Steam Next Fest concluded recently, and I was wondering which demos were worth trying while it was still live. Thankfully, my colleague and friend, Sanmay Chakrabarti, tried over 50 demos and narrowed them down to the 10 best ones everyone should check out. The very first demo he recommended is Empulse, the new 6v6 shooter in town, dubbed the “Titanfall” game we never got.
So, this immediately got my attention. I gathered my squad and successfully convinced them to install and play the new Empulse demo with me. After spending a couple of hours sliding my way to knock out the enemies with my sledgehammer, here are my first impressions.
Titanfall 3 at Home? Empulse Makes a Pretty Good Case
Although Splitgate 1 and 2 were a unique blend of Halo and Portal, I always found these games too much for my brain to handle. But when the word got out that 1047 Games is back, with a Titanfall-esque title, that was my cue to join and experience Empulse.
Several modes were available in the Empulse demo: Capture the Mech, which is very similar to Halo’s CTF; Intel & Upload are ball-based modes where you need to either deliver the ball or hold possession to win, and finally, the usual Team Deathmatch. I played TDM and Capture the Mech modes the most in my playtime.
The very first thing I noticed once I hopped into an Empulse match was the slick movement mechanics, which you will often rely on during your gameplay. It’s super fluid, but still lacks the polish to come close to the movement popularized by Titanfall games. But in a nutshell, you can do everything you can in Titanfall, such as effortlessly perform wallruns and swing across with a grapple hook.
In one match, I seamlessly flanked the enemy team by wallrunning and grappling without being spotted. I didn’t even bother pulling out my gun; instead, I just switched to my sledgehammer and quietly slid into the enemy territory. Thanks to the movement system, I wiped out as many as I could, simply by sliding and swinging my sledgehammer. So you have Spider-Man-level agility in traversal, and the lethal precision of The Punisher when it comes to hunting down your enemies.
However, something that caught my eye in Empulse was P.A.I.N.T. bombs. During your gameplay, you can equip Speed Paint, which gives you a speed boost upon impact. There are different P.A.I.N.T. bombs for jumping, healing, damaging, and more, which open the door to super IQ plays to outsmart your opponents in a match.
In one instance, I already had a speed boost from a speed P.A.I.N.T. bomb my friend had thrown. As I slid past an enemy, I used a Jump P.A.I.N.T. bomb to vault over them, land behind their back, and take them out with a single blow. This is just one of the many ways you can utilize the special grenades in the game.
As someone who has sunk countless hours into competitive tactical shooters like CS2 and Valorant, hero shooters Marvel Rivals and Overwatch, and extraction shooters like Arc Raiders, I had never been interested in movement shooters until I played Empulse. This title has Titanfall DNA written all over it, especially in its movement system. That is exactly why Empulse scratched that Titanfall itch for me.
Empulse Has Great Mechs, But They Need More Purpose
Finally, how can I not talk about controlling the mechs in the Empulse demo? You can take control of the mechs in almost all the matches. I was most excited to battle while piloting a mech more than anything else in Empulse. However, I was met with complete disappointment. Let me explain before you come at me with pitchforks.
Whether it’s moving around while piloting a mech or unleashing its entire arsenal one weapon at a time, controlling a mech feels clunky. Most of the time, I found myself getting blown to pieces after capturing a mech. Maybe that’s on me for expecting an experience similar to what I had with BT in Titanfall 2. In its current state, operating mechs isn’t fun at all, and I hope the devs can improve it from here.
Although the gunplay complements the experience Empulse aims for, it doesn’t do much to stand out. It’s the basic and generic gunplay experience you have already experienced in many FPS games. The lack of recoil makes it easy to land your shots and leads to being shot to death quickly as well.
Moreover, the Finale sledgehammer is completely broken right now. You can easily one-shot your enemies with it. While it feels good to take down the enemies with one shot using the sledgehammer, as I mentioned above, I have to admit that it’s overpowered and needs to be nerfed for good before it becomes a major problem for everyone.
Lastly, Empulse also completely lacks originality in the visual department. In recent memories, playing Marathon made me realize that some modern shooter games truly feel devoid of personality. That’s the same case with Empulse as well. The characters, mechs, basically everything you see on screen, feel like you’ve seen them all in some game before.
Empulse Has the Fuel to Become a Movement Shooter Darling
Empulse is still exactly what you are signing up for! Its gameplay is intense, where you can perform crazy feats under pressure and get complete satisfaction. I can surely say that Empulse is the closest I’ve ever gotten to reliving my Titanfall days.
The addition of mechs brings a unique twist to the game that not only attracted Titanfall fans like me but also players seeking a fresh experience, which is clearly missing from many shooters lately. At the same time, I believe Empulse won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
With a big emphasis on quick movement, I saw some of my friends experience the same overwhelming effect I had in Splitgate. Surprisingly, the fluid movements and special P.A.I.N.T. bombs got me completely hooked. But I still feel there is a massive room for improvement.
If 1047 Games can successfully pull it off, I believe Empulse will become a popular mainstream shooter with a devoted player base very soon. The playtest period for Empulse during Steam Next Fest 2026 has now ended, as Empulse has entered early access starting June 24, 2026.
The game is priced at $19.99 and is available on PC (via Steam), PlayStation 5|5 Pro, and Xbox Series X|S. So, you can now purchase the game and begin playing games in the early access period.
