Impulse of War
Impulse of War is a free-to-play vehicular arcade shooter built around fast PvP matches where you pilot unmanned machines, ranging from buggies and tanks to hovercrafts, ships, and towering robots. It leans into classic arena objectives like Death Match and Capture the Flag, with a few twists such as Capture the Train, all set on sci-fi battlefields with light base building and customization.
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Publisher: Dmitry Medvedev Type: Vehicular Arcade Shooter Release Date: February 24, 2017 Shut Down Date: February 28, 2017 Pros: +Multiple PvP modes with different objectives. +Several weapon categories to experiment with. +Sci-fi maps that include base building elements. Cons: -Dropped by the developer after only 4 days. -Very small community. -Not much content depth. |
Impulse of War Overview
Impulse of War is a free-to-play arcade-styled vehicular shooter where matches revolve around piloting autonomous combat vehicles across hostile, otherworldly maps. Instead of traditional infantry combat, everything is about how your machine moves, how you position in open terrain, and how well you use your loadout to pressure opponents or play the objective.
The vehicle roster covers several archetypes, including tanks, nimble buggies, hovercraft, spacecraft, and oversized “mech-like” robots. Combat is driven by a small set of weapon families (more than five types), mixing straightforward damage options like blasters and cannons with more exotic sci-fi tools such as plasma-style weaponry and even support-oriented gear like a healing Tesla. The result is a game that aims for readable, arcade action rather than simulation handling.
Modes follow familiar PvP structures. Death Match focuses on eliminations, while Capture the Flag asks teams to steal and return enemy flags. Capture the Train adds another objective variant, pushing players toward a moving focal point rather than static bases. Between matches, you can tune your ride, swapping visual changes like colors, wheels, and spoilers alongside more practical upgrades such as armor plating.
Outside of pure match play, the game also includes a simple base-building layer. You can establish a home base and place buildings that generate resources and income, giving a light progression loop that supports gear choices. Social features are present as well, with clans and clan wars positioned as the larger-scale competitive goal, assuming you can find enough active players to sustain it.
Impulse of War Key Features:
- Variety of Game Modes – rotate through objective types, including Death Match, Capture the Flag, and Capture the Train.
- Driverless Vehicular FPS – all combat is centered on piloting unmanned vehicles and fighting from the driver’s seat.
- 5+ Weapon Types – choose from multiple weapon categories, from blasters and cannons to plasma-like tech and a healing Tesla option.
- Trick Out Your Ride – customize both appearance and performance with parts and cosmetic options.
- Clan Wars – join or create a clan and queue for larger PvP battles built around group play.
Impulse of War Screenshots
Impulse of War Featured Video
Impulse of War Review
Impulse of War is the kind of project that reads well on paper, an arcade vehicular shooter with multiple modes, customizable machines, and a light metagame through base construction and clans. In practice, it feels like an Early Access experiment that never got the time it needed to become a stable, content-rich multiplayer title.
Moment to moment, the game’s best idea is its focus on unmanned vehicles as the “characters.” Different chassis types create different roles, heavier options feel suited to holding lanes and trading damage, while lighter vehicles are better for flanking or running objectives. Weapon variety also helps, since you are not locked into a single style of engagement, and the inclusion of support-style equipment suggests the developer was aiming for team composition rather than pure deathmatch chaos.
The objective modes are another strength. Capture-the-style rules naturally push players to move around the map and create skirmishes in predictable hotspots, and a moving objective like Capture the Train can keep matches from stalling. When matches are populated, the game can deliver that familiar arcade loop of spawn, fight, reposition, and upgrade your approach as you learn the maps.
Where the experience falls apart is scope and longevity. Content is limited, and the overall package feels thin once you have sampled the vehicles, weapons, and a handful of maps. The biggest issue, however, is that the game was abandoned almost immediately after launch. With such a short support window, balance issues, bugs, and missing features are never meaningfully addressed, and multiplayer games live or die based on active players and ongoing updates.
Customization and base building add a layer beyond quick matches, but they cannot carry the game on their own, especially when the community is tiny. Clan systems and clan wars are appealing in theory, yet they depend on a healthy playerbase to function, and that is difficult to maintain even for well-supported PvP titles.
Impulse of War is therefore best understood as a curiosity for genre fans who enjoy trying unusual Early Access projects and do not mind rough edges. If you are looking for a dependable vehicular PvP game with long-term progression and matchmaking that stays active, the game’s abandonment and limited content make it hard to recommend today.
Impulse of War System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10
CPU: Intel Dual Core or equivalent
RAM: 4 GB
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible GPU
Hard Disk Space: 2 GB
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10
CPU: Core i3 or equivalent
RAM: 8 GB
Video Card: Geforce GTX460 or equivalent
Hard Disk Space: 2 GB
Impulse of War Music & Soundtrack
Coming soon!
Impulse of War Additional Information
Developer: Dmitry Medvedev
Publisher: Dmitry Medvedev
Languages: English, Russian
Platform: PC
Steam Greenlight Posting: June 14, 2016
Steam Greenlight Approved: June 28, 2016
Closed Alpha: December 2016
Steam Early Access: February 24, 2017
Abandoned: February 28, 2017
Development History / Background:
Impulse of War was a free-to-play vehicular arcade shooter developed and published by a solo creator, Dmitry Medvedev. The project appeared on Valve’s Steam Greenlight in June 2016 and was approved roughly two weeks later. After a closed alpha in December 2016, it entered Steam Early Access on February 24, 2017. A bug-fix update arrived on February 28, 2017, and then development activity stopped. In effect, the game’s official post-launch support lasted only four days.