Steam World Heist Review

By Logan Manfredi

on Nintendo Switch 

Overview

        The Steamworld games from Image and Form are some of the most interesting in modern gaming. We, as players, often see sequels and game series that update graphics or add a few new mechanics, but virtually the games stay the same. While the first two games in the series Steamworld Dig 1 & 2 follow that pattern, the third installment, Steamworld Heist flips the series on its head in a completely different way, and it’s magical. The third game in the franchise takes a 180-degree turn from its Metroidvania roots and finds itself as turn-based strategy game instead. Procedurally generated tunnels are traded for spaceships in the sci-fi continuation of the Steamworld universe. Heist is unique, 2d graphics and turn-based gameplay haven’t worked this well since the SNES. The core loop of the game is boarding ships, getting loot, and evacuating, and it feels different every time. Never was I bored being a space pirate. Heist follows a crew of Steambots who until now were just trying to get by. Circumstances beyond their control force the team into a daring quest that will determine the very fate of Steambot kind. Along the way, they will meet a charming cast of characters each with unique motivations entirely their own.

The story itself is minimal in exposition, but that doesn’t take away from the connection between the player and playable characters. These connections are made possible by the detailed dialogues that take place between missions on your home ship. Each time the player returns home, the crew from the previous mission will be waiting with an optional conversation that will either reference what just happened in the story or reveal a pivotal moment in the characters past. The most shocking thing about this game for me was the length of the campaign. Typically for twenty dollars, you don’t expect games to extend past the ten or twelve-hour mark. Heist shatters this expectation with a heap of content that will take the average player close to twenty hours just to complete the story. Beyond that, the game offers tons of replayability with a four-star ranking system for each quest and a new game+ mode that allows for players to max out each character and find all of the items and weapons available in the game. For twenty dollars few games hold up to Steamworld Heist in terms of content alone.    

The Details

        Cerebral would be a kind word to describe Steamworld Heist. The game at times feels more like chess than a video game, and that’s something I was not mad about. Incredible detail in character and level design allows for rewarding combinations of character abilities that can play out over multiple turns making the player feel like a strategic genius. That being said, there are some things I found that the game could do without, but nothing significant enough to stop me from enjoying my time with it. At the end of missions, once everything has been done, players must walk around and grab loot, being that the game is turn based this takes more time than I would like. Without enemies having their turns the act of taking endless turns to move slowly towards loot and back feels quite tedious. A simple fix would be if just after completing a mission you could get all the loot still left on the ground. In all reality, there is no need for an excess four or five turns just to run around and grab loot with no risk. 

item descriptions are hilarious and worth reading.

        Another excellent detail of the game is how the playable characters progress. Typically, in a game that’s this long by the end, the characters would be in the high double digits in terms of level with numerous passive and active abilities. Where Heist stands out is with its slow and methodical leveling that makes each level-up have a drastic effect on gameplay. Every new ability changes the core strategy of said character and allows for new and exciting ways to tackle missions. The game has a little bit of a dip towards the middle portion, but new characters and the wildly varying types of missions make the end of the game feel incredibly fresh and rewarding. The specific addition of Billy, the deep space diver, drastically changes the pace and style of the game, and after about 11 hours, he was just what I needed to remain invested.  On a lighter note, the game has some enjoyable features available on the Switch. The HD rumble of the Joycons makes the joining of airlocks and recoil of firearms feel great, and the addition of full touch controls not only makes aiming much easier but allows for a certain level of comfort when playing the game. I’ve been recovering from surgery as of late and was able to complete the game almost entirely with one hand. 

My favorite thing

        My favorite thing about Heist is the abundant variance in mission structure. No two missions are the same. From size and layout to number and type of enemies, every mission is uniquely its own. On top of that, depending on what characters the player decides to take on the mission, the same exact quest could have multiple different outcomes and paths to completion. Some missions require a single character, while others could require up to four, this allows for precise leveling of certain characters and creates a wonderful sense of variety throughout the game.

Variety in crew size.

Like most players, I found myself gravitating towards a specific crew and taking the same four characters out on most missions. It wasn’t until about eleven hours in that I started to experiment with mixing up my team and the way I played the game changed completely. Each crew member has specific skills such as self-healing, increased movement range, or becoming invincible for a turn. Combing different crewmates skills allowed for wildly different strategies and helped to keep the longer than average campaign from getting stale. Typically, I spend about a week reviewing a game, but the sheer variance in playstyles of Steamworld had me solely playing it for about two weeks. Every time I thought I was at the end of the game, I was pleasantly surprised by the addition of a new crewmate, items, or even entirely new zones to explore. 

Example of cutscene 

 In the end

        Steamworld Heist is an exciting new take on an already stellar franchise. The charisma of Steamworld and its characters match that of the others in the series perfectly. Entirely new gameplay mechanics introduce fans new and old to an exciting and fresh way to play this beast of a strategy game. Variety in gameplay is where this game shines, and no two players could expect to have the same crew. While the length of the game could deter some, I highly recommend switching up your team as often as possible because it creates fun and exciting new ways to play the game and the story is worth experiencing. The game is also often on sale, and at the already budget price of $19.99 few others match it in terms of content. I recommend it for any fan of strategy games like X-com, or Divinity or to anyone looking to mix up their gaming habits. 

I give Steamworld Heist 3 and a half snails out of 5.