SteamWorld Heist II Preview: Get That Loot and Sail Those Seas!

Summer Game Fest 2024 brought a slew of games to my fingertips that were brand-new to me. Among those was SteamWorld Heist II, and I was definitely out of my comfort zone. Luckily, I got to sit down with someone from Thunderful who walked me through the gameplay. Though it took me a minute to get the hang of things, the game looks like it is going to be a lot of fun.

SteamWorld Heist II sees you join Captain Leeway and his crew as you explore and defend the Great Sea. A portion of the game is completed sailing the seas, and the rest is done boarding vessels to score some loot! The steam-powered robots need water to survive, and it is in short supply. The one source they have, the Great Oceanic Shard, is being poisoned, making it corrosive. Captain Leeway is looking for his confiscated submarine, and this is where your adventure begins.

Battle on the Great Sea is mostly automatic. You just point, and your ship will fire, much like Vampire Survivors —you just need to steer. Combat off your ship, however, is turn-based. Ever since Baldur’s Gate 3 , I learned that turn-based combat isn’t exactly for me. I find it slow and tedious. However, with SteamWorld Heist II , they made some additions that were welcome for someone like me.

“SteamWorld Heist II features five difficulty levels plus a custom difficulty level if you’re interested in tweaking your gameplay a little more.”

For one, you can skip the animations during your turn, shortening the time it takes to play through. Second, movement within a certain—pretty generous—distance does not count as part of your turn. If you go further than the amount allotted, it will count, though. During my playthrough, I was tasked to make it through the vessel and collect my treasure. I brought along two crew members and got to work, eventually being successful. The good news, though, is that if you are not successful, there are no real penalties. You just jump in and do it again, or come back later and try again.

Each of your crew members can only perform two missions in-game day, and when they are all exhausted, you end your day and gain a reward. Though they did not tell me how many crewmates would be available, it was clear that there would be several to use. You can assign each crew member a different weapon or weapon type, and within the mission, they will have varying abilities that could be helpful along the way. You can also ricochet your bullets off of the environment, and the second I learned this, the game became so much easier!

Essentially, you want to get through the vessel you boarded (in my time with the game, anyway), taking out any enemies—and turrets, please watch for the turrets—in your way with your weapons and talents. You can stop for smaller loot and secrets like new pathways or get to the loot and get out. You will continue your turns even after the mission is complete and you are leaving the area, with the possibility of new enemies spawning, too.

“They also introduced jobs to SteamWorld Heist II, which are essentially skill levels for a particular weapon.”

New to SteamWorld Heist II is the map, which I imagine will be a great addition. Who doesn’t want a map? As you sail the sea, you will clear the fog, allowing you to discover new areas and missions. The map is how you select your missions and will need to fight the Royal Navy to get around. Getting beyond the Great Wall is another task you will hope to accomplish, but that was beyond my playthrough.

Thunderful introduced jobs to SteamWorld Heist II, which are essentially skill levels for a particular weapon. You can gain up to five levels within each Job, and the learned abilities you gain from them can be transferred to other weapons. For example, giving sniper-like accuracy to a non-sniper weapon. This will add a ton of replayability and experimentation, especially for the completionists out there. I even heard that there are many hats to collect, and you can shoot them directly off of enemies, allowing for even more items to chase down.

SteamWorld Heist II features five difficulty levels plus a custom difficulty level if you’re interested in tweaking your gameplay a little more. Thunderful has aimed to make this game a bit more accessible for people like me, or you can ramp things up if you’re looking for a challenge.

With SteamWorld Heist II’s vibrant art style and creative soundtrack, Thunderful was able to make the game feel welcoming and exciting. As someone who wasn’t intrigued by turn-based games before, I am looking forward to spending more time with SteamWorld Heist II and seeing all it has to offer.

SteamWorld Heist II releases on August 8, 2024 , for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. It can be pre-ordered now on their official website.