The SteamWorld series is back in another turn-based tactical RPG. SteamWorld Heist II is the sequel to the original Heist game but at the same time, marks the seventh entry in the SteamWorld series to date. Unlike Dig and Build, SteamWorld Heist II focuses on party management, turn-based combat and a very different flow of gameplay.
SteamWorld Heist II sees players take to the seas on a pirate adventure and this time around, recruit new team members to take with them on missions. Set in a vast open-world ocean, the game has also incorporated some basic naval combat and various optional objectives to complete along the way.
In typical SteamWorld fashion, SteamWorld Heist II follows the satisfying grind of improving your overall gameplay experience bit by bit as you go about upgrading your ship, crew members and unlocking new perks. I have always enjoyed the general flow of SteamWorld games in this regard. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by game systems right from the start, the series often slowly introduces you to the game and you feel as if you’re always progressing in some way or another.
For example, the game’s main mode of transport is the submarine. This acts as the hub for all upgrades and systems. New upgrades to the ship unlocked new ways to manage my team be it by improving their abilities or powering up weapons.
After a while, I found myself well-invested in these tools and after every mission, I would have a set process to buff as much as possible before ending the day.
Ending the day plays a big role in SteamWorld Heist II. During each day, I could take on as many missions as I had crew mates available to participate in. After a set batch of crew members completed a mission, they were exhausted and unable to take on another. I then had to visit my local pirate hideout to end the day.
As a result, I was able to turn in bounties I had earned during that day in exchange for certain weapons and materials. These materials ranged from water – a precious resource that acts like currency and gems to upgrade my submarine.
The game also features a new job system where players can either recruit members as is or equip them with a certain weapon type to automatically determine their job. Most of the time, the new crew members felt like they were better suited for their default job. However, I could experiment even further by combining new jobs with older job abilities.
Well into the game, I was also able to stick to levelling up one job, unlocking its abilities and then switch to a new job while keeping some old job abilities alongside the new ones.
This all works into the game’s combat system which is incredibly fun. The game works on a turn-based round system where enemies would perform actions and then it was my turn. Different jobs can utilize these moves to their advantage while others have improved perks that felt a lot more powerful during certain missions.
The sniper job, for example, can only walk a certain distance per round and shoot a shot. That gun would then need to be reloaded the next turn so it prevents you from walking again. You could walk a distance but won’t be able to reload your weapon.
Brawlers are melee-based fighters that deal close-up damage and also heal when attacking enemies. Reapers get a second shot if they kill an enemy making them great for finishing off weak opponents.
Each job also grows into new abilities. The sniper job unlocks unflinching shots and double damage. This is important because all ammo ricochets off walls and bounces around the room. The sniper job can see this line and perfectly time their shot.
There’s a lot of customization to enjoy here especially once you’re deep into the game. It goes a long way considering the game can get a bit difficult at times. I recommend starting SteamWorld Heist II on the lowest Story Mode difficulty at first and increasing it once you have gained some new crew mates and weapons.
Enemies are flimsy at times but they also arrive in hordes. This makes combat feel quite fun as you have to predict movement and plan ahead. Some missions saw a never-ending challenge of enemies come at me while I had to escape the area.
This meant I had to spend my turns sprinting to the end of the stand. In this case, a sprint uses both your standard move and your ability so there’s very little offensive combat taking place. Even on the lower difficulty modes, some of these missions were real tough. I ended them with one crew member and almost no health left.
If a crew member doesn’t make it out of the mission alive, they simply don’t earn the same XP. You can, however, revive them by ending the day again. So there’s no permanent death here. I am glad for that but I am sure some hardcore players would enjoy if there was such a system.
Outside of combat, SteamWorld Heist II offers the open world. Here I could sail around, find new missions to take on, loot to plunder and visit new bases. The submarine also upgrades with weapons needed to shoot down the enemy ships. At one stage, I was also able to go underwater forcing me to backtrack to the start of the game to discover areas I missed.
SteamWorld Heist II is also a good looking game. The soundtrack had me humming some tunes during the day and the writing is brilliant. It is cheesy sometimes but also delivers some great tongue-in-cheek moments.
My favourite part of the game, however, has to be the gear system. SteamWorld Heist II includes some great weapons and items to find throughout the world. Most of the best ones are hidden off the path. So it encourages you to open every door in every mission and use that submarine to get to every part of the water.
The gear goes a long way to switch up the combat even more. Some weapons have cool effects while others come with high damage numbers. The rarities also tell you how unique the weapon is.
Overall, SteamWorld Heist II is a good time. The general gameplay felt rewarding across everything I did. It does get a little difficult so you’ll need to spend time levelling up, mastering the job system and tracking down those unique weapons. You’re looking at a good 30+ hour game here and mostly every moment is enjoyable.
This SteamWorld Heist II review is based on a code sent to us by Thunderful Games. It is available on 8 August for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Switch.
Summary
SteamWorld Heist II is a well-deserved sequel. Its new job system provides some interesting new ways to experiment with crew mates and attack styles while its combat remains just as enjoyable as ever.
