SteamWorld Heist II

The core game's solid and no hesitation recommending this game - it's fun, has interesting builds and weapons, and it's better than the first game in every way. Music - I don't even like this genre normally, but it's done really well and didn't bother me at all. Props to whoever handled the soundtrack. However there are some nitpicking I just have to get out of the way: * The submarine exploration is a cool addition and gives you a new way to navigate the world. But the combat feels clunky, especially when you're underwater, and by late game you're pretty much forced into specific builds whether you like it or not. * Crew builds - it feels like you're wasting cogs if you don't level up different jobs for your characters. Why can't experience just transfer over to other jobs since experience is "in reserve" anyway? If I want to stick with a combo that works, let me do that without feeling like I'm playing inefficiently. * Builds never feel complete either. I finished the whole game and still felt like my characters could've been way more developed. It's frustrating when you reach the end credits but your team still feels half-baked. I even grinded a few missions but it seems too much to reach max level. I realise I could just use the same 4-5 crew members, but the game pushes you towards using your whole crew for different missions due to the bounty and exhaustion system. * Combat - you can't see what's inside rooms until you open them. I'd gather my whole crew for what I thought would be a big fight, only to find an empty room or like two enemies in a tiny space. Just let me peek through the keyhole or something. Also, melee characters felt weak to me. It's hard to target flying enemies (which there are a lot of), and it feels unsatisfying when enemies just waltz past you - it would be cool to have opportunity attacks or something. * There's this sense of an open world, but in reality you've only got a few routes available at any given time. The rest is gated off, which makes the exploration feel more linear than it should. Despite all this nitpicking, I still had a good time with it. The core gameplay loop is solid enough that these issues don't kill the experience. Worth picking up if you enjoyed the first game or you're into turn-based strategy.

Pretty great game -- it is encouraged to have played the first game to understand some of the terms and characters mentioned in-game but it's not totally necessary! Overall it's about double or triple the length of the first game, with a more heartfelt tropey captain-and-crew story that was kinda just nice to see done well. The soundtrack in the Steamworld Heist games are exceptional, and Steam Powered Giraffe do an amazing job complimenting it with their folksy vocals. It's more of the same, but even more and even a bit better! The first game introduced me to the band, and no doubt many others, which only made it make sense to have them in the sequel too! Match made in heaven. As for gameplay, more of the same -- but more and a bit better as I said earlier! They do a decent job of making each character feel unique despite a more generalised job system. The submarine navigation was also a nice touch, it did a lot to help along the story and that feeling of working your way deeper into unexplored lands was satisfying, as was the simple n fun boat combat! Overall, delightful game! A good 7-8/10. A lot of love went into it!

What Happens when you mix Xcom and Worms ? Heist ! The game is such a delight, it improves on the first one on every aspect, Good job Thunderful !

I may come back to put in more of a review, but suffice it to say that I find SteamWorld Heist II to be from that family of sequels that gives you more of what you liked from the predecessor while adding and improving. It's quite fun to break the difficulty through the combinations of weapons, items, character traits, and ability trees. My only complaint is that this adds a significant amount of complexity, and you may need to frequently review multiple menus to remember exactly what each character is capable of. I also rather enjoy the world map traversal sections. It's like if you took the rafting from Donkey Kong Country 3 and added basic naval combat. It's fun to outmaneuver the enemy and watch them explode. Finally, Steampowered Giraffe have really put in some of their most breezy and fun work into the OST. It's a real pleasure listening to, especially in the summer. Good game!

A lot more ambitious than the 1dt game but due to that feels just a tad sloppier. Still a great game but I noticed the small issues grew in size due to the much larger length if the game. Atomic City is bad though. Very awful zone to go through unless you are min maxing with the multiple jobs. One of the best soundtracks in gaming that initial sea score when the piano hits is just the best. Another great entry in the steamworld franchise

SteamWorld Heist II is in short the best sequel the developers could've made. They did not try to reinvent the combat, but instead made it evolve by giving the player so much more customization and build options with class skills, character skills and items. Also, the bright maritime setting makes just perfect sense to follow after the dark space environment of Heist I. The characters themselves are all just beautifully written that aren't too pretentious. There are a lot of small references to the first game that never failed to make me smile, and the story is, as before, simple enough to follow but not too convoluted. In short, the game knows what it wants to be and it succeeds in doing so. And, as before, the music by Steam Powered Giraffe is just amazeballs

