Steel Assault's biggest crime is being too short. What's actually there is brilliant, but it sorta blows its load before one feels satisfied. In other words, it's a very sweet experience, but it lacks nuance.
I think the issue could have been solved had it had 2 more chapters at least, cuz as it currently stands, the narrative's very underwhelming. The climax doesn't feel too impactful because it's not built up to effectively. Of course, the game's arcadey nature doesn't call for an epic narrative, but the issue affects gameplay too. All the game's mechanics are beautiful, but some feel underutilized. The tone of the action doesn't shift enough as things go on.
Compare Steel Assault to Alien Soldier (a game it CERTAINLY drew a lot from). In AS, my boy Epsilon Eagle gets a million things done and goes from here to there, gameplay constantly shifting while keeping all core mechanics intact, all in a similar completion length. In contrast, Steel Assault doesn't seem to have the confidence to experiment with the mechanical complexity it already has. Now, it's unfair to ask it to stack up to mf Alien Soldier, but if it had to be such a short experience, it would have been good to make the most of it.
Anyway, I don'y wanna be too negative. The game's a total blast and any 2D action fan would do good to check it out. Normal mode's a push over, so Expert mode's where it's at.
I think the issue could have been solved had it had 2 more chapters at least, cuz as it currently stands, the narrative's very underwhelming. The climax doesn't feel too impactful because it's not built up to effectively. Of course, the game's arcadey nature doesn't call for an epic narrative, but the issue affects gameplay too. All the game's mechanics are beautiful, but some feel underutilized. The tone of the action doesn't shift enough as things go on.
Compare Steel Assault to Alien Soldier (a game it CERTAINLY drew a lot from). In AS, my boy Epsilon Eagle gets a million things done and goes from here to there, gameplay constantly shifting while keeping all core mechanics intact, all in a similar completion length. In contrast, Steel Assault doesn't seem to have the confidence to experiment with the mechanical complexity it already has. Now, it's unfair to ask it to stack up to mf Alien Soldier, but if it had to be such a short experience, it would have been good to make the most of it.
Anyway, I don'y wanna be too negative. The game's a total blast and any 2D action fan would do good to check it out. Normal mode's a push over, so Expert mode's where it's at.
You can blast through this in under an hour on normal difficulty and have a damn good time seeing the setpieces and listening to the amazing soundtrack, with very little resistance.
Stick it on expert difficulty and it will absolutely spank you, forcing an intensely different approach to the action which is satisfying in a completely different way.
If you're not fussed about an expert skill playthrough, maybe reconsider - my normal mode playthrough was about 35 minutes but I immediately wanted more. Also you can finish Contra 3 in under an hour and that game is a banger.
Stick it on expert difficulty and it will absolutely spank you, forcing an intensely different approach to the action which is satisfying in a completely different way.
If you're not fussed about an expert skill playthrough, maybe reconsider - my normal mode playthrough was about 35 minutes but I immediately wanted more. Also you can finish Contra 3 in under an hour and that game is a banger.
Quick video review: https://youtu.be/tSjEn0WBWyE
I play a lot of these arcade side scrollers, so here’s my quick review for Steel Assault.
Length:
Steel Assault took me just 55 minutes to clear, and that is with numerous attempts on some of the bosses. It is not a long game by any means, which I guess kinda fits the arcade theme. So, don’t go in expecting this big multi-hour thing.
Gameplay:
Control-wise, Steel Assault gives you free movement, an attack button, and a zipline – that’s it. However, it uses these to their absolute max, including things like punches instead of your regular weapon when you’re in close range. These punches in turn charge your special meter, which in turn fuels any upgrade you pick up – such as a small scattershot electricity effect that gives your whip some additional range.
Nothing too complex here, but what is here works well. The combat is responsive, movement is fluid and doesn’t feel stiff like others in this genre, and the only iffy thing there is the zipline. It can be a bit finicky, so expect to spend some time getting used to how it controls.
Level and enemy variety are also solid. I never had that feeling that I was fighting the same thing over and over. If anything, it felt like I was always fighting something new and the game has this really cool trend of throwing this huge enemy at you that LOOKS like a boss, but is actually just some mid-stage thing, leaving the real boss for the end.
And the boss fights are really where the challenge comes into play. On one hand, they have some pretty cool designs, but on the other, this is where that “trial and error” difficulty really shines. The kind of difficulty where you won’t know how to deal with a specific situation until you get hit or die to it.
This can even be seen a bit in the regular gameplay – like enemies spawning right on top of you or placing ranged units just outside of your screen until you’ve already committed to a jump. It can feel a bit cheap at times, but it never got so bad that I felt outright frustrated.
Graphics, Music, Story:
Graphics and music are also fine and there are a number of options you can change to alter how “retro” the game looks, like CRT filters and such. There’s also a bit of a story, but it’s just one of those side things that hardly matters – as expected from an arcade title.
Overall:
All that said, yeah, it’s fun enough to warrant a recommendation. I don’t know about full price, but if you can catch it on deep sale or even in a bundle – it’s at least worth the time.
I play a lot of these arcade side scrollers, so here’s my quick review for Steel Assault.
Length:
Steel Assault took me just 55 minutes to clear, and that is with numerous attempts on some of the bosses. It is not a long game by any means, which I guess kinda fits the arcade theme. So, don’t go in expecting this big multi-hour thing.
Gameplay:
Control-wise, Steel Assault gives you free movement, an attack button, and a zipline – that’s it. However, it uses these to their absolute max, including things like punches instead of your regular weapon when you’re in close range. These punches in turn charge your special meter, which in turn fuels any upgrade you pick up – such as a small scattershot electricity effect that gives your whip some additional range.
Nothing too complex here, but what is here works well. The combat is responsive, movement is fluid and doesn’t feel stiff like others in this genre, and the only iffy thing there is the zipline. It can be a bit finicky, so expect to spend some time getting used to how it controls.
Level and enemy variety are also solid. I never had that feeling that I was fighting the same thing over and over. If anything, it felt like I was always fighting something new and the game has this really cool trend of throwing this huge enemy at you that LOOKS like a boss, but is actually just some mid-stage thing, leaving the real boss for the end.
