Finally we tried Steelrising for ourselves. Find out how well we like the mix of Soulslike, fancy steampunk setting and action RPG in our preview.
I’ve been waiting for this for years: Ever since I saw the first short (and actually pretty meaningless) teaser for Steelrising, I’ve been head over heels in shock infatuation with the offbeat setting. Finally an action role-playing game that takes a big step away from classic Dark Fantasy!
Sure, I love clashing swords, gaudy plate armour and proud castles, there’s a medieval heart beating inside me. But there’s one thing I love even more: when a game surprises me with a completely unique world. And holla, there really has never been anything like Steelrising before.
Here I’m dancing as a deadly steampunk android through an alternative Paris in the late 18th century, fighting other mechanical masterpieces with elegant blade fans, razor-sharp claws or massive halberds – I’ve never experienced the French Revolution like this before. So with the setting as bait, I was hooked straight away. But an exciting world is by no means everything!
Does it play as cool as the game world seems? Is there a really good action role-playing game behind the pretty porcelain façade or is it just a lame graphics dazzler in the end?
I’ve played Steelrising extensively and have the answer for you!
What did I play? I was given access to a preview version of Steelrising and was able to get started from the beginning of the game. In addition, I got pre-made saves from the developers that show later levels and a particularly crunchy boss fight. Some audio files and animations are still missing in this version, but gameplay-wise it already seems pretty finished.
No own pictures: I was not allowed to publish my own footage from the preview version and therefore use pictures and gameplay provided by the publisher. As far as I can judge so far, these assets show the game as it really looks. Things might still change until the final version.
Aegis, the deadly dancer
Let’s first go through what Steelrising actually is: I control Aegis, the Queen’s mechanical bodyguard, and travel on her behalf to Paris, where the mad King Louis XVI has put down the revolution with the help of his merciless Automaton army.
Actually, it was built to look pretty, but after some modifications, Aegis hides lots of deadly weapons in its machine body – I’ll get to Steelrising’s awesome arsenal later. Steelrising comes from Greedfall developers Spiders, but contains far fewer story and role-playing elements. It’s a straight-up Souls-like.
First I choose from a few options the appearance and class of my Aegis, which determines which weapons it starts with. They differ noticeably from each other; the dancer, for example, strikes with lightning speed with knife fans and dodges attacks nimbly. The bodyguard, on the other hand, prefers to block attacks and lashes out with more momentum.
In terms of gameplay, Dark Souls shimmers through at every turn: The fights are demanding, require precise timing and punish mistakes mercilessly.
Aegis improves with Anima Essence (which I lose on death of course and can collect again). This only works with Vestal statues, which serve the same purpose as bonfires in Souls games. When they are activated, our healing items are replenished and the game state is saved, but all enemies respawn.
They are, by the way, a real highlight in Steelrising: I was constantly fascinated by the impressive clockwork designs, such as agile mechanical predatory cats or tower-like Automatons that pummel me with two thick bronze balls. I have to readjust Aegis’ manoeuvres for each enemy type, which is especially true for the mini-bosses and bosses. This one tries to barbecue me with lightning:
At this point I have to out myself as a Souls noob. I haven’t spent much time with Dark Souls, Elden Ring and co. and am correspondingly clumsy in difficult fights. For me Steelrising is really challenging, sometimes frustrating, when Aegis doesn’t follow my block command fast enough (could also be a bug of the preview version). If you lay Malenia blindfolded, you’ll probably dance through the levels light-footedly, although the bosses should still challenge you pleasantly.
But Steelrising isn’t just for Soulslike fans! In contrast to From Software, the developers Spiders show themselves to be more merciful. There is a fixed difficulty level, but I can adjust individual elements at any time. For example, whether I take less damage or whether my stamina regenerates faster. Then there are no achievements, but I save my blood pressure. A fair compromise, for which Elden Ring first needed mods.
I spend most of my time in the preview version fighting, but I also explore Paris at night in between – not only the dirty streets, but also the rooftops thanks to the grappling hook. However, this was not yet unlocked for me, so I can’t judge how useful the tool is. What I can say, however, is that the level design is solid: The level design seems solid, I keep unlocking new paths and shortcuts, as befits a decent Souls-like game.
Now I’ve told you a lot that Steelrising borrows from the Souls games. However, besides the setting, it brings more of its own ideas to the table, which I really liked when I played it. For example Aegis’ fascinating weapons.
Hardly any other game has such an unusual arsenal of weapons
In Steelrising, I don’t dwell on mundane swords or axes. Instead, I go into battle with elegant as well as deadly mechanics masterpieces. A selection:
- Two combat fans made of blades that Aegis converts into a round shield at the touch of a button.
- A musket that shoots ice balls
- A burning metal ball on a long iron chain (imagine it like here in Kill Bill, only with fire)
With each weapon, Aegis performs completely different, acrobatic moves that make me immediately buy her past as a dancer. Steelrising offers enough freedom to develop your own favourite fighting style. Elsewhere, however, you should be prepared to make a few sacrifices.
A few question marks remain
General: Steelrising will not be a glossy blockbuster, but a classic AA title with a limited budget. The developers conceal this quite elegantly in places, for example they explain the conspicuous lack of human NPCs with the fact that people hide in their houses because it is so dangerous outside.
Question marks in the story
So far I’ve only dropped a few sentences about the story of Steelrising and there’s a good reason for that. It doesn’t seem to be as much of a focus as some (including myself) would have liked after the announcement, significantly less than in Greedfall. What I have seen so far seems purposeful but unspectacular.
This is also due to the fact that the entire story takes place in a single night, which doesn’t leave much time for complex character development or far-reaching consequences. But there are supposed to be a few important decisions.
Question marks with technology
Especially in the intro, I was unpleasantly struck by how wooden the human faces seem. The queen is beside herself, but still doesn’t pull a face, and that’s barely 200 years before the invention of Botox. Fortunately, this is not a big deal with Aegis herself; she is explicitly supposed to look doll-like.
Sometimes I also wondered about other strange animations. For example, when I deflect an enemy’s fire breath, which actually looks pretty cool. But unfortunately their head slips through my fan shield every time.
Some sounds were completely missing, for example when a chess piece falls over in the intro or Aegis pushes a boat into the water. Of course, this takes the immersion right out of it – but the developers had warned me that not everything had been finalised yet.
In fairness, I’d like to reiterate that I played an unfinished version. Steelrising recently pushed back its release date by a few months, to September 8, 2022. Probably a very wise decision, hopefully the developers can use this time for the final bug fixes. The highly interesting game would definitely deserve a technically clean release!
Editor’s Verdict
Steelrising is to blame for the fact that I don’t feel like medievalism at all right now. This has never happened to me before! What will my ancestors think, who pursued honest craftsmanship in Franconian castles? But I can’t help myself, I’ve caught steampunk fever. And it’s only because of that damn beautiful Automata!
Aegis’ world reminds me of what I love most about game worlds: when they take me into a universe I could never have imagined before, but in which I immediately feel at home. Unfortunately, this rarely happens any more, so it’s all the nicer that Spiders dares to take on such an unused idea. I’d love to see more of it, dear game developers!
To be honest, though, I still have a few reservations about the game, because Greedfall was already more of an enthusiast’s game with rough edges. Hopefully Steelrising will make the right decisions to get the best out of a limited budget and technical framework.
