n tactical RPGs, it’s simple to fall under a familiar rhythm. You’re constantly gon na wan na handle objectives with your long-range opponent, your up-close assaulter, and possibly an assistance class of some sort. These classes will generally get ultra-powerful capabilities that help in their efficiency at doing what they do best. However seldom do you see video games that permit a single character to gear up top-tier capabilities from 2 different classes at the same time. Even declared classics like Final Fantasy Tactics and Baldur’s Gate 3 detered total class liberty in the interest of video game balancing.
Which is why it’s so wild to see SteamWorld Heist 2 toss a great deal of that out the window with among the most free-wheeling class systems I’ve ever seen.
SteamWorld Heist 2 follows the format of the initial: It’s a 2D, side-scrolling take on turn-based technique video games like XCOM where a little team of soldiers utilizes its wits to get rid of crowds of competing robotics. Instead of focusing on chance-to-hit portions, all of the battle in the video game is figured out by where you’re intending. However when you’ve got an arcing rocket launcher without a laser sight, striking a shot from throughout the map can be much easier stated than done.
To assist get the edge, team members level up after objectives, making brand-new passive and active capabilities suitable for their equipped class. A melee-centric Brawler may get the capability to move after a kill, instead of having their turn right away end, for instance. Or a Sniper may come geared up with a huge laser sight by default, letting you nail an ideal ricochet shot off 2 walls and into a competing robotic’s noggin.
However here’s the important things: your team members aren’t locked into their beginning class. At any time, merely gearing up a various main weapon can alter a character’s class totally. Offer a Sniper a shotgun and unexpectedly they’re a Flanker, with method more motion capabilities and the opportunity to deal additional damage by striking an opponent from behind.
That character will start as a level 1 Flanker, however they’ll keep their Sniper level, and any abilities they formerly opened as a Sniper can be geared up utilizing “Cogs.” As you level up the various classes, more Cogs appear to you, offering you a lot more liberty in how you develop your classes.
If you took that Sniper all the way to max level, and after that continued to completely level 3 more classes, you might gear up the last abilities from all 4 of those classes at the same time– and most likely have some more Cogs left over. Completion outcome is a Sniper who can shoot a weapon that fires two times per turn, set guys on fire, recover themselves for every single kill, and mark a random opponent on the field to take reward damage. It starts to get a bit unreasonable.
If you believe this will make the video game too simple, the designers have actually tossed in a vast array of trouble choices to modify all elements of opponent AI, so you can make sure there’s still an obstacle. In my playthrough on the default problem setting, there was never ever actually a minute when I believed I had an overall edge on the opposing side. I likewise discovered that understanding my team of death makers was totally handcrafted made the entire experience much more satisfying. The SteamWorld franchise continues to innovate in amazing methods, and I’m eagerly anticipating seeing what genre it’ll set its sights on next.