And the boss fights are really where the challenge comes into play. On one hand, they have some pretty cool designs, but on the other, this is where that “trial and error” difficulty really shines. The kind of difficulty where you won’t know how to deal with a specific situation until you get hit or die to it.
This can even be seen a bit in the regular gameplay – like enemies spawning right on top of you or placing ranged units just outside of your screen until you’ve already committed to a jump. It can feel a bit cheap at times, but it never got so bad that I felt outright frustrated.
Graphics, Music, Story:
Graphics and music are also fine and there are a number of options you can change to alter how “retro” the game looks, like CRT filters and such. There’s also a bit of a story, but it’s just one of those side things that hardly matters – as expected from an arcade title.
Overall:
All that said, yeah, it’s fun enough to warrant a recommendation. I don’t know about full price, but if you can catch it on deep sale or even in a bundle – it’s at least worth the time.
As modern retro-styled 2D platformers go, Steel Assault unfortunately doesn’t offer many compelling reasons to really sink your teeth into it. You can aim your Castlevania electro whip in eight directions, do non-committal double jumps and perform low-profile slides with cooldowns in-between to squeeze through attacks/gaps and close short distances. There aren’t any more intricate enemy interactions outside of just dealing damage to them, like bouncing off of heads in Shovel Knight for example, and power-ups (a shield and a buff to your whip) present linear improvements to your character that you don’t have to meaningfully change your strategy around, like you would in Castlevania. It feels odd how your character will often ignore those cooldowns I mentioned earlier and do consecutive slides in cutscenes, highlighting just how little fun there is to be had with the mechanics outside of what the game strictly intends for you to do.
Steel Assault dedicates its third action button to this zip-line you can launch at any time and hook between adjacent surfaces. You can probably imagine that that makes it a mostly situational gimmick: if you run into applicable geometry, the game will either specifically expect you to use the zip-line to progress, or it’s a random corner in the level design where it serves no purpose. Again, it feels odd how many obvious-seeming opportunities weren’t taken: you can’t hook into basic enemies, and there’s at least one boss where you’d expect to be able to position it between its gigantic hands, only to be disappointed. Its one universal function is to buy yourself extra air-time when not aiming at a surface, but a majority of the enemy patterns are timed with this in mind as well, so it doesn’t exactly lead to more spontaneous gameplay either. It honestly wasn’t until the final boss that Steel Assault started to scratch the surface of its rigid barebones mechanics, where the ground suddenly becomes inaccessible and you have to shift the position of your zip-line at a moment’s notice to dodge attacks.
If you subscribe to the idea that visuals on their own give a game value, Steel Assault’s eye-watering excess of chunky pixel art will please to some extent, but even that raw spectacle was diminished in my experience with how poorly the developers chose to present it. The game’s default “CRT filter” comes not in the form of horizontal consumer television or PVM scanlines, but a strange LCD grid with wide gaps between vertical lines. It’s nonsensical when the in-game pixels are all square, and it’s misaligned with the art enough that it creates a messy impression in motion. It’s even stranger with the added bilinear filtering on top, which obviously isn’t what games look like on an LCD, but also doesn’t match Steel Assault’s art style, since it mostly doesn’t rely on dithering (which would be used to create the impression of smoother blending and shades on a CRT.) It’s preferable to turn all that stuff off, but even then the final output is treated strangely (my guess is there’s some artificial over-sharpening and saturation going on that makes the whole image look grainy.)
As nitpicky as that last paragraph was, I’m sure the developers had their heart in the right place, but I ultimately can’t help but think of the following Matthewmatosis quote as I unpack Steel Asssault: the amount of effort put into something doesn’t necessarily determine its quality.
Steel Assault dedicates its third action button to this zip-line you can launch at any time and hook between adjacent surfaces. You can probably imagine that that makes it a mostly situational gimmick: if you run into applicable geometry, the game will either specifically expect you to use the zip-line to progress, or it’s a random corner in the level design where it serves no purpose. Again, it feels odd how many obvious-seeming opportunities weren’t taken: you can’t hook into basic enemies, and there’s at least one boss where you’d expect to be able to position it between its gigantic hands, only to be disappointed. Its one universal function is to buy yourself extra air-time when not aiming at a surface, but a majority of the enemy patterns are timed with this in mind as well, so it doesn’t exactly lead to more spontaneous gameplay either. It honestly wasn’t until the final boss that Steel Assault started to scratch the surface of its rigid barebones mechanics, where the ground suddenly becomes inaccessible and you have to shift the position of your zip-line at a moment’s notice to dodge attacks.
If you subscribe to the idea that visuals on their own give a game value, Steel Assault’s eye-watering excess of chunky pixel art will please to some extent, but even that raw spectacle was diminished in my experience with how poorly the developers chose to present it. The game’s default “CRT filter” comes not in the form of horizontal consumer television or PVM scanlines, but a strange LCD grid with wide gaps between vertical lines. It’s nonsensical when the in-game pixels are all square, and it’s misaligned with the art enough that it creates a messy impression in motion. It’s even stranger with the added bilinear filtering on top, which obviously isn’t what games look like on an LCD, but also doesn’t match Steel Assault’s art style, since it mostly doesn’t rely on dithering (which would be used to create the impression of smoother blending and shades on a CRT.) It’s preferable to turn all that stuff off, but even then the final output is treated strangely (my guess is there’s some artificial over-sharpening and saturation going on that makes the whole image look grainy.)
As nitpicky as that last paragraph was, I’m sure the developers had their heart in the right place, but I ultimately can’t help but think of the following Matthewmatosis quote as I unpack Steel Asssault: the amount of effort put into something doesn’t necessarily determine its quality.
A fine, fine tribute to the GBA and a killer soundtrack to boot.
Es una desgracia que el juego sea tan corto. es de esos que tiene mecánicas muy buenas, enemigos muy piolas, y cuando llega el momento donde explota todo su potencial... el juego termina. Solo seis niveles donde los primeros 3 se sienten un tutorial mientras que los 3 últimos son los mejores del juego, no por nada el penúltimo nivel lo utilizaron como demo.
