**Spoiler Free**

Quick Review: SteamWorld Heist is a solid turn-based 2D game that has an incredibly satisfying combat mechanic. With every shot based on your aiming skill, you’ll be blasting your way through deep space in this white-hat pirate fantasy. Even after beating the game, the combat mechanics kept packing a pleasing punch as I chased the remaining achievements. Definitely a game you should pick up and play.


Gameplay: SteamWorld Heist has a winning combination of gameplay mechanics: turn-based combat with skill-based shooting. Raiding and looting ships filled with bad guy robots is the name of the game, and it’s a lot of fun! It’s always great to play a game that nails its primary activity, and SteamWorld Heist does just that.

In a battle, you’ll move your squad of Steambots (that you choose before the level) through an enemy ship to complete some kind of objective. Usually it’s to collect loot, destroy a certain number of enemies, beat a boss, or get to a location. A few levels have turn limits before the mission fails. There’s a fun variety that keeps the game fresh. Levels are also mostly procedurally generated, which keeps each level a little different every time you play it.

You’ll move in turns. Your steambots can either move and shoot, or just move twice as far. After you move all of your crew, the enemy gets their turn. You’ll be searching for cover and trying to place your steambots in optimal positions as you open doors blindly, or try to storm a room from different entrances to get the advantage on hard-to-reach enemies.

While the turn-based movement is good enough, the actual aiming and shooting is where the game really shines. The aiming mechanic is simple yet engaging. Since it’s a 2D game, you simply aim up or down, kind of like Angry Birds. Except, unless your lobbing grenades, your bullets go straight (there’s no drop off). But the real fun is firing that weapon and watching it impact a robot as their body parts explode out into a hail of physics-based debris. The impact of the skill shot you make really connects you to the hits and the misses you make each turn. It’s much more engaging than if it were a typical turn-based strategy scenario, where you command someone to attack, and watch as a spectator, hoping the RND percentage lands in your favor. It was a great design choice to incorporate a skill-based gameplay loop in a turn-based genre, and they pull it off with great robot-exploding satisfaction.

Before each level, you’ll get to pick your team (between 1-4 steambots) and then assign their load out with one weapon, two items, and a hat (cosmetic only). There are a variety of weapons that each correspond to a compatible character class. You can use things from handguns, to grenade launchers. Items can boost your stats (health or movement) or can even provide you with extra abilities.

Each character also has unique abilities they unlock as they level up (characters only level up if you use them and they survive the level). The combination of weapons, items, and abilities really allows for a nice spectrum of play styles and crew combinations.

(FYI, Sally is a damage machine)

Characters fully revive and heal after every mission. If you lose a mission outright, it’ll cost you a percentage of your resources.

You’ll choose your mission on the world map. These can either be skirmishes or bars/shops you visit to buy new weapons or get new missions. There really isn’t much in the way of side quests. It’s all fairly straight forward, and you basically have to complete each mission to move on to the next one.

You’ll also spend some time on your ship. But it’s the nothing to write home about. You don’t upgrade it or anything. It’s just a hub to talk to your crew and get little story moments.

The one feature I wish was included was a "movement undo" feature. Sometimes you accidentally move your character one space too close or too far, and it can ruin your entire turn, especially on elite difficulty. The work around is to quit the game before the enemy turn is over and reload (it autosaves after a full cycle of turns). So even though there’s a work around, it would have been nice to have this incorporated into the UI.

I’n the end, the combat is where SteamWorld Heist really shines. And that’s great, because you do a lot of it.

(Note: getting 100% achievements is definitely a tedious and possibly frustrating experience. I recommend using the guides and using the “exit game” loophole to redo turns)


Atmosphere: SteamWorld Heist has a distinct 2D art style which compliments the combat mechanics very well. But the 2D universe is also a fun and engaging one on its own. The game has some humor in the dialogue, and the hats definitely don’t take themselves very seriously. But I still found myself adequately engaged and transported into deep space. The game largely has one space backdrop the entire time. But its purple and orange color pallets, along with slightly-moving space clouds, is very pleasant to behold. The ships and characters have fun and charming designs with almost a comic-book aesthetic. The animation is also solid and helps to sell the universe’s personality.

There are also some funny cutscenes that use the style of an old newsreel. You know, with a narrator and some old orchestral music from a cheesy B horror flick back when cinemas were a new sensation. I thought they did a great job pulling them off, and I thought it added to the humorous charm.

The music supports the game well overall. Some of the tracks can get repetitive, especially the combat music. Yet, I did not find it obnoxious or annoying. It does a good job of sitting in the background while supplying a level of intensity. I don’t think I’d buy the soundtrack, but it works well in-game.

That is, except for the indie robot band tracks. Those are hit and miss. They’re quite quirky, and can seem a little jarring. You may or may not vibe with them. They play in bars and after boss battles.

The SFX were pretty good. They do a good job selling the sci-fi genre, and really help to give kill shots that extra oomph. Hearing robot pieces clank along the floor after a gun shot and bullet punch is really satisfying.

All of these elements combined made me feel like I was a space pirate, leading my crew into hit-and-run battles, raiding and looting enemy ships, and then escaping to fight another day. I really got that space pirate fantasy, and I was not expecting that from this title. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised.

Conclusion: I was not expecting to play this game over 70 hours, yet here we are. SteamWorld Heist is a really fun turn-based game, specifically because of its skill-based combat and supporting atmosphere. The gameplay loop is satisfying and engaging, and makes every shot a fun experience. Outside of some quirky soundtrack moments, and maybe it’s lack of side quests, there’s very little to criticize about this game. I highly recommend you pick this up. Good luck steambots!

