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.
3 Comments
I was watching other people's runs of the games and I learned a few things that kinda nullifies my complaints about the subweapons. One, the shield actually does use the subweapon bar too; it drains the bar to remain active. I thought it was permanent until you got hit. Second, you can actually hit powerups with your whip to switch them. As in, if you have a shield drop, you can hit it to get the electric whip powerup instead. Turns out the subweapon mechanic is much deeper than I thought, especially in the context of Arcade mode, where every health point counts.
"that very sentiment of "length = price" has done irreparable damage to the state of gaming" - this.
LobbyDob
2 years ago
preach it.