Es una cagada, pero aún así llega a ser muy prometedor para ser el primer juego del estudio. En caso de que le hagan secuela es posible que exploten desde el inicio todo el apartado jugable y salga un producto muchisimo mejor. Sigue siendo bastante desafiante, especialmente si lo juegas en el modo arcade, que me resultó un dolor de quinotos.
Es una cagada, pero aún así llega a ser muy prometedor para ser el primer juego del estudio. En caso de que le hagan secuela es posible que exploten desde el inicio todo el apartado jugable y salga un producto muchisimo mejor. Sigue siendo bastante desafiante, especialmente si lo juegas en el modo arcade, que me resultó un dolor de quinotos.
The game has 90s vibes everywhere. A beautiful tribute to classic action games, with an amazing OST.
Intense but short.
And its CRT retro filters are some of the best I have seen.
Intense but short.
And its CRT retro filters are some of the best I have seen.
neat mechanical concept paired with great art and music sadly aren't enough to carry an otherwise mid game
Très bon jeu d'action plateformes vaguement croisé avec un run n gun. On court, saute, donne des coups de fouet électrique qui peut être amélioré pour envoyer des projectiles au passage.
La composante Arcade est très prononcée, le jeu se terminant en grosso modo un trentaine de minutes.
Le jeu est ardu, mais dispose de plusieurs modes de difficulté accompagnant l'évolution du joueur :
- Une difficulté avec des checkpoints au sein des niveaux
- Puis une difficulté qui fait recommencer au début de chaque niveau
- Puis un vrai mode Arcade, où il faut terminer le jeu d'une traite.
Le jeu est bon mais je n'ai pas accroché à la mécanique de l'espèce de grappin. J'ai donc terminé le jeu plusieurs fois, mais jamais dans les modes de difficulté les plus relevés.
La composante Arcade est très prononcée, le jeu se terminant en grosso modo un trentaine de minutes.
Le jeu est ardu, mais dispose de plusieurs modes de difficulté accompagnant l'évolution du joueur :
- Une difficulté avec des checkpoints au sein des niveaux
- Puis une difficulté qui fait recommencer au début de chaque niveau
- Puis un vrai mode Arcade, où il faut terminer le jeu d'une traite.
Le jeu est bon mais je n'ai pas accroché à la mécanique de l'espèce de grappin. J'ai donc terminé le jeu plusieurs fois, mais jamais dans les modes de difficulté les plus relevés.
Too short and the gameplay is bare bones. Not at all a bad game, is quite good. But it wouldn't take long to beat, even considering the difficulty. Buy it on sale i guess?
No me esperaba nada del juego, cuando lo vi me llamo mucho la atención por sus gráficos que tienen muy buena pinta, y como lo vi en oferta que costaba tres euros y algo decidí pillarlo.
No sabia que me encontraba ante un juego tan exigente, (reconozco que no estoy familiarizado con juegos como Contra y demás juegos similares), para pasarme cada zona tenia que morir varias veces como mínimo, ha habido alguna que me las he pasado a la primera, pero muy muy pocas. Eso es así porque tienes que casi memorizarte el nivel o ser muy hábil, ya que en cada capitulo y en muchas zonas te introducen enemigos nuevos o situaciones nuevas y en ningún momento te la sensación de haber jugado antes esa zona.
Los combates contra los jefes son para hablar aparte porque son muy buenos, ninguno se parece en nada al anterior y son muy variopintos desde helicópteros hasta robots gigantes o simplemente peleas a muerte con cuchillos,
La banda sonora también muy buena, es rokera y cañera típica de los ochenta y noventa.
Tiene el modo normal (con cuatro dificultades) que cada vez que llegas a una zona nueva es un checkpoint y puedes reintentarlo tantas veces como quieras y el modo arcade que cada vez que mueras empiezas desde el principio y solo una dificultad (a lo mejor cuando te lo pasas se desbloquea otra dificultad, pero no me veo para poder pasarme el juego en arcade)
Hablemos sobre la jugabilidad, el juego aunque se parezca a Megaman o a Contra no hay disparos, el personaje ataca con un látigo laser y habrá que saber posicionarse bien para golpear al rival sin que nos dé, también cuenta con un dash que no hará invulnerable durante un momento que hay que saber utilizarlo bien porque si no te harás daño con ataques que pensabas que ibas a esquivar, también tiene un doble salto y un gancho que nos servirá para pasar por las zonas de plataformeo y habrá que utilizarlo contra ciertos jefes en algunos momentos donde no podremos tocar el suelo porque esta en llamas o electrificado. Con todas estas mecánicas la jugabilidad se vuelve muy frenética y habrá que jugar con cabeza si no queremos morir a las primeras de cambio.
La historia es el punto mas flojo del juego, en la cinemática inicial vemos como el protagonista presencio la muerte de sus padres a manos de quien ahora es un terrorista con planes de conquistar el mundo y nuestro deber es detenerle y para llegar hasta él habrá que pasar por todos sus lugartenientes,
La duración es otro punto negativo, porque el juego no es excesivamente largo, a mi me marca que he tardado en pasarme el modo historia unas tres horas y media, y eso que he muerto innumerables veces, pero el juego es tan divertido que una vez que me lo pase sentí la necesidad de volvérmelo pasar ahora que se jugar mejor que al principio. Una experiencia muy buena que recomiendo a todo el mundo jugar o al menos probar porque, aunque pueda ser frustrante al principio morir tantas veces cuando derrotas a ese jefe que se te atasca te sientes muy bien. La nota que le doy es de un siete y medio, recomendable.
No sabia que me encontraba ante un juego tan exigente, (reconozco que no estoy familiarizado con juegos como Contra y demás juegos similares), para pasarme cada zona tenia que morir varias veces como mínimo, ha habido alguna que me las he pasado a la primera, pero muy muy pocas. Eso es así porque tienes que casi memorizarte el nivel o ser muy hábil, ya que en cada capitulo y en muchas zonas te introducen enemigos nuevos o situaciones nuevas y en ningún momento te la sensación de haber jugado antes esa zona.
Los combates contra los jefes son para hablar aparte porque son muy buenos, ninguno se parece en nada al anterior y son muy variopintos desde helicópteros hasta robots gigantes o simplemente peleas a muerte con cuchillos,
La banda sonora también muy buena, es rokera y cañera típica de los ochenta y noventa.
