Review: SteamWorld Heist II

I’ve always loved the pace of turn-based tactical titles like XCOM, but find myself leaning into games akin to Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. I prefer the light-hearted approach to the genre that’s generally less punishing, because I know my soldiers/characters won’t fall for good on the battlefield.

That’s why I like Steamworld Heist II so much, and while it definitely has its flaws, it’s a great game for those who want a decent turn-based tactical time without the teeth-clenching risk of a beloved character disappearing because you made a single mistake.

SteamWorld Heist II is a terrific, turn-based tactics title that eases you into its gameplay loop before piling on complexities that serve only to make you hungry for more missions. Its bite-sized heists coupled with an expansive overworld, memorable and unique characters, banging soundtrack, and approachable job system will keep you busy for dozens of hours.

The scope of SteamWorld Heist II starts out small but grows exponentially over time, and while I feel like some of the added grind could be done away with, it’s still an incredibly enjoyable experience.

SteamWorld Heist II (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], and Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Thunderful Development
Publisher: Thunderful Publishing
Released: August 8, 2024
MSRP: $26.99

Earn freedom on the open seas

After a brief introductory mission in which you meet Captain Leeway and his crew of Steambots, you’re quickly shown the engrossing gameplay loop that will have you hitting just one more heist after one more heist before you’re done because you can’t quite bring yourself to stop.

SteamWorld Heist II‘s gameplay is spread out across multiple elements that gel together surprisingly well. At its heart, this is a tactical turn-based heist game in which you head out on short-ish missions around a massive map. Each mission has a rating to give you an idea of its difficulty before diving in, and the more challenging they are, the more crew you can usually bring with you.

Every heist sees your crew break into a location to try to steal loot, which sometimes takes the form of intelligence, Steambots in need of rescuing, story-specific items, or reputation. All of them feel different from one another and keep the game fresh, even if you’re smashing heist after heist, chasing reputation to advance the story. You can mix things up in the moment-to-moment gameplay to make the game feel even more vibrant, with several options for how any character can approach a situation.

Every location has multiple routes for your crew to take, and enemies will be positioned along those routes that you’ll need to destroy to get to the loot and escape. Each turn, your Steambot crew can make a couple of moves, such as firing and reloading, moving and firing, or throwing a grenade and healing. Crew members all have unique abilities you unlock over time as they successfully complete more and more missions, leveling up in the process.

The job system is fantastic because it’s wide open for you to use your favorite characters in any role. With each mission completed, characters earn experience for those jobs, so you can swap your Steambots in and out of the roles you need rather than ending up stuck with three Engineers or Snipers for a tough mission that you desperately need a Reaper for. It’s also very satisfying to see a character hit max level in multiple roles, which is easily possible thanks to an XP banking mechanic that applies XP from a fully leveled job to the next job it’s possible to level when a character completes a mission in that role.

At the start of the game, you’ll mostly use a Sniper to take out enemies from afar, while a close-ranged specialist Reaper cleans up after and throws a grenade in a pinch. But after hiring a few crew with your hard-earned Gallons, you’ll have a shotgun-wielding Flanker Steambot who identifies the perfect flanking position and has advanced movement, or a melee specialist who can run down even the toughest Dieselbots the Navy has at its disposal.

My go-to crew for missions quickly became a Sniper, Engineer, Reaper, and Chimney, the melee-specialist. Chimney is my favorite character, because she has a can-do attitude and, once she’s gained a few levels, is the best tank I’ve ever seen. I used her to take enemies out, which healed her, as missions began; my Sniper to hit the biggest foes from afar, and my Reaper to clean up where he could. My Engineer Steambot varied, but mostly focused on providing healing backup and the occasional potshot to finish enemies off.

Variety is the spice of life in SteamWorld Heist II, and that applies to every aspect of it. You can completely customize your crew with new weapons you find or purchase, additional items to give them new tools and buffs, and abilities like Rage, which give them more power when damaged. I found a bone sniper rifle early on in my playthrough but swapped it for a banjo rifle that had less firepower but didn’t need reloading. If you get the banjo rifle, equip it immediately because it’ll change your life.

Steamworld Heist II does a fantastic job of rewarding your actions with rare weapons and plenty of loot. Even when you hit the stagger points in the story that task you with completing missions to gain reputation for a story-specific reason, you feel like you’re making progress in terms of equipment and skill. It’s not without its punishments, though. If you tackle a couple of missions and fail to make it back to a bar to rest before being taken out by enemy ships in the overworld, you lose all of your loot. Mercifully, reputation is saved between deaths, which I appreciate because it feels like the game respects your time without being overly forgiving.

Foes are smart in every mission and move around just as much as you do. You’ll have to battle turrets, captains who apply shields to other Dieselbots, sword specialists, riflebots, and even shamanbots among the Rattlers, who have replaced their metal parts with bones and can make your life an absolute nightmare.

In one mission, I found myself feeling on top of the world as, despite blaring alarms, I wiped out every Navy Dieselbot as they appeared in waves because I’d positioned my crew so well. In another, I was broken by Rattlers, who fight ferociously and can summon more soldiers to your position. You never know what you’re getting into with any mission, and that feels more and more exciting as you play.

