SteamWorld Heist II Review
Steaming Through the High Seas
It can be easy to get lost in the dark and dreary worlds that video games tend to embody. Thankfully, every once in a while there’s a title that comes along that just oozes charm and embodies the delight of getting lost in an adventure. Thunderful Games’ SteamWorld Heist II feels like a stroll through a natural park delighting everyone. With such a cheery disposition, this bright tactical RPG with a steam-powered robot crew draws in players and keeps them glued to the screen with a simple yet fun gameplay loop that never grows rusty.
Players join the jolly crew of Captain Quincy Leeway as he tries to stand out from the shadow of his infamous mother, aka the Krakenbane. Not long ago on the Great Sea, the steambots were threatened by a terrible Kraken, only for it to be defeated by the Krakenbane, who disappeared. In the aftermath, wanting to become his own bot, Quincy forms his own crew, but it isn’t long before the modest crew and ship are impounded by the Royal Navy, and Quincy hatches a daring plot to spring them from captivity. This sets off a chain reaction in which the crew expands, the villains plot, and things open up to a wonderful naval world waiting to be explored in a submarine.
This adventure into the unknown isn’t only exploratory, as the world is also facing a rust problem. To the steam-powered heroes and the downtrodden populace, it is causing a slow, poisonous decline in their health that will eventually kill them. Complicating matters is the diesel-powered Royal Navy that rules the seas with an iron fist, hoarding resources and looking down on the steambots. Also haunting the seas are the Rattlers, cultists that convince bots to replace their parts with bones because they won’t be affected by the water. With both factions treading upon the innocent, Quincy takes up a mantle similar to Robin Hood as he heists from the rich while attempting to uncover the mystery of where the rust comes from. Quincy is weighed down by his legacy as Krakenbane’s son and often has moments of self-doubt, but with his heart in the right place it’s always uplifting to see him pull through any personal issues. The crew is varied, but most members only get to showcase one personality trait in conversation with Quincy, as they rarely interact with one another.
The infamous bank shot to hit that enemy in the corner pocket.
The characters’ personality traits largely follow their original class. This can lead to some disconnect, as there’s such an emphasis on swapping to other classes to build up health points and gaining extra skills that it’s not in the player’s interest to keep their alcoholic Brawler in the class that makes most sense personality-wise. There are no restrictions to class swapping as long as there’s enough weaponry for them to go around. All ten crew members can be grenade-launching Boomers at the same time if desired, provided there’s enough launchers to go around. Some attack abilities, such as the Brawler’s charge, or mechanics, such as a Sniper’s improved sight or Engineer’s handguns that shoot twice, are locked to their original classes, while supplementary skills like healing, adding critical damage, improving aim, and giving a variety of abilities to mix and match all come from swapping classes. Deciding which way to mix and match characters to maximize their potential is a lot of fun to explore.
Some abilities feel overpowered compared to others, but each class is relatively balanced in a way that it can be made valuable, even if some have a higher difficulty curve than others. For example, Brawlers just have to walk or charge up to enemies to smash away with their hammer, while Snipers have, by default, a long sight line to make aiming easier. On the other end, the Boomer’s grenade launchers have minimal sightlines and bounce around, making it possible to do nothing of use, or worse, damage teammates. Reapers are powerful attackers that are able to act twice in a round if they scrap an enemy, but their crossbows and submachine guns have no sight line, making it tricky to ensure all shots hit their targets.
Line of sight and cover is very important in SteamWorld Heist II. Combat takes place in connected rooms on a 2D plane and most weapons aren’t able to reach beyond the current room. Each turn characters have two movement ranges: the yellow range indicates the range at which that character can do an action afterwards, while the blue range indicates that the turn will end immediately after movement. Meanwhile, an action undertaken stationary grants a minimal amount of movement to find cover afterwards. Opening doors to a new room counts as their action, which makes advancing into the unknown a cautionary tale if they’re left open to multiple new enemy attacks.
Ships just can’t stay friends with one another and appreciate the gorgeous landscape.