Tiene el modo normal (con cuatro dificultades) que cada vez que llegas a una zona nueva es un checkpoint y puedes reintentarlo tantas veces como quieras y el modo arcade que cada vez que mueras empiezas desde el principio y solo una dificultad (a lo mejor cuando te lo pasas se desbloquea otra dificultad, pero no me veo para poder pasarme el juego en arcade)
Hablemos sobre la jugabilidad, el juego aunque se parezca a Megaman o a Contra no hay disparos, el personaje ataca con un látigo laser y habrá que saber posicionarse bien para golpear al rival sin que nos dé, también cuenta con un dash que no hará invulnerable durante un momento que hay que saber utilizarlo bien porque si no te harás daño con ataques que pensabas que ibas a esquivar, también tiene un doble salto y un gancho que nos servirá para pasar por las zonas de plataformeo y habrá que utilizarlo contra ciertos jefes en algunos momentos donde no podremos tocar el suelo porque esta en llamas o electrificado. Con todas estas mecánicas la jugabilidad se vuelve muy frenética y habrá que jugar con cabeza si no queremos morir a las primeras de cambio.
La historia es el punto mas flojo del juego, en la cinemática inicial vemos como el protagonista presencio la muerte de sus padres a manos de quien ahora es un terrorista con planes de conquistar el mundo y nuestro deber es detenerle y para llegar hasta él habrá que pasar por todos sus lugartenientes,
La duración es otro punto negativo, porque el juego no es excesivamente largo, a mi me marca que he tardado en pasarme el modo historia unas tres horas y media, y eso que he muerto innumerables veces, pero el juego es tan divertido que una vez que me lo pase sentí la necesidad de volvérmelo pasar ahora que se jugar mejor que al principio. Una experiencia muy buena que recomiendo a todo el mundo jugar o al menos probar porque, aunque pueda ser frustrante al principio morir tantas veces cuando derrotas a ese jefe que se te atasca te sientes muy bien. La nota que le doy es de un siete y medio, recomendable.
Steel Assault is an action platformer by Zenovia Interactive, and director Sri Kankanahalli. One of the better 2D action platformers in this continuing wave of indie retro-inspired games. I had a lot of fun with this one. It has a great level of challenge to it and respects the player when they figure out strategies to quickly kill bosses. The soundtrack is also really good. It's by QWESTA who did a couple of awesome tracks for ZeroRanger.
It's a cool game. Took me around 18 hours to get every achievement. The Arcade clear took around 12 hours. I have a few criticisms, but not many. Stage 5 is the biggest one. I think that stage is much easier than the previous ones, besides Stage 1, and this is in part because there's just so many shields around. It's pretty breezy and took me the least time to figure out. The final boss makes up for it though.
I do think this game would benefit by simply taking away all upgrades in Arcade Mode or by having a difficulty above Arcade Mode ("Expert Arcade Mode" or something similar) to raise the bar more. Another element I wish this game had was scoring. At the moment, there's a couple of reasons to keep playing if you beat Arcade Mode -- speedruns and no-hit runs. I think scoring would add more depth to both types of runs. A lot of enemies are already skippable and scoring would force you to attempt to clear levels for more points. Even something like score counter for how fast you kill bosses would be really cool.
It's still awesome 2D action platformer and well worth your money. It's 20 - 25 minutes long, which is the perfect length for an arcade game, and it's incredibly satisfying going through levels with that heavy metal soundtrack in the background. I found myself bobbing my head many times.
It's a cool game. Took me around 18 hours to get every achievement. The Arcade clear took around 12 hours. I have a few criticisms, but not many. Stage 5 is the biggest one. I think that stage is much easier than the previous ones, besides Stage 1, and this is in part because there's just so many shields around. It's pretty breezy and took me the least time to figure out. The final boss makes up for it though.
I do think this game would benefit by simply taking away all upgrades in Arcade Mode or by having a difficulty above Arcade Mode ("Expert Arcade Mode" or something similar) to raise the bar more. Another element I wish this game had was scoring. At the moment, there's a couple of reasons to keep playing if you beat Arcade Mode -- speedruns and no-hit runs. I think scoring would add more depth to both types of runs. A lot of enemies are already skippable and scoring would force you to attempt to clear levels for more points. Even something like score counter for how fast you kill bosses would be really cool.
It's still awesome 2D action platformer and well worth your money. It's 20 - 25 minutes long, which is the perfect length for an arcade game, and it's incredibly satisfying going through levels with that heavy metal soundtrack in the background. I found myself bobbing my head many times.
Steel Assault was on my wishlist for long. I saw one trailer and i knew I wanted to eventualy play it. Now that it finally came to playstation I picked it up. Almost bite the bullet on switch a couple of times but never did. For one thing lets get this out of the way.
This game is gorgeous. The excellent sprite work and detailed backgrounds look incredible with a million different effects happening allwhile not being a total distraction. Also I wanna point out I think this game has the best CRT and retro filter i have ever seen in any modern retro game. Usually never use this feature cause it looks awful and doesn't ever gel with the art of the game but here it blends very well. Nothing but praise here.
The game play is also really solid. Levels feel the perfect length and the right amount of difficulty and bosses feel great when you get that edge to victory and trully learn their pattern. The only strong negative i have to the game is that it is really short. 5 stages and each stage is only about 7-10 min long. Once you know the game it can be completed in about 35-40 min. Which I believe is by design but I wish it was just a tad longer like 7 stages. So if your a person that likes to play games just once, this is not the game for you. The real intention here in everything in Steel Assault's design is to learn and master it and utterly destroy it. This game is meant to be a 1CC arcade clear game in a single sitting. I have nothing against this game design and I really enjoyed my first playthrough and starting my second harder play but then this is when the real issue of the game crept up on me.
