The original SteamWorld Heist saw players take part in a space-western adventure through the stars. Instead of rehashing that concept, SteamWorld Heist 2 puts players in charge of a steam-powered pirate crew riding the ocean waves. As a long-time fan of the SteamWorld series, I am happy to say SteamWorld Heist 2 delivers the same charming fun as previous entries. With an impressive level of depth and variety, SteamWorld Heist 2 will scratch your tactical turn-based itch.
SteamWorld Heist 2 follows the adventures of Captain Quincy Leeway as he attempts to live up to the lofty expectations of his heroic mother. Captain Leeway wants to step outside of his mother’s shadow and become respected and appreciated on his own terms, but unfortunately, he does not possess the confidence to do so. But, when the world begins to run out of fresh water due to an unknown pollutant, Captain Leeway sets off with his trusty crew in tow to find the culprit, solve the problem and save steam-powered civilisation. Along the way, Captain Leeway must confront the diesel-powered Royal Navy, a robotic cult that has begun replacing their mechanical limbs with bones, and more, as the water scarcity causes tensions to rise and the population to become increasingly desperate.
The narrative is solid, clocking in at 20-30 hours depending on side mission completion and which of the five difficulty levels you decide to choose, with an additional Custom difficulty option also available. Having completed the campaign, I had finished 72% of the total missions. With that being said, if you’re looking for a turn-based tactical adventure with a lot of hours of steam-powered gameplay, SteamWorld Heist 2 delivers.
The story isn’t memorable, but it delivered some interesting twists and turns along the way. SteamWorld Heist 2 also delivers some humorous writing, with robotic puns and quirky characters aplenty. Players can explore their maritime base of operations in-between missions and interact with their crew as much or as little as they want. While none of Captain Leeway’s ten recruitable crewmates stand out, they’re likeable and portray many classic RPG archetypes, such as the grizzled veteran, excitable youngster, and mysterious professional.
Throughout the story, players will visit new areas, complete side quests to unlock main missions, before moving onto the next area and repeating the process. While the main missions provide some of the most memorable challenges in the game, with multiple phases and daring encounters, this formulaic narrative structure becomes repetitive as the story unfolds.
At its core, SteamWorld Heist 2 is a 2D turn-based tactical strategy game. For comparison, SteamWorld Heist 2’s tactical turn-based depth does not rival XCOM, but it delivers enough to satisfy turn-based strategy fans. Each team member takes turns attacking, taking cover, and avoiding environmental hazards. Each squad member can only utilise two acts per turn, so players must consider the best course of action depending on their current situation. Players can also ricochet bullets off the environment to achieve some ridiculous trick shots, which never get old. With a single button, players can also skip watching enemy turns, a quality-of-life improvement that improves flow and removes extended periods of staring at the screen waiting for your opposing team to finish their turn.
Simply finishing each mission (especially during the second half of the adventure) can be difficult, but the real challenge comes from collecting every piece of loot found within each level, obtaining Epic loot that will erode within a strict time limit, and ensuring none of your robotic companions are defeated while completing every unique bonus objective. This can be extremely difficult, as constant respawning enemies, multiple environmental hazards and enemy captains that provide adversarial buffs combine to stop your crew in their tracks. However, SteamWorld Heist 2 feels more forgiving than the original, as fallen squad members can be revived by resting, rather than paying for their return. Players can also restart missions without punishment, and even rewind to a previous checkpoint to make amends for a poor tactical decision.
SteamWorld Heist 2 implements a day system, with each squad member only able to complete one mission per day before needing to rest at a local tavern. This feature doesn’t reinvent how SteamWorld Heist flows, but it does mean players must make important decisions to try and maximise their mission completion output each day. Enemies offer enough variety to keep gameplay fresh throughout the lengthy campaign, including enemies that can inflict elemental damage, shield enemy forces, or even leave totems on the ground that can deliver damage and spawn additional enemies, as well as a variety of challenging boss encounters. Learning how to best utilise your squad’s abilities to account for these enemies is satisfying, and the depth of these decisions does not stop there.
