SteamWorld Quest came out a little over a month ago, but before I even consider buying that, I have one more stop in the SteamWorld series. BACKGROUND:
After hearing a lot about the games, but never buying them on the 3DS, I bought SteamWorld Dig 1 and 2 last year for my Switch during a sale, and I ended up enjoying both games immensely. Since I beat those games before this blog came into existence, I feel like I have to preface this with a short review. SteamWorld Dig 1 and 2 are Metroidvania games with a bit of Minecraft mixed in, where the usual Metroidvania tropes (traversal upgrades, large maps, backtracking) are paired seamlessly with the ore collecting aspect of Minecraft. Both these elements are complemented by the ability to sell your haul to obtain money, which allows you to buy upgrades, which then allows you to open up more of the world and find more shit to dig up and sell. It's a very satisfying gameplay loop. Even after finding out that SteamWorld Heist is nothing like the previous games, the little gameplay I did see of it was still interesting enough to me. It took me over a year later, but I finally got around to picking up the game on another sale. PLOT: The events of SteamWorld Heist occur several years after SteamWorld Dig 2 (probably centuries after, if not more). The steambots (the main beings in the SteamWorld universe) are now a spacefaring race, traveling across the stars collecting water in order to survive. You step in the shoes of Captain Piper Faraday, the leader of a ragtag team of mercenaries struggling to survive in the cosmos. Throughout the game, you take control of her team as they face off against the many villainous elements terrorizing the steambots, like the vicious Scrappers (i.e. space pirates), the tyrannical Royal Space Force, and a mysterious alien entity known as Vectron. It's not the most engaging story ("ragtag team in space coming together against bigger threat" isn't exactly breaking new ground in the screenplay department), but the game makes up for it with a cast of quirky and eccentric characters. Everyone from your party members to NPCs has some charm to them, and their dialogue helps make an otherwise basic story feel more interesting. PRESENTATION: SteamWorld Heist is a nice-looking game with clean visuals, but if you've played SteamWorld Dig 2, the art style won't stand out to you all that much. That said, the steampunk/space opera vibe is a distinct and charming aesthetic, and is a little more exciting than the steampunk/Wild West hybrid of the previous games (not that it was bad; I'm just not big on Westerns). Of all the games in the series (barring Quest, which I haven't played yet), Heist probably has the best music out of the bunch. The highlights are by far all the vocal tracks, which you hear at the bars you can visit throughout the game's world. The few cutscenes in the game are great, and have this old-timey voiceover work paired with "vintage" stills in sepia tone. It lends itself well to the overall steampunk aesthetic the game is going for. GAMEPLAY: SteamWorld Heist is a cross between a turn-based strategy game and a side-scrolling platformer. You control a party of 1-4 members (the number varies depending on the mission) on a 2D plane, where each member can move a certain number of spaces/perform a certain number of actions. Actions range from regular movement, sprinting (which allows you to move farther at the cost of performing any additional action), attacking with your equipped weapon, and other auxiliary actions you can acquire later in the game. Managing your actions legitimately spells the difference between success and failure; for example, if you stay in one spot when you should have moved, that might cost you a party member. Attacking involves manually aiming your gun at enemies and pressing fire. Aiming at certain body parts can cause various effects (going for headshots increases critical chance, going for the legs can paralyze enemies). Depending on the weapon type, you can even ricochet bullets against walls or ceilings to get awesome trick shots. If you've ever played a Worms game, this is pretty much that, but in a more closed environment. And just like in Worms, making seemingly impossible shots/kills possible is the most fun to be had in this game. If you're next to an enemy, you can perform a melee attack. This is not great, because barring any stat modifiers, the melee attack is probably your weakest attack. What's worse is that if you're next to an enemy, you can only attack with melee (i.e. you can't switch to your weapon), which can really limit your options if you're in a bind. It's an additional variable I had to consider when positioning my party members. Speaking of weapon types, you have a good variety to choose from. You have regular handguns, sharpshooters (which have laser sights that allow you to aim more accurately), assault weapons (shotguns and SMGs), and heavy weapons (grenade launchers, RPGs, piercing laser weapons). Some have special properties or buffs, so it's not a bad idea to experiment with your