of existence and non-existence transfix mankind with monstrous eyes."
From the montage of combat clips, Empyreal looks a bit like if you took Destiny's aesthetic sensibilities—full-face helmets, capes, a general sense of cosmic awe—and applied them to melee-heavy third person action. There seem to be a lot of magic-wielding space warriors diving into the fray with glowing weapons in Empyreal. My Titan would be proud.
All that smashing of neon-accented enemies is done in service of one of my favorite videogame pastimes: investigating a big, mysterious monolith. Empyreal seems like it was developed with a clear understanding that there are few things better than entering a titanic shape left behind by a precursor race, only to find that it contains gateways to unfathomable realities.
While it's not clear how Empyreal's game mechanics will work, the trailer shows a few glimpses at boss fights against enemies of a similar scale as the player character, which makes me suspect Silent Games is pulling on some soulslike inspiration. I can't complain; fighting giant monsters is great and all, but fighting an enemy your own size has a kind of anime rivalry energy to it that I admire.
Empyreal is planned to launch sometime in 2025, and you can wishlist it on Steam now.
