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SteamWorld Heist Review


Zera
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Greetings, folks. Do you like Swedish game developers? Do you want to be a steam-driven robot-cowboy in space? Are you sick and tired of missing attacks in turn-based games because the RNG doesn't like you? Then enter SteamWorld Heist, the sequel to SteamWorld Dig... which is a completely different genre.

SteamWorld Heist is a sidescrolling strategy game where skill replaces the role of luck that you may find in this genre. After moving your characters, you attack by aiming and firing weapons manually. While critical hits that slightly increase damage require a headshot and a 50% chance, your actual accuracy is determined by your aiming instead of RNG, so the game feels more tactile and interactive. Instead of managing probabilities, you're managing positions and sight-lines.

The second important aspect of Heist's combat is that bullets can ricochet, enabling trick shots to hit enemies that are out of sight or behind cover. Speaking of which, all cover is destructible and offers no stat boosts, so if a piece of cover doesn't actually cover you, you can still get hit. However, you can fire through cover if you're standing right next to it.

There are several characters that wield different weapon types, and have unique abilities. Piper (the main protagonist) can offer heals and damage boosts to nearby allies, Seabrass gets an attack boost after taking damage, Sally can chain kill-shots for mass destruction, Ivanski can turn invincible to shield allies, etc. Missions typically allow three or four characters, so you decide who to bring. You can further customize your strategy with a variety of weapons and stat-modifying equipment. Thankfully it's not overwhelming, and more importantly the numbers involved are very small like in Paper Mario. By the end of the game, most of your characters will have less than 9 hit points.

The same mission structure is used throughout the game - board the ship, explore the rooms, kill the enemies, grab the loot, and gather at the escape pod. However, each mission adds a wrinkle to the gameplay to keep it interesting. For example, the cover might be explosive, or the enemies might be explosive, or the ship might explode if you don't escape quickly.

Of course, most twists don't involve things exploding, but the explosions are a real treat. In fact, any time something explodes, a character dies, or a tricky long-range shot is pulled off, the game uses just the right amount of slow-motion for dramatic effect. Playing SteamWorld Heist is like experiencing a movie of epic tactical shootouts, except you get to be a part of it.

There are nearly 100 hats to wear. Hats are mostly used to identify enemy types, but you can shoot them off and steal them for yourself. In the heat of battle it can be a tough decision - do I want to shoot this enemy in the head, or do I want a nice hat? And even if you aim for the head, the hat can act as a consolation prize if you miss. This is the cleverest use of hats in game design I've seen.

There are five difficulty levels that can be changed at any time - Casual, Regular, Experienced, Veteran, and Elite. I played on Experienced and found it quite challenging, so I wouldn't go higher for a first playthrough. If a character dies, they will not gain experience for the mission and you will lose a star from its rating. If all characters die or you abort the mission, you will lose a chunk of your current funds. However, robots that die are reassembled and missions can be replayed at any time, so while the game is challenging, it manages to avoid being overly punishing.

With roughly 20 hours of playtime and procedurally generated missions, there's plenty of content and replayability for $20. However, if you spend an additional $5 on "The Outsider" DLC, you will get an extra character, missions, weapons, items, and hats, which are sprinkled throughout the adventure. This DLC is not required to fully enjoy the game, but it is required to fully enjoy the game... if that makes any sense.

Before I end this review, I'll mention some design choices that I didn't agree with. Unlocking character abilities via experience levels means that if you want to get everyone to level 10, there will be some end-game grinding (although higher difficulties award more experience). Inventory space is very limited for no apparent reason other than making you buy storage units with funds. But mostly, I dislike the tiered progression of weapons and items. Not only do guns with bigger numbers add no depth, but they let you cheat the rating system by replaying earlier missions with much stronger weaponry. Despite these minor blemishes, SteamWorld Heist is a fantastic game of tactical combat. It's currently available on everything except Xbox One and toaster, and I highly recommend it to all fans of turn-based strategy games.

9/10 (Awesome!)

Is it better than...

...SteamWorld Dig? Heist is less niche and has more content and variety to offer, so yes.

...Bravely Default? I'm going to be brave and say YES!

...Shantae: Half-Genie Hero? For the same price, I prefer Heist. Unless the upcoming DLC is REALLY good.

...Fire Emblem Fates? I can't say, but it's definitely cheaper then buying all three story paths...

...Sin & Punishment: Star Successor? Nope. :)

Well, I hope you liked this review as much as I liked the game. Unless I'm horribly mistaken, everyone on this forum likes turn-based games... So go buy SteamWorld Heist for your favorite system or handheld while it's still 50% off, and enjoy your 2017.

Edited by Zera
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