SteamWorld Heist 2 Makes Combat An Entertaining Puzzle Of Geometry And Explosions

I got to play SteamWorld Heist II at Summer Game Fest, and it was one of my favorite games at the event. I lost track of time while playing, transforming what was supposed to be a quick 30-minute preview into nearly an hour-and-a-half. I only left the booth because I had to--I had another appointment I needed to get to. SteamWorld Heist II feels like more of what came before, which is great in my book. The original game transformed shootouts into entertaining puzzles that tested your geometry skills as you ricocheted bullets and grenades through environments to snipe enemies out of cover or set up an ally for a devastating combo. It's a winning formula, and if it isn't broke, then why fix it?

As a sequel, SteamWorld Heist II adds more elements--new characters, new setting, new abilities, new environmental obstacles--but retains much of what succeeded in the original game to once again deliver what's shaping up to be another winner in the SteamWorld universe. The game sees you take control of a ragtag pirate crew of Steambots as they sail, shoot, and plunder their way across the seas (as opposed to space like the first game). Each character can equip different jobs that unlock a variety of perks and wield an assortment of weapons and tech that each come with their own benefits and shortcomings in battle. The fights themselves are turn-based, encouraging you to strategically move the characters in your current party in an ever-changing battlefield and deduce the best way to pull off the perfect trick shot to blow up your enemies before they stop you.

These encounters are a blast. It's just so much fun to bounce a well-timed sniper shot to blast an enemy that thinks it's safe behind cover, or use the nature of the turn-based combat to Rube Goldberg machine an explosive barrel into a foe's line of fire to stop them from using their readied action. It remains to be seen just how much diversity the full game can deliver, but each of the levels I played were quite varied. One mission saw me sneak into a prison and when the guards found me, I started freeing prisoners to transform the scenario into a three-way shootout. Another assignment put me into an enemy base rigged to blow, forcing me to decide whether I wanted to grab my prize and dip or figure out a way to delay the explosion long enough to grab all the extra goodies too.

The traversal gameplay between missions wasn't nearly as much fun, breaking up the far more enjoyable turn-based missions with oddly paced (and slightly annoying) real-time naval combat. Between missions, you'll sail around the world and when enemy ships spot you, they'll attack. Your ship's guns fire automatically, meaning all you have to do is move around to dodge enemy attacks while keeping your own guns aimed at your targets. Upgrades to your ship change how your bow, port, starboard, and stern guns fire but--at least what I saw--there's not much to it. Graciously, there were a few moments where my ship was just faster than the enemy's, which meant I could sail around them and maintain my heading for my next target. But if something is better off avoided, I'd prefer it simply not be in the game at all.

I didn't get to see much of the story during my preview, so I can't say much on that, but the snippets I did play through maintained that charming humor and goofy vibe of the previous SteamWorld games. I feel safe saying that if you liked the narrative elements in previous SteamWorld games, you'll probably like the story in SteamWorld Heist II. And if that aspect of the game has always been a turn-off for you (which makes me sad to hear, but we all have our own personal tastes--I get it) then this game probably won't suddenly make you a fan.

Because, again, SteamWorld Heist II feels like more of the first game. If you loved the first game, I'm confident you'll enjoy the second. After playing over an hour of SteamWorld Heist II, I'm eager to jump into the full game, and thankfully we don't have to wait all that long. SteamWorld Heist II is scheduled to launch for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC on August 8.