loadouts. Your party is composed of a rather diverse roster, each with their own set of character-specific abilities (e.g. damage buffs, unique actions, and other passives), which they acquire as they level up. They also have character classes, which dictate what weapon types you can equip them with. As with weapons, it's best to mix and match party members depending on the mission. It's also a good idea when it comes to levelling up your characters, as only characters who participate in a given mission earn XP upon completion. In addition to weapons, you can equip your party members with two utilities. Utilities range from items that add stats (more health, more movement, higher critical hit), add unique passive abilities (a high jump that grants access to unreachable terrain, a chance to dodge melee attacks), or add new actions you can perform in a turn (a grenade attack, the ability to heal). In particular, healing is a must, because few characters have their own healing actions, and it's very easy to take unnecessary damage in a mission. Missions are spread out in a Mario 3-esque map of the cosmos, where you move the ship around to select missions. There's a good variety of mission types (kill everything, reach the goal, grab the items, etc.), and a lot of the map layouts are procedurally generated, so it'll take a while before things start feeling repetitive. There's also a good variety of enemies for you to kill, and as you progress through the game, the amount of enemies with annoying mechanics starts to increase. Couple that with all sorts of hazards (including, but not limited to an anxiety-inducing alarm mechanic that spawns countless reinforcements), and you're in for a challenging time. Completing missions also rewards you with Reputation, which is essentially another way of saying that missions have star ratings. Collecting these stars grant you access to new areas and allow you to acquire special items in shops. As somebody who perfected every map (even the ones that aren't required to beat the game), getting the perfect rating in every mission isn't all that worth it. Unless you pick one of the easier difficulties, failing a mission has some severe consequences, as you lose half your total currency in the process. Even aborting a mission is ill-advised, as you're forced to pay up if you do so. Quitting the game doesn't work, either, as the game autosaves very frequently. If you go into a mission, you better be prepared to lose. Even losing just one member of your party can screw you over. You lose out on Reputation and XP for every party member you lose, adding to the pressure of getting things just perfect. Each map has all sorts of elements to them. You've got doors (which can cost you a turn just opening), explosive barrels, cover you can hide behind, and more. Strewn about the map are collectible bags of "swag", which can have all sorts of goodies (currency, weapons, and utilities) in them once you beat the mission. Getting all the items is usually worth it, though depending on the mission, taking your time to collect everything can get your entire party killed. My biggest gripe about this game is its inventory system. You can only have so many items at a given time, and if you happen to collect more after beating a mission, you have to sell some of your shit to stay within the limit. Even when I buy extra inventory slots, I find myself having to sell shit after every mission anyway. It's a little annoying, as the game encourages you to collect as much shit in each mission as you can, only to have you sell half the shit you get at the end. It also discouraged me from buying shit at the shop. I wish they had just done away with this idea entirely. Oh, you can also get your party members to wear all sorts of hats. The hats don't do anything, but they look cool! Once you beat the game, you unlock New Game+, which is what it is. If you're wondering what sets the Ultimate Edition apart from the normal game, this edition comes with The Outsider DLC. This DLC features an all-new character (one with a significant connection to the previous games, and is probably the best character in the game), and a bunch of new missions that I didn't even realize was DLC, as they were seamlessly peppered throughout the game. VERDICT: Despite the issues I have with the inventory system and the punishment for failure/death, SteamWorld Heist is still an engaging strategy experience that has challenge, variety, and charm. While there is no reward for completing every mission, the fact that I went out of my way to perfect every single one regardless should speak to how much I enjoyed the game's combat. It's perfectly fine to play this without touching the previous SteamWorld games. Don't worry about lacking context for the story. You can buy SteamWorld Heist on Steam (heh) here, and the corresponding Outsider DLC here. Here's the game's soundtrack on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7Bv9cf8hkZgs0oJ69j0Pyz - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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