What Is EMPULSE?

What is EMPULSE? After playing it at Summer Game Fest Play Days and watching Cog interview 1047 Games co-founder Ian Proulx, the answer became a lot clearer.

When I played EMPULSE at Summer Game Fest Play Days, the first thing that hit me was obvious: this thing has Titanfall energy. Wall-running, grappling, sliding, fast arena movement, all of that “please stop walking like a normal person” shooter DNA is right there.

And honestly? Good. We like that over here.

But after getting hands-on with it, winning a round, and then watching Lord Cognito interview 1047 Games co-founder Ian Proulx, the game started to make more sense to me. My demo showed me that EMPULSE felt good. Cog’s interview explained why it felt good.

That is why the full interview is worth watching. It is linked below.

My Play Days Demo Made EMPULSE Click

At Play Days, EMPULSE did not take long to show me what it was going for. The movement is fast, but it is not just “run fast because fast is cool.” The grapple gets you around corners. The wall-running keeps you off predictable routes. The sliding keeps your momentum going.

Once I started chaining those things together, I stopped feeling like I was just testing mechanics and started feeling like I was actually playing the map. That is a big difference.

A movement shooter can look great in a trailer and still feel like somebody tied your thumbs together when you actually play it. EMPULSE did not have that problem in my demo. It felt responsive. It felt readable. It gave me just enough confidence to start taking risks, and apparently enough confidence to win a round too.

Look, we take those.

Cog’s Interview With Ian Proulx Explains the Design

Cog did what Cog does. He went straight to the comparison that everybody was already thinking about. He told Proulx he was a Titanfall guy and that what he saw was giving him those vibes.

Proulx welcomed that comparison, but he also made it clear that EMPULSE is pulling from more than one place. He mentioned Titanfall, Black Ops 3, Halo, Splitgate, Portal, and even SSX Tricky.

That sounds ridiculous on paper, like somebody spilled three generations of shooter homework into a snowboard bag. But after playing it, I get it.

The point is not that EMPULSE is copying one game. It is that 1047 Games is building a movement shooter from a bunch of different ingredients: arena control, vertical routes, fast traversal, weird momentum, and team-based power swings.

EMPULSE Is More Than Titanfall Vibes

The Titanfall comparison makes sense because the first read is obvious. You see wall-running, grappling, and mechs, and your brain starts doing the math.

But Cog’s interview helped separate the surface-level comparison from what 1047 Games is actually doing.

In Titanfall, the mech is personal. You earn it, call it in, and get your big hero moment. In EMPULSE, Proulx explained that mechs work more like Halo power weapons. They spawn on the map, and both teams fight over them.

That changes the whole match.

The mech is not just a reward. It is a power spike. It gives the round a center of gravity. Everybody knows the big thing is coming, and now the question becomes: are you controlling the map, or are you about to get bullied by the team that is?

That made my demo click even more in hindsight. The movement gets you around the map, but the mech gives you a reason to care about where you are going. Without that, fast movement can turn into noise. With it, the match has direction.

P.A.I.N.T. Is One of EMPULSE’s Biggest Hooks

Cog’s interview also gets into P.A.I.N.T., which is where EMPULSE starts to show its own identity.

Proulx breaks down how these surface-altering tools work, why they matter, and how they can change the flow of a fight. I do not want to spoil every detail here, because that part is better coming from Ian himself, but the short version is this: P.A.I.N.T. is not just a gimmick.

It lets players manipulate the battlefield.

That is where the mechanic actually starts to matter. The map is not just something you move through. It becomes something you can briefly change, bend, and weaponize. That matters in a game built around momentum, because now the route is not always the route. Sometimes you make the route. And that is the part I want to spend more time with.

Yes, You Can Fight Back Against The Mechs

The other thing Cog asked, and the thing I was happy he asked, is how players are supposed to deal with mechs once the other team gets one.

Because let’s be real. Nobody wants a movement shooter where the enemy team gets the big robot, and now everybody else just has to file a complaint with the respawn screen.

Proulx explained that mechs are strong, but not unbeatable. One-on-one, yeah, you probably need to run. Fair. I respect a developer who tells me not to stand in front of a walking eviction notice. But as a team, you have options.

The interview gets into the tools players have to slow, damage, and counter mechs. I will not blow out the entire breakdown here, but the short version is that EMPULSE wants the mech fight to become a team problem with team answers. Or, put another way: you jump the mech.

That might be the most EMPULSE thing possible.

EMPULSE Has No Microtransactions

Cog also asked about price and customization, and this might be one of the most refreshing parts of the interview.

EMPULSE is a premium $20 game. There is no in-game shop and no microtransactions. Players unlock skins and gun cosmetics by playing.

In 2026, that almost sounds suspicious. A multiplayer shooter that is not trying to sell me digital pants before I finish my first match? Ayoo, who let this through finance?

But it fits the pitch. EMPULSE is not being presented as a giant forever-platform live-service economy machine. It is a focused multiplayer shooter with a clean buy-in and a clear gameplay hook.

Watch The Full Iron Lords Interview With Ian Proulx

My Play Days demo made me interested in EMPULSE. Cog’s interview made me understand the design better.

That is why I think the full conversation is worth watching. Cog gets into the movement, the inspirations, the mechs, P.A.I.N.T., optimization, customization, pricing, and what 1047 Games is trying to build after Splitgate.

If EMPULSE is on your radar, or if you are one of those people still waiting for a new movement shooter to properly scratch that itch, watch the full Iron Lords Podcast interview with Ian Proulx.

The demo showed me the game had something. The interview explained the thought behind it.