[h1]Steamworld Heist Review[/h1] [i]**Spoiler Free**[/i] [u]Quick Review:[/u] SteamWorld Heist is a solid turn-based 2D game that has an incredibly satisfying combat mechanic. With every shot based on your aiming skill, you’ll be blasting your way through deep space in this white-hat pirate fantasy. Even after beating the game, the combat mechanics kept packing a pleasing punch as I chased the remaining achievements. Definitely a game you should pick up and play. [u]Gameplay:[/u] SteamWorld Heist has a winning combination of gameplay mechanics: turn-based combat with skill-based shooting. Raiding and looting ships filled with bad guy robots is the name of the game, and it’s a lot of fun! It’s always great to play a game that nails its primary activity, and SteamWorld Heist does just that. In a battle, you’ll move your squad of Steambots (that you choose before the level) through an enemy ship to complete some kind of objective. Usually it’s to collect loot, destroy a certain number of enemies, beat a boss, or get to a location. A few levels have turn limits before the mission fails. There’s a fun variety that keeps the game fresh. Levels are also mostly procedurally generated, which keeps each level a little different every time you play it. You’ll move in turns. Your steambots can either move and shoot, or just move twice as far. After you move all of your crew, the enemy gets their turn. You’ll be searching for cover and trying to place your steambots in optimal positions as you open doors blindly, or try to storm a room from different entrances to get the advantage on hard-to-reach enemies. While the turn-based movement is good enough, the actual aiming and shooting is where the game really shines. The aiming mechanic is simple yet engaging. Since it’s a 2D game, you simply aim up or down, kind of like Angry Birds. Except, unless your lobbing grenades, your bullets go straight (there’s no drop off). But the real fun is firing that weapon and watching it impact a robot as their body parts explode out into a hail of physics-based debris. The impact of the skill shot you make really connects you to the hits and the misses you make each turn. It’s much more engaging than if it were a typical turn-based strategy scenario, where you command someone to attack, and watch as a spectator, hoping the RND percentage lands in your favor. It was a great design choice to incorporate a skill-based gameplay loop in a turn-based genre, and they pull it off with great robot-exploding satisfaction. Before each level, you’ll get to pick your team (between 1-4 steambots) and then assign their load out with one weapon, two items, and a hat (cosmetic only). There are a variety of weapons that each correspond to a compatible character class. You can use things from handguns, to grenade launchers. Items can boost your stats (health or movement) or can even provide you with extra abilities. Each character also has unique abilities they unlock as they level up (characters only level up if you use them and they survive the level). The combination of weapons, items, and abilities really allows for a nice spectrum of play styles and crew combinations. (FYI, [i]Sally[/i] is a damage machine) Characters fully revive and heal after every mission. If you lose a mission outright, it’ll cost you a percentage of your resources. You’ll choose your mission on the world map. These can either be skirmishes or bars/shops you visit to buy new weapons or get new missions. There really isn’t much in the way of side quests. It’s all fairly straight forward, and you basically have to complete each mission to move on to the next one. You’ll also spend some time on your ship. But it’s the nothing to write home about. You don’t upgrade it or anything. It’s just a hub to talk to your crew and get little story moments. The one feature I wish was included was a "movement undo" feature. Sometimes you accidentally move your character one space too close or too far, and it can ruin your entire turn, especially on elite difficulty. The work around is to quit the game before the enemy turn is over and reload (it autosaves after a full cycle of turns). So even though there’s a work around, it would have been nice to have this incorporated into the UI. I’n the end, the combat is where SteamWorld Heist really shines. And that’s great, because you do a lot of it. [i](Note: getting 100% achievements is definitely a tedious and possibly frustrating experience. I recommend using the guides and using the “exit game” loophole to redo turns)[/i] [u]Atmosphere:[/u] SteamWorld Heist has a distinct 2D art style which compliments the combat mechanics very well. But the 2D universe is also a fun and engaging one on its own. The game has some humor in the dialogue, and the hats definitely don’t take themselves very seriously. But I still found myself adequately engaged and transported into deep space. The game largely has one space backdrop the entire time. But its purple and orange color pallets, along with slightly-moving space clouds, is very pleasant to behold. The ships and characters have fun and charming designs with almost a comic-book aesthetic. The animation is also solid and helps to sell the universe’s personality. There are also some funny cutscenes that use the style of an old newsreel. You know, with a narrator and some old orchestral music from a cheesy B horror flick back when cinemas were a new sensation. I thought they did a great job pulling them off, and I thought it added to the humorous charm. The music supports the game well overall. Some of the tracks can get repetitive, especially the combat music. Yet, I did not find it obnoxious or annoying. It does a good job of sitting in the background while supplying a level of intensity. I don’t think I’d buy the soundtrack, but it works well in-game. That is, except for the indie robot band tracks. Those are hit and miss. They’re quite quirky, and can seem a little jarring. You may or may not vibe with them. They play in bars and after boss battles. The SFX were pretty good. They do a good job selling the sci-fi genre, and really help to give kill shots that extra oomph. Hearing robot pieces clank along the floor after a gun shot and bullet punch is really satisfying. All of these elements combined made me feel like I was a space pirate, leading my crew into hit-and-run battles, raiding and looting enemy ships, and then escaping to fight another day. I really got that space pirate fantasy, and I was not expecting that from this title. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. [u]Conclusion:[/u] I was not expecting to play this game over 70 hours, yet here we are. SteamWorld Heist is a really fun turn-based game, specifically because of its skill-based combat and supporting atmosphere. The gameplay loop is satisfying and engaging, and makes every shot a fun experience. Outside of some quirky soundtrack moments, and maybe it’s lack of side quests, there’s very little to criticize about this game. I highly recommend you pick this up. Good luck steambots!