A gracious checkpoint system allows you to re-attempt a failed mission from 2-turns back, and your crew will revive after a good night’s rest if destroyed. The stakes are still high though, because every mission awards Stars, Bounties, Gallons, and loot. Gallons are used to hire crew and buy weapons, Bounties help you unlock helpful special items each day, and Stars are your reputation, unlocking new rooms in bars around the overworld, but also acting as a crutch for padding out the game’s length.

The reputation system definitely gives you a good reason to grind missions for stars so you can unlock the ability to buy better gear and weapons, but it feels like it’s used to add time to your playthrough more than necessary. Early on in Heist II, when you’re progressing quickly and butting up against the game’s difficulty, the last thing you want is to play four or five missions just to push your reputation and move the story along.

Conversely, I found that the late-game is when you feel like you’ve mastered missions and want to push the difficulty up, which is the perfect time for the game to give you a couple of grind sessions. It’s a minor inconvenience in the great scheme of things, but it definitely makes for a point before the mid-game where you feel like you can’t get through missions even on the easiest difficulty and wonder what you’ve done wrong.

All this disappears before your first real boss encounter, though. By that point, you feel like you’ve got a handle on things and relish the challenge of harder missions. I found myself actively seeking out missions with the most stars to earn because I knew they’d be meaty and had the most risk for huge rewards, making my time feel worth it no matter what I was doing.

The only part of SteamWorld Heist II that doesn’t live up to the quality of the rest of the game is the overworld exploration. In this mode, the screen pulls back, and you sail your submarine between areas, fighting Navy and Rattler ships with equipment you’ll collect over time. It’s fine and is a nice break between missions, but I always found myself dreading these travel sections and willing them to end.

It becomes more interesting over time and with upgrades, but I still never enjoyed them as much as the heist missions. It’s a necessary evil, though, because the world of SteamWorld Heist II is filled with far more missions than you’ll complete during the story unless you’re doing a completionist run. There’s so much to do, and the elation of discovering yet another new mission from which to grab every star goes some way to counteracting what I see as downsides in the overworld exploration sections.

One thing the overworld travel really does well is show you where you are in the world and where you’re going. In a game about sailing the open seas and effectively being a steam-powered robot pirate, this is essential. It adds to the lore of the world without it feeling forced, so you know what everyone’s talking about when they discuss the Navy’s wall after seeing the imposing structure for yourself, or the frigid ice in Arctica and the monstrous discoveries you make below its waters. You also make the link between mission locations and characters you’ve met very quickly because names and descriptions match up well and expand the world without ever actually making it feel overwhelmingly big.

The overworld serves to make your submarine a tangible character rather than purely a base of operations. You can upgrade it and the characters you recruit from it, spending the resources you collect each day to build yourself into a formidable force. The upgrade system isn’t so involved that you’ll need to min/max anything, but it’s impactful enough that you’ll notice your speed boost, added firepower, and shout with joy when you get an extra bunk so you can recruit a new crew member.

A water crisis, a legacy, and a crew to look after

The story of SteamWorld Heist II is nice and simple and never gets in the way. Captain Leeway and his crew take his mother’s submarine back from the Navy, who have been hoarding water supplies in the wake of a water crisis that’s causing the steam-powered citizens of this world to rust up and die, and fight back against this authority choking the waterways to uncover the truth behind said crisis.

Every character is fantastic, from Leeway to the most unremarkable Steambot in the corner of one of the world’s many bars. Thunderful did a great job of giving each of them a personality and appearance that makes them stand out. There isn’t one NPC I don’t have something to say about, whether it’s the not-at-all obvious Navy spy telling Steambots to get free water from a suspicious outpost, or the two cloaked Steambots who look like this world’s version of voodoo shamans.

As you acquire more crew members during your playthrough, you can chat with them and learn more about who they are as Steambots in the submarine. I loved checking in with everyone between missions, just in case there was some contextual story I might miss. Leeway himself is the most developed character and struggles throughout the story with the burden of his quest, the expectations everyone has of him because of his family’s legacy, and the fact that he has to be brave all the time when he doesn’t always want to be.

Heist II‘s bosses and story-essential characters are the biggest highlight. An eccentric engineer, mad scientist, Navy Commander with a grudge, and the queen of the Rattlers with more bones than sits right with me in a game with robot characters. The dialogue never goes on too long, but they all stick in your mind as you play, and they make every story beat so much better.

The areas I love the most are the bars, especially Hardwater. SteamWorld Heist II‘s amazing soundtrack comes to life in each one, and I spent far too long just hanging out at Steambot bars, waiting for a song to finish before heading out on a mission or ending the day. The sound design overall is also just top-notch. Part of what makes every mission feel so thrilling is the clank of your crew’s feet, the harsh noise of a lock being engaged or a door closing, and the meaty shots and explosions.

Despite looking like a light indie game you might finish in a day or so on the surface, SteamWorld Heist II has surprising depth and is a game you could easily replay two or three times across the several difficulty options it offers.

SteamWorld Heist II is a phenomenal title that offers you the best when it comes to short, tactical encounters with thrilling turn-based gameplay. It’s not without its frustrations when it comes to story progression, but pushing through will reveal to you a game with incredible mission variety that you can mix up even more using your crew. Thanks to its checkpoint system and no punishment for mission failure, it’s incredibly approachable and opens the turn-based tactics genre up for anyone who doesn’t want to play something as intense as XCOM.