I found the first SteamWorld Heist to be decent, but the sequel surpasses it in almost every way. SteamWorld Heist II takes everything that worked in the original and meaningfully expands on it. It makes much better use of the signature ricochet mechanic, turning it from a mere novelty into an essential tactical layer that deepens the strategy and really sets the game apart within its genre. One of the most impressive additions is the class system: each class has a unique skill tree, and switching your main weapon effectively changes your class. Leveling up unlocks passive abilities and active skills, while the cog system allows you to mix and match these abilities across classes for excellent customization. That said, while the story is improved over the first game, it’s still pretty mid overall. The narrative unfolds in a slow, click-through dialogue system that feels cheap and low-effort—even for an indie title. I expected more from a sequel in this regard, and it’s one area where the game falls short of its potential. Overall, though, I do recommend this game. The price is fair—especially if you get the bundle—but the biggest issue that stood out to me was how the protagonist’s missing arm switches sides depending on the direction you’re facing. It’s a small detail, but it breaks the immersion and comes across as surprisingly sloppy for an otherwise polished sequel.

Trigonometry exam put within a game, that is much longer than I anticipated.

Loved this adventure. Fun puzzle game with a wonderfully crafted world.

Great game, highly recommend. Being a fan of the steamworld series, this new entry is a great addition and the story arc fits neatly into the overarching narrative. I truly didn't expect to like this game as much as I did. I came for the great mechanics of the turn based combat, but stayed because the story grew on me as the hours passed. Overall great game, 30 hours well spent :)

Loved the game, and enjoyed a lot of it. So many good moments and the MC was relatable, a shame we don't see more of him. Minor gripes: - I disliked the day/sleep system to recover/re-use characters/equipment, felt really restrictive - No fast travel between regions, gotta slog through and around the whole map manually - Class system was TOO diverse, it was nice to have the flexibility but then you're left grinding away if you want to change

the game with no hesitation is good as i love steamworld series but there are no graphic settings like changing resolution, lowering the textures or anything simmilar. hope something like this will be added as not everyone owns a great pc

A solid 2d game. The art is great, and the music is also great. Gameplay is interesting because you can switch between weapons which will switch between what abilities you have, so you will want to try out different weapon and abilities to get the best out of everyone. There aren't any glaring gameplay issues as well. Overall good game

Very nice shake-up of the first game's formula. The overworld is a nice addition, and the ability to mix classes provides a lot of strategic depth.

Nice game, an improvement on the first one. The day system kind of forces you to play with your whole crew instead of only playing with your favorite characters. The gear system offer some nice combinaisons of build. Around 28h to finish the game without rushing.

For me is one of a kind. I don't know any other game the combine turn-based combat with the bouncing bullet mechanics, very well implemented.

Excellent game! Played all the other Steamworld games (except full Steamworld Build - I only played the demo and not a fan). Steamworld Heist I was my favorite - played it through several times. Was hoping II would be as good - and it turned out to be even better. Took me 62.2 hours to finish on Experienced. Much longer than was expecting. That was just a basic play-through to finish. Both Steamworld's are just relaxing yet challenging since your time is spent on problem-solving and not ridiculous things like memorizing endless keybinding combos, etc. Highly recommend! Will be playing again.

Phenomenal, cute and charming little experience. Highly recommend.

It was a fun time all around. The creators pulled off a nice mix of real-time movement and combat on the world map, as well as turn-based combat during missions. Every single member of the cast was a treat in their own way, and the story easy to follow for someone who came into the franchise with this game. Special attention belongs to the soundtrack. While the general BGM was good, the game comes with a sizable number of actual songs with vocals that play at the various hub areas. Very impressive and well done.

A fantastic sequel to an already great original game. It improves on nearly aspect. I like the new daily bounty system that allows a little bit of farming resources to help you improve if you feel you need it. This has become my favorite of the entire SteamWorld franchise, of which I have enjoyed every entry.

If you have not played the first SteamWorld Heist, I would recommend playing it before this one. Not that it is required or it has any story continuation. But SteamWorld Heist II is a huge improvement over the first game and playing both makes me appreciate it more. As the name suggest, SteamWorld Heist II is a sequel to SteamWorld Heist. Most of the combat gameplay is the same, it's 2D tactical XCOM-like combat. The biggest difference here compared to the first SteamWorld Heist is the addition of explorable overworld with your ship. This not only breaks the monotonous combat after combat, but also add fun and quirky exploration within the game. In any case, it is a good game. I recommend it.

