Impire

Initial press reactions to Impire drew comparisons with Bullfrog Productions's Dungeon Keeper, a real-time strategy game released in 1997 that received widespread critical acclaim. Alongside Dungeon Keeper, Impire similarly grants the player command over a subterranean empire, with the ability to construct buildings, recruit monsters, and engage minions in combat.^[5]

Within the fictional universe of Impire, the player assumes the persona of Baʿal-Abaddon, a primordial evil summoned from Tartarus and imprisoned in the physical form of a demonic imp, initially forced to serve the incompetent sorcerer Oscar van Fairweather. During the course of Impire, Baal-Abaddon escapes van Fairweather's control and attempts to reconstruct his ancient, nefarious empire under the continent of Ardania.^[6]

Shortly after announcing the project on July 26, 2012, Yves Bordeleau, the Studio Director of Cyanide Montreal indicated that Impire was in 'pre-pre-alpha' during his presentation to GameSpot staff. Throughout Bordeleau's demonstration, he frequently referenced the 'scenarios' in the single-player and co-operative campaign setting of Impire, suggesting that the structure of the game is predominantly mission-based.^[7]

Impire received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[8]