THE PLAYSTATION version of this game is BROKEN. The game crashes a lot. Not only does it kick you out of the game constantly but it actually has a high chance of corrupting your save. Beating the stage 2 boss and getting into the scene transition to stage 3 crashes a great deal of times. My first playthrough it crashed for me like 5 times in a row and corrupted my save. Even backing my save to the cloud and redownloading it didn't save me much frustration. On my sixth time beating him it papssed successively and i finished the game no problem. Now starting my second hard run playthrough where there are no stage checkpoints the boss crashed on me no lie 10 times before i could advance. Then the game crashed three more times on stage 3 and at this point I had to throw the towel in. This really pisses me off because I was really enjoying mastering this game and i wanted to go for the platinum trophy and try to conquer the 1CC arcade mode but realizing this was never gonna work with this crash rate would only cause me frustration to get so far and lose to a stupid bug. It sucks the big one because this is a game that is meant for repaeted plays and mastering to get your money's worth and now i feel cheated of that. Well thats my experiance with it. Not sure if the switch or PC version fair any better but I can't advise buying this game in it's current state. Fucking sucks cause it kinda soured my experiance with an otherwise well designed game.
This game is gorgeous. The excellent sprite work and detailed backgrounds look incredible with a million different effects happening allwhile not being a total distraction. Also I wanna point out I think this game has the best CRT and retro filter i have ever seen in any modern retro game. Usually never use this feature cause it looks awful and doesn't ever gel with the art of the game but here it blends very well. Nothing but praise here.
The game play is also really solid. Levels feel the perfect length and the right amount of difficulty and bosses feel great when you get that edge to victory and trully learn their pattern. The only strong negative i have to the game is that it is really short. 5 stages and each stage is only about 7-10 min long. Once you know the game it can be completed in about 35-40 min. Which I believe is by design but I wish it was just a tad longer like 7 stages. So if your a person that likes to play games just once, this is not the game for you. The real intention here in everything in Steel Assault's design is to learn and master it and utterly destroy it. This game is meant to be a 1CC arcade clear game in a single sitting. I have nothing against this game design and I really enjoyed my first playthrough and starting my second harder play but then this is when the real issue of the game crept up on me.
THE PLAYSTATION version of this game is BROKEN. The game crashes a lot. Not only does it kick you out of the game constantly but it actually has a high chance of corrupting your save. Beating the stage 2 boss and getting into the scene transition to stage 3 crashes a great deal of times. My first playthrough it crashed for me like 5 times in a row and corrupted my save. Even backing my save to the cloud and redownloading it didn't save me much frustration. On my sixth time beating him it papssed successively and i finished the game no problem. Now starting my second hard run playthrough where there are no stage checkpoints the boss crashed on me no lie 10 times before i could advance. Then the game crashed three more times on stage 3 and at this point I had to throw the towel in. This really pisses me off because I was really enjoying mastering this game and i wanted to go for the platinum trophy and try to conquer the 1CC arcade mode but realizing this was never gonna work with this crash rate would only cause me frustration to get so far and lose to a stupid bug. It sucks the big one because this is a game that is meant for repaeted plays and mastering to get your money's worth and now i feel cheated of that. Well thats my experiance with it. Not sure if the switch or PC version fair any better but I can't advise buying this game in it's current state. Fucking sucks cause it kinda soured my experiance with an otherwise well designed game.
Good retro effort. Felt good and stayed good till the end. Very Happy.
The game should be called "Eye Assault" because your eyes are constantly being bombarded with so much bullshit on the screen at all times. Tons of flashing, tons of motion from set pieces and enemies alike, all the colors are equally saturated and it's difficult to properly focus on the things you need to focus on, to the point that I ran straight into a pit literally within 5 seconds of the opening level. First two levels both have rain happening and it just adds to the chaos. I'm sure there are non-rainy areas because I see them in screenshots but holy crap there is just too much to look at at all times.
The first boss and mini boss of the second level are both frustrating and not that fun. I'm sure it would be more enjoyable once I got better at it which is why I'm doing 3 stars instead of 2.5 but my eyes just cannot take the bombardment any longer.
Very disappointing. I was looking forward to this one.
The first boss and mini boss of the second level are both frustrating and not that fun. I'm sure it would be more enjoyable once I got better at it which is why I'm doing 3 stars instead of 2.5 but my eyes just cannot take the bombardment any longer.
Very disappointing. I was looking forward to this one.
A badass arcade action platformer which oozes influence from 90's Konami and Treasure in the best ways. Couple this with some of the best sprite art I've seen in a game from 2021 and a jammin' arranged soundtrack and you think you would have a contender for an all-time great 2D action game, but there are a few shortcomings that restricts Steel Assault to having purely niche appeal.
This is primarily because Steel Assault is completely, unapologetically retro with few of the expansive movement mechanics and quality of life features that most modern platformers have. You can double jump with full midair control during your jumps and you have an i-frame slide on a one second cooldown. but besides that Steel Assault feels very rigid like a classic Castlevania game. I use "rigid" in a purely descriptive sense here because this kind of gameplay is right up my alley - I'm a sucker for platforming which involves weighing up a small amount of committal options for the best outcome, but I understand that it won't be appealing for many other people who like floatier platforming. This is exacerbated by the fact that the game is stuck in 4:3 aspect ratio and can reliably be beaten in a single sitting with the game's 5 chapters taking about 25 minutes of playtime.
When I first saw people complaining that Steel Assault is too short, I was initially eager to dismiss it as whining from people who should just realise that they aren't this game's target audience (the whole appeal of arcade games is that they can be experienced fully in a single sitting and encourage repeat playthroughs through self-imposed challenges), but there is genuinely something to be said for the structure of this game.
It's not so much that Steel Assault is "too short", it's that this game's level design, while perfectly competent leaves something to be desired. Some setpieces and boss fights feel like they're over as soon as they begin and the zipline mechanic, while interesting, isn't really expanded upon past the first couple of chapters. I think adding a couple more platforming setpieces and a couple more boss fights would have done a ton of good for making Steel Assault feel like a more complete experience while still being of a suitable arcade length.
The other aspect is that the developer's clearly didn't consider longevity for the average player. Other arcade/arcade style games like Ikaruga and Zero Ranger have continue limits that increase as you play the game more, to ensure that players will have to spend at least a few hours with the game to credit feed through it. Considering the respect these two games earn even from non-arcade players this approach clearly works. Steel Assault on the other hand has no such feature, on lower difficulties you can retry as many times as you want from frequent checkpoints and I don't think this is a good thing for the game's reception. The developers probably decided that they would rather have people complaining that the game is too short rather than have complaints that the game's too hard but forcing the player to engage with the game and replay stages would have actually helped average players to appreciate the game's design.
