Something that has always characterized the universe of SteamWorld is that Image & Form and Thunderful Games have never specialized in the same genre with this saga. Although the best known are the metroidvania SteamWorld Dig and SteamWorld Dig 2, it has also left us with an RPG, a construction simulator, a tower defense and even a strategy title.
The latter was SteamWorld Heist, which ran through most existing platforms a few years ago. Its reception was so good that this has led its creators to want to develop its sequel: SteamWorld Heist II. This was one of the first video games that I had the opportunity to try for a long time on the trip I made to the Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, which became another of those proposals that I had not had in my sights and managed to capture my attention.
I have to say that so far the only games of the franchise that I had played and completed are the two SteamWorld Dighence I also wanted to see how that strategic touch suited these robots taken from a post-apocalyptic world with a steampunk theme.
Battles where aiming is the key
The protagonist of this new adventure is Captain Leeway, a descendant of Captain Piper Faraday, the protagonist of the previous title. The little that has been revealed about the plot is that The marine world is in serious danger due to a water crisisso the crew led by Leeway will set out to unravel the mystery and the reason why this situation that is threatening the Great Sea has occurred.
To do this, the group of characters will go on a journey around several islands where countless strategic and truly challenging combats await. Although the first mission acts as a tutorial and explains perfectly all the controls and possibilities, it suggests that the road will not be rosy at no time and that any false move, each wrong decision or each failure to attack, ends up paying dearly.
All the action takes place in 2D levels through which you move little by little by crushing waves of robotic enemies that get in the way. Each character has a couple of actions that They practically boil down to moving and attacking, so each one must determine which is best in each situation. In general, the mechanics are very similar to those of its predecessor, but it hides a great depth in customization, as I will point out later.
During battles you can choose whether to advance a little to attack later or vice versa, or directly move more quickly around the stage at the cost of not doing any damage during that turn. Likewise, you can choose between performing normal attacks or other special ones that could be considered truly devastating. Of course, all characters mostly use firearms, so these require ammunition that needs to be reloaded.
And it is not enough to make the right decision in any altercation that arises. One of the fundamental characteristics of the gameplay is aiming, since we ourselves will have to choose the trajectory of the bullet so that it hits the enemies, which will influence the damage caused depending on the place it ends up passing through. In addition, the terrain plays a fundamental role in this aspect, since bullets can ricochet everywhere.
Perhaps an enemy is protected by a wall or appears unreachable to the naked eye. However, if you manage to shoot the bullet into the ceiling, it may go from there to a wall and end its journey by shattering the mechanical components of the enemy in question. The problem is that the artificial intelligence is also fully aware of this fact and will not mess around when it comes to attacking, so it can give you a good beating in no time if you are too careless.
Of course, we ourselves can also protect with elements that are everywhere, whether boxes, metal plates, barrels, etc., which manage to cushion the damage so that it is less. This is why it is so important to take a good look at your surroundings and take a few minutes to plan a good strategy, which is something I discovered at a very advanced level when I had to face more than a dozen enemies at the same time.
On the other hand, there are final boss fights with their own patterns that must be learned and paid attention to in order to succeed in these encounters. The only one that was available did not pose too many problems for me, although I also recognize that it was part of the tutorial, so I am convinced that others will appear later that will become a very tough nut to crack.
Deep customization for Steambots and their submarine
Something that surprised me, for the better, is the amount of options so overwhelming when it comes to being able to customize each of the main characters. To begin with, there are different types of weapons, such as pistols, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, hammers, etc., whose effects are very different, hence they can cause very serious damage to a specific enemy or area, depending on the area. choose.
Although I was only able to play with three different characters, the team behind this work told me that there will be many more who will join the journey by progressing in the plot and who will be able to level up little by little. Added to this will be the possibility of unlocking a long list of skills with the respective skill trees they have. the six existing professions and that radically change the gameplay based on which one is chosen.
And the group of robotic heroes is not the only thing that will have to be paid attention to in order to strengthen it to the maximum. The journey across the Great Sea will take place in a submarine that can be improved also as you obtain essential items to expand your compartments in the form of shops and posts, rooms and weapons. The latter is something essential that cannot be overlooked, because it turns out that not all battles are about land and strategy.
When navigating the scene when going from one island to another, navy ships may appear that, for some reason unknown to me, will dive against our vehicle with cannons and machine guns, which is why it is so vital to increase the capabilities of the submarine to destroy into pieces the bases and transports that go after ours. In fact, it is the only way to reach the destinations of other places, where they await countless missions with their own difficulty levels which can be increased or decreased so that it does not become a hellish challenge.
Beyond so much combat, something I stay with is the so peculiar sense of humor of the franchise that is present again, with characters with their own personalities and dialogues to give and take that give greater importance to everything that has to do with the plot. And we must not leave aside how colorful all the settings are and the charm that the game in general gives off, which makes it a delight to the eye and, as far as possible, more friendly, no matter how complicated the tasks are. things at certain times.
The truth is SteamWorld Heist II It has given me very good feelings and I have been left wanting to explore its marine world more to discover what other secrets it hides. I can see that some combats will make me tear my hair out in its final version, because this trial version almost achieved it, but at least I want to give it a chance to continue with this odyssey in the company of the Steambots commanded by the Captain Leeway.
SteamWorld Heist II Release Date
The launch of SteamWorld Heist II is scheduled to occur August 8, making it another of the most interesting and promising indies this summer. From that day on it will be available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC through Steam.
In VidaExtra | The 31 best strategy games for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch
