![]() ![]() ![]() Its alternate history theme is exceptionally creative, but it seems so afraid to break from the soulslike script elsewhere that I practically started recognizing sections from other games. Steelrising never really falls entirely flat on its face in any of these attempts, so the things it doesn’t try to do are what really what take it from passably enjoyable to underwhelming. Bosses are even worse as many are just beefier versions of existing enemy types – the much more unique “Titan” bosses do provide a boost of variety, but they’re so laughably easy to defeat that you’re likely to wipe the floor with one and then not think about it again. There just aren’t many types beyond what I’ve mentioned here, with most others being slight variations of one another that hardly impact how you approach different combat scenarios. Unfortunately, once you’ve fought these motorized baddies a few times, you won’t find many surprises ‘round the bend. Each of these enemies has their own bag of tricks to learn, and facing off against them initially accounts for some of Steelrising’s best moments. There are also some cool robotic dogs, freaky snake-like creatures, and even some murderous musicians who kill you with brass instruments like you’ve always dreamt they would. The robotic opponents you fight along the way come in a few creative varieties, from small and weak humanoids to enormous foes that carry around building support columns as weapons. Plus, the age-old problem of a terrible camera that floats through objects and obscures your view is likely to cause issues on a regular basis. ![]() The all-important dodging mechanics feel smooth and responsive at least, but enemies often waddle around and simply let you kill them, and I sometimes got stuck on pieces of the environment at the worst moments. However, swinging those weapons is frequently imprecise, and combat can feel downright janky at times as a result. That includes the fire chain, which lets you ignite enemies from a distance in style, as well as the nimble glass-core batons, which I relied on extensively to freeze and then wail on my enemies. There are certainly some interesting weapon options, many of which have special abilities associated with them that might let you block or fire a weapon from afar in addition to its melee strikes. Combat is a fairly one-note contest of dodging and slicing with a few status ailments, special moves, and weapon types thrown in to jazz things up. It’s a formula that’s all too familiar, and although I’m a fan of soulslikes, it’s still a bit eyebrow-raising how remarkably little this iteration does to set itself apart from all the other options we have nowadays.Īn unoriginal idea can still be executed in exciting ways, but Steelrising doesn’t completely nail some of the game mechanics it tries to replicate either. All the expected chords are struck here, including respawning enemies when reaching save points, losing your primary resource upon death (called “anima essence” in this case), and third-person hack-and-slash combat that has you dodging around and using limited consumables to recover health. Cutting down robots is fun and all, but I quite enjoyed taking a break from the action to debate politics with my French compatriots from time to time.īetween those moments, Steelrising does still place most of its focus on the tried and true recipe of fighting your way through areas filled with deadly enemies in hopes of reaching the next save point before eventually killing a big, scary boss. ![]() Plus, Steelrising isn’t afraid to touch on some interesting philosophical and political topics like dictatorships, the consequences of bloody insurrections, and some surprising late-game story developments that I won’t spoil here. Some of these decisions affect the outcome of the story in major ways, which was a welcome surprise in a genre that usually relies heavily on cryptic environmental storytelling. For example, a charismatic revolutionary will ask you to help him in his fight to end slavery, and a side quest later on lets you rob the king’s treasury and then decide which of two opposing political causes you’d like to use those funds to support, complete with dialogue options to pick from. The hit-or-miss voice acting for its historical figures is shored up by some great writing and interesting side missions as you assemble a group of renegades to help you fight the king. ![]()
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