Another issue that is less impactful but still worth bringing up is that the difficulty levels feel unbalanced. Normal is too easy/forgiving but expert and arcade mode are an absolute herculean leap in comparison. A middle ground difficulty for properly learning the game would be appreciated.
So yeah despite most of this review being criticism I actually like Steel Assault a lot, once I'm electro-whipping bad dudes while headbanging to the arrange music I can easily forget about the game's problems and just have a good time, but I hope the devs provide patches to address some of the issues that basically doom Steel Assault to having very niche appeal.
This is primarily because Steel Assault is completely, unapologetically retro with few of the expansive movement mechanics and quality of life features that most modern platformers have. You can double jump with full midair control during your jumps and you have an i-frame slide on a one second cooldown. but besides that Steel Assault feels very rigid like a classic Castlevania game. I use "rigid" in a purely descriptive sense here because this kind of gameplay is right up my alley - I'm a sucker for platforming which involves weighing up a small amount of committal options for the best outcome, but I understand that it won't be appealing for many other people who like floatier platforming. This is exacerbated by the fact that the game is stuck in 4:3 aspect ratio and can reliably be beaten in a single sitting with the game's 5 chapters taking about 25 minutes of playtime.
When I first saw people complaining that Steel Assault is too short, I was initially eager to dismiss it as whining from people who should just realise that they aren't this game's target audience (the whole appeal of arcade games is that they can be experienced fully in a single sitting and encourage repeat playthroughs through self-imposed challenges), but there is genuinely something to be said for the structure of this game.
It's not so much that Steel Assault is "too short", it's that this game's level design, while perfectly competent leaves something to be desired. Some setpieces and boss fights feel like they're over as soon as they begin and the zipline mechanic, while interesting, isn't really expanded upon past the first couple of chapters. I think adding a couple more platforming setpieces and a couple more boss fights would have done a ton of good for making Steel Assault feel like a more complete experience while still being of a suitable arcade length.
The other aspect is that the developer's clearly didn't consider longevity for the average player. Other arcade/arcade style games like Ikaruga and Zero Ranger have continue limits that increase as you play the game more, to ensure that players will have to spend at least a few hours with the game to credit feed through it. Considering the respect these two games earn even from non-arcade players this approach clearly works. Steel Assault on the other hand has no such feature, on lower difficulties you can retry as many times as you want from frequent checkpoints and I don't think this is a good thing for the game's reception. The developers probably decided that they would rather have people complaining that the game is too short rather than have complaints that the game's too hard but forcing the player to engage with the game and replay stages would have actually helped average players to appreciate the game's design.
Another issue that is less impactful but still worth bringing up is that the difficulty levels feel unbalanced. Normal is too easy/forgiving but expert and arcade mode are an absolute herculean leap in comparison. A middle ground difficulty for properly learning the game would be appreciated.
So yeah despite most of this review being criticism I actually like Steel Assault a lot, once I'm electro-whipping bad dudes while headbanging to the arrange music I can easily forget about the game's problems and just have a good time, but I hope the devs provide patches to address some of the issues that basically doom Steel Assault to having very niche appeal.
Crispy, fun action game with some gorgeous pixel art and what I'm sure is a ton of replayability (between expert mode and the arcade mode, which I'm assuming is limited continues).
I'm incredibly surprised that this is the dev studio's first game together. It plays buttery smooth on the Switch, too, so pick it up on whatever platform means more to you. Be advised, however, that the game's main campaign is staggeringly short - I think I finished it in just under an hour, even retrying multiple times from checkpoints. Even so, I think it's not something you'd want to miss.
I'm incredibly surprised that this is the dev studio's first game together. It plays buttery smooth on the Switch, too, so pick it up on whatever platform means more to you. Be advised, however, that the game's main campaign is staggeringly short - I think I finished it in just under an hour, even retrying multiple times from checkpoints. Even so, I think it's not something you'd want to miss.
Great understanding of the arcade style, mega drive 2D side scroller. It is one of those games where the first playthrough is the tutorial, and the experience gets better in multiple playthroughs and the arcade mode. The music is very good and i like the restraint with the amount of story (text, cutscenes, etc.).
The game is very short, and maybe the grapple hook mechanic could be more utilized. I was also a little confused by the backgroud art and what i could actually interact in the scenarios (plataforms and enemies).
The performance on the Switch is not perfect, and the game does not seem very demanding.
The game is very short, and maybe the grapple hook mechanic could be more utilized. I was also a little confused by the backgroud art and what i could actually interact in the scenarios (plataforms and enemies).
The performance on the Switch is not perfect, and the game does not seem very demanding.
In a world where western AAA developers are so utterly risk-averse that they'd make Courage the Cowardly Dog look like The 300, and many indie developers are still infatuated with roguelikes, Soulslikes, and "Quirky Earthbound-Inspired RPG Maker Games About Mental Health" , I have nothing but respect for Steel Assault's devotion to the pure arcade style of gaming.
Of course, I'm being quite hyperbolic (and a bit unfair) here, but I really am glad a title like this exists. Steel Assault is a short, but very sweet run-and-gun with heavy arcade influence, reminiscent of Contra or Metal Slug. The controls are tight, the level and enemy design is both varied and spectacular, and boss fights are equally well-crafted. The game is satisfyingly hard (especially on Expert and Arcade), and never unfair. The spritework is a beautiful sight to behold, and the music is downright amazing, evoking strong Thunder Force vibes.
I'm not without a few grievances with the game, though. My main problem is that the zip-line mechanic felt really underutilized. I was expecting it's uses and applications to evolve more during the game (and it kinda did a few times, like during the conveyor belt part of Stage 3), but it just never wowed me. Similarly, I expected the subweapon mechanic to be a lot more fleshed out. It seems kinda weird to have an entire subweapon bar (that you can refill with melee attacks) only for a single weapon that you rarely get. Personally, I also think that the gap between Normal and Expert mode's difficulty is faaaar too big. Expert mode doubles damage received, increases enemy health, decreases health restoration, AND removes all checkpoints in levels, meaning that you have to restart the stage every time you die. In a game with five different difficulty levels, they really should have been able to smooth it out.
