SteamWorld Heist 2 Review (PS5) – SteamWorld Heist 2 is the most recent in the SteamWorld anthology series of games. These games span fourteen years and a plethora of genres, yet despite this, SteamWorld Heist 2 has been my introduction to the series, and what an introduction it has been.
The SteamWorld Heist games, while not following the same characters, do share gameplay elements with each other. They are turn-based side scrolling strategy games, where the player has freedom to aim wherever they like on their turn.
This, with the addition of bullets ricocheting and unique combat bonuses, makes the combat equal parts more fun and challenging. Paired with an incredible soundtrack, SteamWorld Heist 2 is a game that’s extremely difficult to put down.
SteamWorld Heist 2 Review (PS5) – Gunslingin’ On The High Seas
SteamWorld Heist 2 begins by telling players about an unknown substance that has begun polluting the water in this world. Given that we play as steam-powered robots, this is very troubling news for us, as this water is totally unusable for Steambots.
It is because of this that clean water has become the primary currency of this world. The story does not dwell on this detail too much here, because the player is placed in the shoes of Captain Quincy Leeway.
This one-armed Steambot and his loyal companion, Wesley, set out to recover Captain Leeway’s submarine from the Dieselbot Navy. The Dieselbots, not concerned about the water crisis, control the seas of SteamWorld.
Before your journey can truly begin, you need a ship. Thus begins your first mission, in which the game teaches you all about its incredibly fun combat. The player’s turns are comprised of a certain number of actions.
You can move, use a special ability, or use your main attack, which will always end a turn. Depending on how far you may want to move your character, the movement may end your turn as well, since the character will be too tired from sprinting to attack.
Using cover and objects placed around the arenas, such as explosives, each player can easily set themself up for success if they know what they are doing.
After liberating Captain Leeway’s sub from the Dieselbots with the help of Wesley and new recruit Daisey, it is off to the open ocean with your adventure.
It’s Dangerous To Go Alone
After you reclaim the submarine, the wide open ocean is available for you to explore, but beware! While the gentle waves and varied landmarks may look appealing, there are also Deiselbot Navy ships on these waters.
With a limited arsenal for your submarine at first, naval combat can be challenging. However, once you are able to get more weapons for your sub, I found I was able to cut through encounters with two or three ships with no problems. I even began seeking them out for the promise of clean water on board.
One of the most important parts of being a successful Captain is recruiting the right crew. Lucky for you, different outposts in the wide ocean will allow you to meet and recruit all manner of help.
From Reaper to Sniper to Engineer, each character that you can have in your party will fall into one of the game’s classes. Each class has their own perks and skills that players can try out for themselves.
I found myself having the most fun with the Sniper class and the Engineer class. It is important to not only find classes that you are comfortable with, but also classes that work well together.
For instance, when working with a Sniper and an Engineer, I tend to keep my Sniper at a high point in the arena to provide cover for the Engineer.
The Engineer is able to get up close and personal with all of the enemies using a high damage pistol and abilities to take the battle away from the Sniper, ultimately making short work of most encounters with minimal damage taken by my crew members.
This is not to mention how fun it is to line up shots with the aiming line which shows how the bullet will travel when using a Sniper. This feature can lead to some very cool looking shots being pulled off with minimal effort.
Hats, Hats, Hats!
One of the game’s most charming features is the collectible hats in each mission. Every enemy that you find yourself against will be wearing one of many possible hats. If you graze their head with a shot, they won’t take any damage, but their hat will fly off.
The enemies take this as a sign of disrespect and will come out with a mouthful against you over insulting them in this way. The best part of this is that you can than pick up the hats and wear them in future missions.
You can also find more rare hats in shops, like Luffy’s straw hat from One Piece. The only downside is that you will lose any hats that you lose during a mission until you find a replacement.
While that may be some of the most fun loot to find, there are also plenty of guns to find in missions and stores that can increase the characters’ stats. Speaking of weapons, one thing found in SteamWorld Heist 2 that I have not seen in many other games is the fact that any character can be any class.
Yes, each character comes with a pre-assigned class, and if you are like me, you may like to keep it that way. However, swapping out any character’s weapons with one from another class will change that character’s class too.
This means each character can level up and unlock skills from any of the available classes to use in combat.
Sea Shanty Central
Another high note for me, personally, was the different songs found throughout the game. While it may seem like a minor thing to some, the music found in areas like the bars are intoxicating.
The mixture of the upbeat tunes and the vocals have led me to leave the game running while doing other tasks around the house, just because I wanted to listen to the music even longer.
The music ties the world of SteamWorld Heist II together in a way that make the places you discover unique.
Similar to how the Resident Evil save room themes are instantly recognizable and differentiate themselves well from everything else in the game, the outpost music in SteamWorld Heist 2 is simply a cut above the rest and will stay in your head for long after the game has been put down.
Beyond the music, that’s the common thread for me for the whole game. I find myself continuing to want to go back to it time and time again, because in many ways it hits that ‘cut above the rest’ bar. It’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a new adventure.
SteamWorld Heist 2 is now available on PS5 and PS4.
Review code generously provided by the publisher.