What is EMPULSE?

These EMPULSE impressions are coming from someone who does not usually chase multiplayer shooters, which is probably why the game surprised me.

Developed by 1047 Games, the studio behind Splitgate, EMPULSE is a fast-paced 6v6 movement shooter built around wall-running, grappling, vertical routes, and player-controlled mechs. It is also the kind of game that can look intimidating if you are not already fluent in the language of modern arena shooters. That was my concern going in.

Thankfully, I had some help.

EMPULSE Impressions: Movement Comes First

I sat down with Ian Proulx from 1047 Games, who walked me through the controls before I jumped into what felt like an arena-style match. Honestly, I needed that. Not because the game was impossible to understand, but because EMPULSE is clearly built around using all of its movement tools together. If you play it like a normal hallway shooter, you are probably missing the point.

At first, I was just trying to remember what button did what. Then I started wall-running, jumping off surfaces, throwing out the grapple hook, and chaining those actions together. Somewhere between the wall-run and the grapple, I stopped thinking about the controls and started playing.

That was the moment EMPULSE got me.

The shooting felt familiar in a good way. Ian mentioned Halo, and that ended up being my closest point of reference. I have not really played Splitgate or Titanfall, so I cannot pretend those comparisons mean much coming from me. But I do know Halo, and I definitely know the feeling of using the grappleshot in Halo Infinite to pull yourself into a better position. In EMPULSE, that kind of movement feels less like a bonus tool and more like the grammar of the whole match.

EMPULSE Impressions: Mechs, Grappling, and Momentum

I also got kills. Maybe the bots were being generous, but I still took the win. More importantly, I felt like I was learning. I could run away from fights, reset, get back into position, and use the map instead of just sprinting toward gunfire. At one point, I was able to wall-run, jump out, grapple across, and get a kill. It was a small moment, but it felt cool in exactly the way a movement shooter needs to feel cool.

The mech was one of the coolest parts of the demo because it connected with something older for me. Ian showed me how to jump into one, and it immediately reminded me of the armor pickups from GoldenEye. Not because they are mechanically identical, but because they hit that same part of the brain. You see the thing, you get to it, and suddenly the fight changes.

Why The Mech Stuck With Me

That tied directly into the conversation Ian and I were already having about GoldenEye and old-school Nintendo 64 couch multiplayer. I told him about having friends come over to my garage to play four-player multiplayer, and that context made the mech stand out even more. It felt like 1047 Games understands that shooters are not just about mechanics on paper. They are about those little moments you remember because everyone in the room reacts to them.

In EMPULSE, jumping into the mech gave me that kind of moment. It was not subtle, but it did not need to be. In a game already built around wall-running, grappling, and momentum, the mech gave the match a different kind of punctuation. There is movement. There is armor. Then there is the joy of climbing into the big thing and making the lobby deal with it.

That is the real takeaway from my EMPULSE impressions. I still do not know if this is the kind of multiplayer shooter I would grind every night. I would need more time with full matches and regular players to know that. But as a first impression, it did the most important thing it could do.

I wanted another round.