Despite the hiccups, Steel Assault, at its core, is still a great, tightly-designed, and focused game. I can wholeheartedly recommend it, and I do hope that the developers continue to make games and refine their work.
And make sure to completely disregard anyone accusing the game of being too short; that very sentiment of "length = price" has done irreparable damage to the state of gaming. This is very clearly and unabashedly an arcade-style game, and I can guarantee that any issues with length would be solved by playing Expert and Arcade mode.
But I digress; just play Steel Assault.
Of course, I'm being quite hyperbolic (and a bit unfair) here, but I really am glad a title like this exists. Steel Assault is a short, but very sweet run-and-gun with heavy arcade influence, reminiscent of Contra or Metal Slug. The controls are tight, the level and enemy design is both varied and spectacular, and boss fights are equally well-crafted. The game is satisfyingly hard (especially on Expert and Arcade), and never unfair. The spritework is a beautiful sight to behold, and the music is downright amazing, evoking strong Thunder Force vibes.
I'm not without a few grievances with the game, though. My main problem is that the zip-line mechanic felt really underutilized. I was expecting it's uses and applications to evolve more during the game (and it kinda did a few times, like during the conveyor belt part of Stage 3), but it just never wowed me. Similarly, I expected the subweapon mechanic to be a lot more fleshed out. It seems kinda weird to have an entire subweapon bar (that you can refill with melee attacks) only for a single weapon that you rarely get. Personally, I also think that the gap between Normal and Expert mode's difficulty is faaaar too big. Expert mode doubles damage received, increases enemy health, decreases health restoration, AND removes all checkpoints in levels, meaning that you have to restart the stage every time you die. In a game with five different difficulty levels, they really should have been able to smooth it out.
Despite the hiccups, Steel Assault, at its core, is still a great, tightly-designed, and focused game. I can wholeheartedly recommend it, and I do hope that the developers continue to make games and refine their work.
And make sure to completely disregard anyone accusing the game of being too short; that very sentiment of "length = price" has done irreparable damage to the state of gaming. This is very clearly and unabashedly an arcade-style game, and I can guarantee that any issues with length would be solved by playing Expert and Arcade mode.
But I digress; just play Steel Assault.
Absolutely brilliant. Feels like a Treasure game. Best retro filter options I have ever used. Short but sweet with a killer aesthetic, face melting tunes and high octane gameplay. What more could you want?
really cool and funny, but simple and short. cool ass ost.
Looks like the games i was a big fan of, but really felt like it didn't understand what made them great. Personally I'd rather play something by Inti Creates.
Oh, but that soundtrack does go pretty hard.
Oh, but that soundtrack does go pretty hard.
Review completo: https://gamelodge.com.br/critica-steel-assault-gostinho-de-videogame-na-tv-da-avo/
Após minha curta experiência com o jogo, posso dizer que me diverti jogando ele, mas queria ter aproveitado mais. Entendo e respeito a decisão dos desenvolvedores de terem feito o jogo com essa duração, mas foi inevitável ficar com aquele gostinho de “poxa, mas já acabou?”.
Isso talvez seja resultado de um game design que não é tão injusto quanto eram os jogos antigamente, que precisavam ter uma vida útil maior ou eram feitos simplesmente pra te deixar mais pobre torrando grana em fichas.
Mas acaba que o jogo não explora todo seu potencial, já que poderia incluir mais armas, mais power ups, mais segmentos de plataforma que são bem interessantes por conta da tirolesa, etc.
De qualquer forma, foi uma boa experiência relembrar os tempos de arcade e ter um gostinho de como era jogar numa tela CRT novamente, sem ouvir minha avó me mandar desligar o console para não estragar a TV ou sem comprometer meu salário em fichas.
Após minha curta experiência com o jogo, posso dizer que me diverti jogando ele, mas queria ter aproveitado mais. Entendo e respeito a decisão dos desenvolvedores de terem feito o jogo com essa duração, mas foi inevitável ficar com aquele gostinho de “poxa, mas já acabou?”.
Isso talvez seja resultado de um game design que não é tão injusto quanto eram os jogos antigamente, que precisavam ter uma vida útil maior ou eram feitos simplesmente pra te deixar mais pobre torrando grana em fichas.
Mas acaba que o jogo não explora todo seu potencial, já que poderia incluir mais armas, mais power ups, mais segmentos de plataforma que são bem interessantes por conta da tirolesa, etc.
De qualquer forma, foi uma boa experiência relembrar os tempos de arcade e ter um gostinho de como era jogar numa tela CRT novamente, sem ouvir minha avó me mandar desligar o console para não estragar a TV ou sem comprometer meu salário em fichas.
This is a short indie game somewhat similar to Gunstar Heroes where you run and gun enemies and fight a boss at the end. It plays well enough and has really great pixel art, but unfortunately is let down by limited weapon types and the fact that it's super short. I played horribly but was able to beat the whole thing in an hour.
Very pretty game that plays well. I wish it was a bit longer with more movement options and weapons at your disposal.
It's one of those games that are really short, but the difficulty makes the playthrough longer, but I got by in 2 hours and I'm pretty sure people could beat it in less. Doesn't make it a bad game, just wish there was more, ya know?
Overall, worth playing, but I prefer Spectacular Sparky alot more.
It's one of those games that are really short, but the difficulty makes the playthrough longer, but I got by in 2 hours and I'm pretty sure people could beat it in less. Doesn't make it a bad game, just wish there was more, ya know?
Overall, worth playing, but I prefer Spectacular Sparky alot more.
🔔 While images may captivate the view, it's analysis that unveils what's true. 🔔
I confess that the current landscape needs more video games like this: short but delightful and frenetic adventures, filled with vibrant colors and lively tones that spice up any screen. It's undeniable that the pixelated graphics appeal to nostalgia and set it apart from its peers, resembling a lost feat from the days of the Game Boy Advance, but Steel Assault's ruthless and electrifying gameplay also has something to say.
That's why, despite Steel Assault being a fun side-scroller, with a tiny and cliché plot, paired with a short duration (60 minutes), recommending it is somewhat difficult. Making comparisons between these values never ends well, but the truth is that Steel Assault feels good but lacks substance, notwithstanding the excellent and diverse level design with gameplay so good that the only fitting adjective is "crispy."
