So just last night I completed my first playthrough of Steamworld Heist. For context, I played the PC version of the game because I like to play on a screen that's bigger than the 3DS screen if possible, though I was considering breaking down and just getting on the 3DS for a while. I'm also not a huge fan of turn-based strategy games, having only dabbled in the Fire Emblem series and played a bit of X-Com: Enemy Unknown.
Anyway, after beating every mission in the game (and all the DLC missions) on the regular difficulty, I feel like I have a duty to recommend this game to other people out there, because this was easily some of the most fun I've had this year playing a game. Probably the best thing in the game for me at least was the fact that you're able to aim your shots. I hate relying on RNG in games, which is one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of games like X-Com, so being able to have 100% control on whether or not I landed my attacks made Steamworld Heist much more fun for me. Plus, it still led to a lot of tense moments of trying to predict where my shots would land, as well as a lot of hype when shots would ricochet off of walls and land headshots that I wasn't expecting. The tension of trying to reach the escape pod to finish a mission while avoiding increasing spawning enemies and still trying to pick up all of the loot in a level is exhilarating, especially late in the game when the difficulty ramps up and you see the really tough enemies. It's certainly a lot more tense than I was expecting from a turn-based game. Most levels have a timer, though when it counts down it doesn't lead to a fail state, which is really nice. The timer just leads to increasing levels of enemies spawning, as well as turrets activating.
All of the aesthetics of the game really appealed to me as well. The whole "Outer Space is the next Wild West" thing is a common theme, but it's still really well executed here as you travel from one shady locale to another, picking up various rogues and adventures to fill out your team and buying an assortment of weapons for shifty dealers. The music is great, though I wish there was more variety during the actual missions. When you go to bars though, you'll get unique music (with appropriate lyrics even) thanks to the presence of a live band in each bar. All of the characters are quirky and likable, though outside of some short conversations you can have on the ship between missions they never interact with you that much. At least all of the characters are unique enough from a viusual and gameplay perspective that they still left an impact on me.
The Outsider DLC was also completely worth the price at $5. It only comes with one character, but this character is easily one of the most unique in your roster, and they instantly became a near-permanent addition on my team. In addition, the DLC comes with a number of challenging missions which reward you with some of the more unique weapons in the game. For $5 I really couldn't ask for or expect more.
Probably the only things I was disappointed in in Steamworld Heist were that the level of customization for characters was lacking. All characters level linearly in terms of skills. You don't get to choose which abilities characters get at which levels, it's all set out for you. I specializing my characters in these kinds of games, and while each character is unique in terms of what they provide to the team, I feel that being able to pick skills really adds to a sense of ownership of the game, in that "This is my team and no one else has one like it". The only real customization comes in the form of hats that characters can wear, which isn't terrible as you primarily get them from shooting them off of enemies, which feels great, but I wouldn't have minded some deeper customization. Perhaps allowing players to customize character colors or something.
So yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed my first playthrough of Steamworld Heist, and I'm fully expecting to go back to it for New Game+ once I have some free time in my schedule. I'm also excited to see what the devs make next. Going from Steamworld Dig (a game I'm only tangentially familiar with) to Steamworld Heist is a huge shift, so I'm curious if they do another of such shifts or if they'll just make a sequel.
If you're a fan of strategy games of any kind, I highly recommend picking this up on the system of your choice.