Cover is an important strategic consideration. Bots that are snug against cover can shoot over it, but those a space or two away may end up bouncing their bullets off a barricade. Unless a player is capable at deciphering angles easily, this tends to make players move their characters a bit closer to their target and other enemies than they might prefer. A lot of the difficulty in SteamWorld Heist II comes from positioning and damage control. Many of the maps require players to move quickly in order to pick up special “epic swag” treasure chests or to avoid being overrun by enemy reinforcements. There’s always something that keeps missions tense even on easier difficulties. Combat stays playful as well; most weapons except for crossbows and explosives that hit a target will bounce around, enabling fun trick shots that can directly hurt opponents, blow up explosive canisters, or drop hazards on unsuspecting enemies.
For those that want variety, there are five default difficulties that can be swapped around to with no penalty to potential rewards. There is also a customizable difficulty option where players can adjust different elements to find their personal sweet spot. Enemy placement and swag is found in different places on each map run, but epic swag is always in the same spot and provides a fixed reward once. Other loot is dispersed throughout the map and can be anything from currency to rare equipment. Stars are handed out at the end of the mission for obtaining the epic swag container, doing all of the side objectives, and preventing any ally deaths. They unlock new areas in safe zone bars for weapon purchases as well as party wide permanent stat boosts and are obtainable on every non-boss mission, making it a worthwhile venture to pick up as many as possible. Bars are also visited frequently as characters can only be used once on a mission before rest is needed to venture forth again. Bosses are both difficult and full of their own memorable moments that are free from swag or penalties.
Surprisingly poignant as there’s over 100 hats to shoot off, then collect, and wear throughout the title.
Moving around happens on an overworld map with the crew’s submarine. Cruising around isn’t care-free, as the submarine can get into naval combat with other enemy ships. These battles grant bounty points that can be turned in for rewards when resting, and fragments that can be used to upgrade the sub, class abilities, or unlock special skills that are unique to each crew member. Bounty points can be found in other ways, but the novelty of the navel combat breaks up the grind of missions in a pleasing manner. These naval skirmishes are in real-time and turn into a game of cat and mouse where the player dodges attacks while waiting for short cooldowns on their own weapons to continue firing. The custom difficulty does allow players to adjust naval combat separately to the turn-based combat, with a few of the boss encounters in the game requiring besting them in naval combat first.
Everything is vibrant in SteamWorld Heist II. It captures the feel of a Caribbean archipelago perfectly, with plenty of palm trees, bright colours, and open sea to explore. Even the derelict ships, oil platforms, and sea bases have a lovely vibrancy to them. Enemies are split into factions with at least a half-dozen types that will be seen multiple times before the end of the game. Character designs pop against the vibrant backgrounds and make each party member and boss memorable and every sight appealing. Matching the visuals are a variety of vocal and instrumental sea shanties that progress the story and stay ingrained in mind for days. Band Steam Powered Giraffe returns from the first title with an opening theme whose acoustic guitar relaxes players into a jolly adventure, and appear as in-game models to give players a steambot face to attach to the wonderful harmonized vocals that are easy to just sit at a bar and enjoy. Bots aren’t voiced themselves but make adorable grunts and beeps when speaking with each other, with the sheer number of different frequencies used adding a surprising layer to their designs.
SteamWorld Heist II is a swashbuckling tale that always points its compass towards something fun. There’s a refreshing amount of freedom to how players can enjoy the title from its adjustable difficulty to the twist of naval combat. A little more work could be done with the character’s personalities, but they all get moments to shine and with lovely visual designs as well as adorable vocal ticks they’ll find a way to enter player’s hearts all the same. The wonderfully catchy music always brings a smile with lots sights and small things that make the world delightful. SteamWorld Heist II is beaming with sunshine that readily lights up anyone’s day.
Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher.
Vibrant and colourful character designs
Wonderfully composed music
Varied difficulty to keep both naval and tactical combat accessible
Captain Quincy's crew gets little in the way of character development
Collecting every star is a bit tedious on higher difficulties
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