SteamWorld Heist 2’s job-based upgrade system adds further gameplay depth. There are six different weapon types, and each type is assigned to a different job. For example, equipping a melee weapon will make that character a Brawler, a tank that can handle heavy damage and heal themselves after defeating an enemy, equipping a shotgun will assign them the role of Flanker, able to move across the map quickly to maximise the damage of their shotgun, and equipping an SMG will make them a Reaper, someone who can deal rapid damage and chain together additional attacks upon defeating an enemy. Each job role has its own upgrade tree and unique playstyle.
The best element of the job system is that players can keep unlocked abilities and carry them over to a subsequent job. For example, levelling up the Sniper role will give players the ability to add trajectory lines to each weapon, helping them to ensure each shot hits their target. But you can keep this ability and use it as a Boomer, enabling your rocket launcher to now have this same ability. This system is in-depth and allows players to customise the perfect character, which uses unique abilities and traits from each job into one almighty, powerful soldier. Combine the deep job system with utility items that offer additional secondary skills and buffs, and SteamWorld Heist 2’s cartoon-like visuals deceptively hide a turn-based tactical experience with layered levels of depth, variety and player choice.
SteamWorld Heist 2’s overworld is huge, with locations separated by large oceans, and similar to pirate ship travel found in Cat Quest 2, players will use Captain Leeway’s submarine to travel the world. Players can find rare loot while exploring the overworld and even encounter enemy ships. Ocean-based combat is similar to Vampire Survivors, as you can customise your weapons and upgrades, but when battles take place, your equipped weaponry will automatically fire.
Initially, traversing the world was a nice change of pace from battles, but exploration eventually became quite repetitive. You will battle the same dozen enemy boat types in the same locations over and over, as you simply attempt to move from mission to mission. I would have appreciated fast travel options, or an on-screen mini map to avoid constantly entering the map menu to make sure I took the correct turn.
Fans of the original SteamWorld Heist will be happy to hear that the band, Steam Powered Giraffe, returns in SteamWorld Heist 2, and their songs are once again absolutely brilliant. When visiting the various taverns across the world, players will be greeted by these addictive folk rock songs that add a unique and charming personality to the world. Unfortunately, you cannot listen to these tracks while exploring the overworld (I wish there was a radio feature), but the music accompanying submarine adventures is calming, while combat is complemented by some interesting infiltration-esque tracks. The sound design during combat must also be applauded, as weapons pack an audible punch when fired, ricocheting bullets sound awesome, and scrapping enemies is satisfying on the ears.
SteamWorld Heist 2’s visual style is crisp, clean, and charming. Despite this adventure taking place across a dystopian world ruled by steam-powered machines, the land is colourful and lovely to look at, especially when exploring the overworld within your submarine. Each member of your crew has a quirky visual design, helping to emphasise the personality of each character. Enemies are also visually appealing, with each opposing clan possessing unique characteristics. I personally loved the eerie enemy design found across the Rattlers, a cult that replaces their robotic limbs with bones, which perfectly contrasts with the cartoonish style.
SteamWorld Heist 2 also includes collectible hats that you can (literally) shoot from the heads of your enemies, or purchase from stores. Seeing your crew outfitted for gruelling battles whilst wearing silly headwear is fun, and leans into the quirky charm of the series.
STEAMWORLD HEIST 2 REVIEW
FANTASTIC
8
I have been playing the SteamWorld series since SteamWorld Dig, and regardless of the genre, this unique universe continues to deliver fun and charming adventures. SteamWorld Heist 2 is no exception. It offers a deceptively deep turn-based tactical adventure with a flexible job system that emphasises player choice, and an awesome soundtrack that frequently made me hang around the local tavern more than I needed to. While the overworld exploration feels like an afterthought, especially when compared to the deep turn-based combat, I would love to see this concept fleshed out in a future sequel.
PROS
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Deep turn-based strategy
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Fantastic sound design and unique soundtrack
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Variety and customisation through the job system
CONS
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Repetitive overworld travel
Reviewed on PS5. A review code was provided by the Publisher for purposes of this review.
