In tactical RPGs, it’s simple to fall into a acquainted rhythm. You’re at all times gonna wanna tackle missions along with your long-range attacker, your up-close attacker, and perhaps a help class of some type. These lessons will often acquire ultra-powerful talents that help of their effectiveness at doing what they do greatest. However not often do you see video games that enable for a single character to equip top-tier talents from two separate lessons on the identical time. Even heralded classics like Last Fantasy Techniques and Baldur’s Gate 3 put a damper on full class freedom within the curiosity of recreation balancing.
Which is why it’s so wild to see SteamWorld Heist 2 throw a lot of that out the window with one of the free-wheeling class programs I’ve ever seen.
SteamWorld Heist 2 follows the format of the unique: It’s a 2D, side-scrolling tackle turn-based technique video games like XCOM the place a small squad of troopers makes use of its wits to beat hordes of rival robots. Slightly than revolving round chance-to-hit percentages, the entire fight within the recreation is decided by the place you’re aiming. However once you’ve bought an arcing rocket launcher with out a laser sight, hitting a shot from throughout the map may be simpler mentioned than executed.
To assist get the sting, squad members degree up after missions, incomes new passive and lively talents applicable for his or her geared up class. A melee-centric Brawler would possibly get the power to maneuver after a kill, slightly than having their flip instantly finish, for instance. Or a Sniper would possibly come geared up with an infinite laser sight by default, letting you nail a excellent ricochet shot off two partitions and into a rival robotic’s noggin.
However right here’s the factor: your squad members aren’t locked into their beginning class. At any time, merely equipping a completely different main weapon can change a character’s class fully. Give a Sniper a shotgun and all of a sudden they’re a Flanker, with far more motion talents and the possibility to deal additional harm by hitting an enemy from behind.
That character will begin out as a degree 1 Flanker, however they’ll maintain their Sniper degree, and any expertise they beforehand unlocked as a Sniper may be geared up utilizing “Cogs.” As you degree up the completely different lessons, extra Cogs develop into accessible to you, providing you with rather more freedom in the way you create your lessons.
Picture: Thunderful Growth / Thunderful Publishing
Should you took that Sniper all the way in which to max degree, after which proceeded to completely degree three extra lessons, you might equip the ultimate expertise from all 4 of these lessons on the identical time — and doubtless have some extra Cogs left over. The top consequence is a Sniper who can shoot a weapon that fires twice per flip, set guys on hearth, heal themselves for each kill, and mark a random enemy on the sector to take bonus harm. It begins to get a bit absurd.
Should you assume it will make the sport too simple, the builders have tossed in a big selection of problem choices to tweak all facets of enemy AI, so you’ll be able to guarantee there’s nonetheless a problem. In my playthrough on the default problem setting, there was by no means actually a second after I thought I had a whole edge on the opposing facet. I additionally discovered that figuring out my crew of demise machines was totally handcrafted made the entire expertise way more rewarding. The SteamWorld franchise continues to innovate in thrilling methods, and I’m wanting ahead to seeing what style it’ll set its sights on subsequent.
SteamWorld Heist 2 was launched on Aug. 8 2024 on Nintendo Swap, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows, and Xbox Collection S/X. The sport was reviewed on a SteamDeck utilizing a pre-release obtain code offered by Thunderful Publishing. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. You could find extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.
