Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering SteamWorld Build by developer The Station:
SteamWorld Build (The Explanation)
Since the release of SteamWorld Tower Defense, back in 2010, slowly but surely, a singular game turned into a series and what a series it is! From the metroidvania excellence that is both Dig games, the strategic Heist to the card-based RPG that is SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, SteamWorld has never been a series of limited genres and now the trend continues with SteamWorld Build.
The Station is on board as the development team behind SteamWorld Build, the latest instalment is a game of two halves as the surface world is home to city-building antics and below, awaits the mineshaft and you will need to dungeon crawl your way to glory and with the help of a Steambot called Astrid Clutchsproket, along with her Pa, and a scrupulous mechanical companion, the race is on to escape a dying planet.
With the earth set for destruction, it is only by finding success above and below ground, by erecting a city full of workers, engineers, aristobots and scientists and exploring the depths of a mineshaft, can players uncover the six necessary parts to build a rocket ship, which once built and fueled, it is time to blast off to pastures unknown.
Unfortunately, when the rocket does blast off, that will end your actual playthrough of SteamWorld Build. Hovever, it is actually something of a good thing as SteamWorld Build five main maps for players to experience in the form of Giddyup Gorge, Highroller Dunes, Grand Gully, Tumbleton, and Fossil Park.
Each surface map can differ greatly, and the mine maps can really differ if you enable the random minemap option, but each time you complete a playthrough of SteamWorld Build, on any of the four game’s difficulties that is not “Sandbox,” when setting out on a new adventure, you can now gain access to Landmark Buildings, which have their own handy benefit that can help enrich your next adventure.
Still, how does SteamWorld Build actually play? When on the surface, you are first presented with a nearly empty map, save for some obstructions and a singular train station. With what few resources you have at first, you will need to start building homes for the workers, a repair shop and even a general store, to keep them happy. You will also need to pave forth a path from the buildings you create and join them up to the train station.
With enough workers, you gain access to new buildings, such as a charcoal kiln, a Forrester and even a lumber mill. The more you build, the more resources you can gain access to, which leads to more milestones being reached and a new class of Steambots being unlocked. You won’t be able to just build a home for the engineer, but as long as the initial workers living in one of your homes are satisfied enough by the facilities around them, you can upgrade them into your engineers and repeat the earlier process of gaining access to new structures to further build your city and then gain access to aristobots and even scientists.
Whereas beneath the surface, once you have reached the mineshaft and are now free to explore the three levels below, new classes of Steambots can be encountered. At first you will be limited to building only miner quarters, but as you advance, soon you can build quarters for prospectors, miners and even guards. You won’t be needing guards in the Dusty Caverns, but from Marshy Ruins and below, there are enemies aplenty, so while your miners are busy scouring for resources and your mechanics building machines capable of extracting specific resources, the guards will need to rely on the resources of the armoury to defend your workers to the last breath.
Like on the surface, progress can be restricted unless certain milestones and restrictions have been met, but advance too quickly, or overspend, can prove to be a costly mistake. So, should things prove too dangerous or too fast, it is a good thing you can always rely on the right analogue stick to pause gameplay when you need to. Should things take too long, you can always spend it up and, when on the surface, since you can sell off your resources or trade for new ones as long as you have the cash to spare via the train station, even when dealt a losing hand, you can soon turn things back around, as long as you know what you need most.
Nevertheless, I doubt you should get too lost when playing through SteamWorld Build as the game does a great job of walking you through everything you could possibly need to know, and for when you forget a useful tip, you can always pause the game and consult your notebook for the answer. With so many in-depth tidbits, you won’t be lost to the depths for too long.
Additionally, for those who don’t want the step-by-step instructions or even the story when doing a second playthrough, they can of course be disabled, but why would you want to skip the cutscenes when SteamWorld Build actually boasts the prettiest visuals yet and makes us all the more excited for the upcoming, SteamWorld Headhunter.
City-building/sim management and dungeon crawling are two genres that couldn’t be any more different, like chalk and cheese and yet, The Station merged the two together in such an amazing fashion that another true SteamWorld game is born! SteamWorld Build is a delightful adventure that has possibly less story than recent SteamWorld games, but it’s still worth your time nonetheless and with five different maps to build your city on, there’s enough replay value to be enjoyed when you run out of steam.
SteamWorld Build (The Gameplay)
Game Specifications:
Developer: The Station
Publisher: Thunderful
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Simulation, Strategy
No. of Players: 1 (Single System)
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Price: $29.99
File Size: 757 MB
Nintendo.com Listing
