Steampunk space robot pirates in side-scroll turn based strategy, complete with bullet ricochet and an out of this world soundtrack.
That sentence should grab just about every gamer I know. I picked up Steamworld Heist on a whim during the last Humble Bundle and I was simply floored with the simple, brilliant, design. Steamworld Heist takes all those top down tactical games and turns them on their head... or more accurately, on their side. Instead of top down the game is 2D side perspective. To create a unique challenge, your character 'breathes' (I mean, its a robot, so I don't really know why it wiggles around so much), so you get to try to aim your shots in real time.
The game physics allows you to do a fair number of things, from lobbing grenades to ricocheting a bullet off a wall and into the back of some poor robo-thug's CPU.
Hiding behind cover is a key tactic to every battle.
Your pirate crew expands over time, adding new and mildly unique classes to the mix as the game progresses. Want a band of shotgun wielding pirates? A sniper in the back and a melee thug in the front? Just want a bunch of rocket launchers? There's probably a way to make every strategy work.
The story appears to be intentionally cheesy and, all in all, enjoyable. The difficulty is pretty low on most missions, so I say crank it up to 11 and scale down if you get stuck. There are certainly a few missions where things get more dicey, and as with most tactical turn based games, a bad round can spell instant doom.
Missing a critical shot by inches may spell your doom.
While the humble sale I got Steamworld Heist on is over, you can still pick it up on Steam for 66% off during the Summer Sale for a few days. Honestly, it's worth full price for any lover of turn based strategy, steam punk robots, pirates, or just something a little unique.
Oh yeah, and that killer soundtrack from the awesome Steam Powered Giraffe can be found here
Steam Powered Giraffe makes an appearance in the game! Legit!