As a seasoned gamer with a soft spot for steampunk and pirate-themed adventures, I must say that SteamWorld Heist 2 has been a delightful return to the world of steam bots and high seas. Having played the original back in 2015, it’s fascinating to see how this sequel has evolved and improved upon its predecessor.
Launched in 2015, SteamWorld Heist offered players an engaging 2D experience filled with piracy, exploration, and tactical combat on a turn-based basis. This was an intriguing endeavor by Thunderful that hasn’t been revisited for quite some time – until now. The long-awaited sequel, SteamWorld Heist 2, has finally arrived, boasting numerous enhancements over its predecessor. Embark on a fresh pirate adventure to save the world from corruption, although this journey may have a few hiccups along the way, it promises an endearing strategy RPG experience.
A world of withering water
In SteamWorld Heist 2, players find themselves in a world where Earth has exploded and its fragments drift through space. Among these fragments is a watery section that powered steam robots for eons, but recently, something sinister is causing the water to contaminate and become unusable. This makes fresh water an extremely valuable resource. The Royal Navy, led by diesel-powered bots with an arrogant superiority complex towards steam bots, perceives this crisis as an opportunity to expand and tighten their rule over the seas. A descendant of a legendary figure steps forward to challenge them.
In this scenario, we find Captain Leeway, a man leading a dilapidated submarine that serves as the base for his rebellion against the Navy. He’s trying to carve out his own identity beyond the shadow of his renowned mother’s achievements. Contrary to its ominous tone, SteamWorld Heist 2 is filled with laughter and joy. The game world is typically vibrant and colorful for SteamWorld series, and the journey across seas, visits to bars and bases, and the missions are creatively designed with a mix of entertaining characters and graphics.
In SteamWorld Heist 2, levels have undergone a significant enhancement. Instead of being randomly generated and sometimes confusing, these new levels are carefully designed with slight differences in room layouts and enemy configurations to avoid monotony. This change doesn’t completely eradicate the issues found in the original game, particularly on lengthy levels, but it does make each mission feel more polished and less tedious. The game’s impressive soundtrack, which includes catchy music for sailing, downtime, and missions, further enhances the overall experience. I find the bar music from Steam Powered Giraffe, with its captivating sea shanties, to be a standout feature of the game.
Steampunk piracy improved
As an ardent fan, I can’t help but sing the praises of SteamWorld Heist 2! The gameplay has been refined significantly from its predecessor, offering a delightful journey filled with engaging progression. The game is cleverly divided into three captivating segments: tactical turn-based battles, real-time sea exploration and combat, and strategic crew management between missions.
One of the few things I don’t like about the submarine overworld is that there’s no form of fast travel at all. It’s a sprawling world that’s fun to explore, but your sub doesn’t go incredibly fast, even with upgrades. At the very least, it could have been a bit better if you could teleport between rest-stops.
As a gamer, I find myself in familiar territory when it comes to mission combat and leading my squad. This time around, the missions are meticulously crafted, but they share some basic level structures with the first game. You’ll navigate through rooms filled with various adversaries, clearing paths to unlock new areas on the map and engaging in ensuing battles. The objectives are diverse, ranging from gathering loot, completing tasks within a limited number of turns, surviving against spawning enemies for specific durations, targeting key figures, and much more. Furthermore, the diversity among enemies has been enhanced to encourage strategic team composition.
In this game, your team members initially belong to one of six distinct roles, each with unique abilities. However, they can switch jobs as they level up, retaining skills from their former role. This results in versatile characters known as hybrid builds. For example, a Sniper might excel at long-range attacks but also make use of the agility of a Flanker for mobility. A Reaper could deal extra damage to enemies with rapid shots and utilize Engineer skills to fortify themselves. While some roles may have more utility and strength compared to others, I discovered that most of them offer useful features in their own right.
In the game, I found an issue with multi-job builds: since the idea was introduced early, it didn’t seem beneficial at first because you couldn’t advance a character’s primary job without being on that class. Switching jobs midway through seemed counterproductive as it meant leaving potential benefits unexplored. However, as I progressed and maxed out a skill tree, it became clearer why this feature was introduced. The downside is that leveling up multiple classes requires significant effort, which might force you to play easier missions over and over again to reach the necessary levels for harder missions.
Make your own legend
SteamWorld Heist 2 marks Thunderful’s return to a long-neglected gameplay style, and it’s well-crafted in many aspects. The character progression system with multiple jobs and enhancements for sea travel offer novel and diverse challenges throughout the game. Although there are still some lingering issues like inconvenient travel and repetitive grinding from the original game, if you’re seeking an engaging tactical strategy experience within the SteamWorld universe, this sequel promises a delightful journey filled with enjoyable moments for fans.
As a seasoned gamer with years of experience under my belt, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing numerous titles across various platforms. My latest endeavor is to delve into SteamWorld Heist 2, a game that is set to release on multiple consoles and PC this coming August 8, 2025. Having grown up with retro-inspired games, I’m always eager to explore new titles that harken back to my childhood favorites. So, buckle up as we embark on a journey through the galaxy in SteamWorld Heist 2!
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2024-08-06 17:28