I adored the first game. It was the perfect little game to just open on my 3DS, knock out a level on the bus or walk to college. I’d chip away at it on the toilet, or in the late hours just before bed. The level structure made progression very clear and very satisfying. Even better was the physics involved to pull off the perfect shot from across the level, get the head shot and bust open the other robot from across the room. 10/10: would play again.
Well, I finally do get to play it again now that the sequel is out. I don’t like replaying games unless it’s a handful of the classes that I grew up with, like Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, or Spyro, so I’m really glad to have the second available.
I haven’t played any of the other SteamWorld games yet, so I don’t have those to compare to, but I really like the worldbuilding of robots powered by different types of fuels. Our protagonists, and their respective teams are powered by Steam, and all the enemy robots are powered by diesel. I love the fact that we set up dichotomy of opposing fuel types. I also love the scrappy “lower” tech robots having to fight up against the oppressors.
The fun thing about this one the nautical theme. In the first one, we were space pirates essentially. It felt very Star Wars rebellion, or Firefly smugglers who ended up fighting for a larger cause than they expected. We get the same motivation in this one, but on a single planet. The scope feels a lot smaller, which is appropriate for the fact that we stay on a single planet, and sale through an ocean like thing.
Some of my favorite mechanics early in the game is actually the day cycle. It give you some risk/reward to play around with: Do you go around the whole map and collect as much treasure as possible to level up faster? Do you cut the day short after just a single mission to not risk loosing all your progress by sinking your ship? I don’t know if there is anything tied to the number of days, but I’m having fun with it so far.
I also find the job system very intersting. Some crew members definitely seem to fit best with specific jobs. I remember basically only using the same 4 people for the entire first game just because I liked the weapons the used. This game is forcing me to play with other characters, and forcing me to work with other play styles and combinations. Good game so far.