I never played the original, but this was a fun game that stood on its own well. I enjoyed the music and the storyline. At times it could feel a bit repetitive, but there was an aspect to the game style that kept it just fresh enough to keep me coming back for more to finish the game. Anyone who enjoys light puzzle challenges and a relaxed gaming experience should check this one out.

The original Steam World Heist is one of my favorite hidden gems, this game is like the first but with the gameplay loop optimized to perfection. Most of the strategy doesn't really change besides adapting to the scenario so keep in mind it's repetitive. Still for all the liberty, and the map exploration it's a nice moment of rest between each mission. The only criticism I have, and this is for all of the games in the steam world umbrella is that I could never get invested in the story because the framing is done so poorly. Every dialogue is the same stiff pose character, talking in briefs text bubble with cliche plot points and reactions. A note, it's not a bad story, it also takes itself serious enough for what it takes, but I never felt any sense of danger, nor any reaction besides "this makes sense" by a creative decision. It has good world building and it follows the general mythos of all of the games.

It's a good tactics game. If you come from X-COM, Epic difficulty is a fair challenge.

I don't think you need another person to praise the Steamworld Franchise, but I have to admit this game was such a charm. Yes, there were low points: - The crewmate imbalance I ended up with job-wise made me go from maxing out days to resetting them so I can do every late game mission with the best crew. - The world-map combat doesn't get harder as the difficulty increases. I suppose I understand this, but there's some masochists out there who want elite difficulty to be more. (I started on the basic difficulty, then upped it to elite around the halfway point) - Brawlers start off interesting with how tanky they are, but quickly turn unideal because of too many floating/flying enemies. - Some upgrades are just... way better than others. You can't tell me harvest + shifty movement *isn't* overpowered Overall there's a lot of great things about this game. The combat is exiting if you're trying to get the best score on a mission, the upgrades feel SO nice early in the game with steady progression and every time there's a transition into the next big part of the game (if you know you know) it rejuvinates me and then some after maybe getting a little tired with the current area. (although that's on me) I'm not good with reviews in the slightest and barely do any, but I just can't stress enough how fun this experience was and how sad I am to see it go. The music is absolutely incredible, the shots are satisfying as hell, and the story, although unpopular in opinion, was a good way of adding to the experience without making it too central. Overall, 8.9/10

Awesome sequel! Improves on the first game both in depth and gameplay while retaining what made the first game enjoyable. Provided you play on the highest difficulty also a very challenging game requiring you to plan ahead and make every move count.

I'm... I'm really lost for words for this one. Steamworld Heist was a brilliant game, and apparently in the sequel, the creators tried way too hard to improve on it. The visuals and the music are great, but the gameplay just went to hell. Wandering around the submarine and fighting other ships is incredibly inane, and while the mission combat looks to be the same as it did in the first game, it just trips itself up like once in every three turns. It was an incredible frustrating one hour while I tried to convince myself I want to play it, but eventually I had to let go. Disappointment of the decade :(

I liked the additional of the hub world navigation, Although it does drag on in the last area. With only up to 10 units and missions needing 4, You end up having to backtrack more than the other sections. All in all it's a solid sequel.

Such a fun game and franchise worth the money keep making these games Thunderful :)

Can't recommend SteamWorld Heist II especially if you're expecting something more than the first game. For some reason I thought the open world ocean sections would be like Sid Meir's Pirates. The reality unfortunately couldn't be further from the truth. Instead of the map with points like the previous game you now have a slow moving ship on a basically empty map with "ship combat" that nothing more than story line speed bumps. Had I not played the original SteamWorld Heist I might have enjoyed this but I can't stand slogging through a tutorial section that should have been skippable for veterans.

6/10 The 2nd part of the series feels stale and boring. Oh and never have I disliked a game's music more, than in this game. The song in the tavern is unfitting.

Your aim drifts in a tactical shooter requiring precise ricochet aiming. Your robots breathe, apparently, which renders the game infuriating for no justifiable reason. I'm sure the other reviews regarding grindiness and poor balancing are accurate, it seems par for the course with "Steamworld..." anything, along with perplexingly bad decisions like the aim drift this game is plagued by. I think it's safe to avoid the entire franchise, even on heavy discounts.

improvement on the first game in my opinion. got bored and put it down before i finished it though.

As good if not better than th first one. Lots of fun.

One of favourite Turn-Based Tactics games.

I like this nearly as much as Xcom which is saying a lot!

Ahhhh how I love SteamWorld Games

You really did make a part II

lets get steamy

It's good.

Epic

(⌐■_■)b