That said, without wanting to contradict, Steel Assault is a complete package and an excellent experience, whose sources of inspiration are (almost certainly) Castlevania and Bionic Commando. These influences are reflected not only in the gameplay but also in the creativity of the five available levels, standing out for the way constant danger, at every turn, engages the player in a race to the end that only ends when they decide to inhale oxygen.
Still, one of the elements that truly sets Steel Assault apart from other indies is the main character's zipline: a contraption that shoots a rope with two hooks, one on each end, in eight different directions. This mechanic is used by the game without exception, rewarding the player for inventive and fun implementations, with the entire title designed to accommodate this gimmick. It's strange because it doesn't always seem to want to work as needed in moments of distress, but after a few minutes, it becomes almost like an extension of the body itself.
Apart from the usual options in a title of this caliber, such as the option to turn specific filters on or off to provide a more retro experience, the different difficulty levels will accommodate players of all abilities. Those, however, seeking a greater challenge have Arcade Mode available, a mode that increases the overall difficulty, removes checkpoints, and provides only one life to finish the adventure from start to finish.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C O N C L U S I O N
It's brutal, but all things considered, Steel Assault is yet another one of those coveted action-packed adventures, with challenging gameplay and nostalgia, featuring that arcade flair in level progression and how the narrative is delivered to the audience. Its short duration and final price may not please many who like to quantify their experiences per hour, but it is certainly one of the most enjoyable side-scrollers in recent memory.
Pros:
✅ Breathtaking Pixel Art
✅ Intense, Grappling Hook-Fueled Gameplay
✅ Multiple Difficulty Options
Cons:
❌ Very Short Campaign
❌ Story is Clichéd
❌ Grappling Hook Can Be Unreliable at Times
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ M I S C
◻️ 🌳 Don't forget to visit my Linktree here
◻️ 📝 Click here for the website link published on June 22nd, 2023
◻️ 🙋♂️ Also tap here to find more reviews of mine
◻️ 🎮 And touch here to discover more Xbox One video games I've played
◻️ ✍️ in European Portuguese (translated into English with A.I.)
◻️ 📜 Review Number 128
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ F I N
I confess that the current landscape needs more video games like this: short but delightful and frenetic adventures, filled with vibrant colors and lively tones that spice up any screen. It's undeniable that the pixelated graphics appeal to nostalgia and set it apart from its peers, resembling a lost feat from the days of the Game Boy Advance, but Steel Assault's ruthless and electrifying gameplay also has something to say.
That's why, despite Steel Assault being a fun side-scroller, with a tiny and cliché plot, paired with a short duration (60 minutes), recommending it is somewhat difficult. Making comparisons between these values never ends well, but the truth is that Steel Assault feels good but lacks substance, notwithstanding the excellent and diverse level design with gameplay so good that the only fitting adjective is "crispy."
That said, without wanting to contradict, Steel Assault is a complete package and an excellent experience, whose sources of inspiration are (almost certainly) Castlevania and Bionic Commando. These influences are reflected not only in the gameplay but also in the creativity of the five available levels, standing out for the way constant danger, at every turn, engages the player in a race to the end that only ends when they decide to inhale oxygen.
Still, one of the elements that truly sets Steel Assault apart from other indies is the main character's zipline: a contraption that shoots a rope with two hooks, one on each end, in eight different directions. This mechanic is used by the game without exception, rewarding the player for inventive and fun implementations, with the entire title designed to accommodate this gimmick. It's strange because it doesn't always seem to want to work as needed in moments of distress, but after a few minutes, it becomes almost like an extension of the body itself.
Apart from the usual options in a title of this caliber, such as the option to turn specific filters on or off to provide a more retro experience, the different difficulty levels will accommodate players of all abilities. Those, however, seeking a greater challenge have Arcade Mode available, a mode that increases the overall difficulty, removes checkpoints, and provides only one life to finish the adventure from start to finish.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C O N C L U S I O N
It's brutal, but all things considered, Steel Assault is yet another one of those coveted action-packed adventures, with challenging gameplay and nostalgia, featuring that arcade flair in level progression and how the narrative is delivered to the audience. Its short duration and final price may not please many who like to quantify their experiences per hour, but it is certainly one of the most enjoyable side-scrollers in recent memory.
Pros:
✅ Breathtaking Pixel Art
✅ Intense, Grappling Hook-Fueled Gameplay
✅ Multiple Difficulty Options
Cons:
❌ Very Short Campaign
❌ Story is Clichéd
❌ Grappling Hook Can Be Unreliable at Times
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ M I S C
◻️ 🌳 Don't forget to visit my Linktree here
◻️ 📝 Click here for the website link published on June 22nd, 2023
◻️ 🙋♂️ Also tap here to find more reviews of mine
◻️ 🎮 And touch here to discover more Xbox One video games I've played
◻️ ✍️ in European Portuguese (translated into English with A.I.)
◻️ 📜 Review Number 128
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ F I N
jogo extremamente curto, mas um tanto dificil, não sei como é nas dificuldades mais baixas, mas no normal me lembra muito aqueles jogos classicos, curtos, mas que a dificuldade aumenta as horas de jogo, a estetica me lembra muito gba, e as musicas sao boas.
6
I can’t say Steel Assault left much of an impression on me since I don’t remember writing a review for it in 2021. Here’s what I thought back then: Traditional side-scrollers really are a dime a dozen these days so it”s nice to see some variety in the combat. Instead of guns, the hero has an electric whip as the main attack, and a grappling hook that shoots out in two directions to provide a rope to hang or jump from. The levels are designed with the grappling hook in mind, almost all requiring mastery of this mechanic to successfully traverse, so it’s recommended to start in the optional tutorial to get a handle on how it works.
Full review: https://thethirstymage.com/2021/10/06/steel-assault-on-nintendo-switch-review/
Full review: https://thethirstymage.com/2021/10/06/steel-assault-on-nintendo-switch-review/
Crazy that a game with such a unique grappling hook mechanic would make stage two a totally flat river raft autoscroller. Is this a prank?