Have you played Steamworld: Dig by Image & Form Games? I have not, but I played their latest creation which it seems to be taking place in the same universe. Yes, I am talking about Steamworld: Heist.
In distant future our Galaxy is inhabited by robots
driven by steam. Among those one pirate stands out - Captain Piper! You will
take control over her and her crew as they fight their way through evil
invaders made from the scraps of other robots, and trying to take over
the pirating in this part of the Universe.
That is pretty much the story of the game. Of course
it develops a little with playing the game. You will learn why Piper has become
pirate and such, but the story is not anything impressive and it will not be
the reason for which you will pick this game. The reason you will pick
Steamworld and not leave it for days to come is the gameplay. Oh yes!
When I talked to a friend about the game I compared it
to X-COM but it’s actually a lot more like a mix between Worms and X-COM. You
have a team of robots and you fight against other robots in tactical turn based
battles. During the fight you will have to take in account the diversion of the
shots, surrounding floors, covers, types of enemies, weapons you use etc. The X-COM resemblance comes from the different robot classes, cover
system, special abilities, skill shots, equipment system...oh and your base of
operation and ship where all your robots are stationed. The difference here is
that you manually aim each shot which allow you to perform amazing skillshots
and ricochets. The best part? All this is really simple and easy to grasp, but
at the same time immensely fun. If I have to go into more details - the game
consists of galaxy map ridden with mission spots, beating one unlocks you the
next one. Each mission takes place at the enemy ship and you have certain
objectives which you should complete. They can vary but are mostly loot the
ship, save someone or kill/destroy something. When you complete the objectives
you will have to go to the evacuation point where when your whole team gathers
the mission will be counted for complete. There is no other way to win a
mission. If someone dies in mission but you complete it he/she will not get
experience but you will be able to use them next time. If you lose a mission it
will cost you water which is the main currency in the game. From the enemy
ships you can loot water, weapons, bombs, med kits and of course hats. The last
are just for visuals but believe me or not you will find yourself risking whole
missions just to get that one hat which you do not own. Speaking about visuals...
This is something else which together with the excellent
gameplay and music will not let you leave the game. Steamworld is somehow at
the same time both futuristic and retro with its black and white intro and
everything being steam powered, but sentient robots ruling the Galaxy. The game
is also surprisingly atmospheric for such light title. The robots are really
steampunky and each one of them has its own unique visuals and character. I was
surprised how much out of their way they have gone to make all those characters
being unique, with background story and all. But its great because it adds a lot to the
game giving it this feeling of finished and well-polished product.
Sadly as much as I want to say that this is a
perfectly executed game there are some flaws, the biggest probably being the
variety of missions. More specifically the objectives which are too repetitive
and even when the battles are fun the whole thing become a bit boring when you
have to do the same thing again and again. The work around this (in case you
really want to finish the game and like me have grown attached to Piper and her
crew) is to play it in short sessions this way not burning yourself.
Other than
that I cannot say the game has any serious flaws. Image and Form Games have had
very clean idea what they wanted to create and they have succeeded. Steamworld
is light, fun turn based shooter implementing in itself ideas from classics
like X-COM and Worms, so if you like these two you will love Steamworld Heist.
Where to find:
