In an brief teaser video released today, developers Image & Form have revealed what they’ve been up to in the last year - SteamWorld Heist.
Taking place some time after SteamWorld Dig, a catastrophic event has befallen the planet and forced its population into steam-driven spaceships. Resources - especially water - are incredibly hard to come by and the robot-eat-robot sentiment means that the only way to remain in operation is to steal other ships and bases.
The game itself is about space adventures and survival through assembling a team of robots to explore and scavenge resources from a destroyed world. Turn-based combat will be a massive part in the gameplay and will be used to command your crew to board enemy ships and take whatever you can get from them.
CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson said “Heist isn’t a sequel to SteamWorld Dig. It’s set in the same world and the cowbots are still the heroes. But a lot has happened to SteamWorld since then, and we want to make a game that is radically different. Partly because we really wanted to make a turn-based strategy game, but also because it felt like a clever move. The obvious follow-up would’ve been Dig 2; we wanted to surprise instead.”
Image & Form caused a commotion back in August last year when SteamWorld Dig was released on the 3DS. The game rose quickly to the top of Nintendo’s eShop service in America, Europe and Australia. The game also became available on Steam, Wii U, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. It’s currently part of the Humble Indie Bundle 12, which features such games as Gone Home and Monaco, and is widely considered a milestone in indie gaming.
Image & Form are self-publishing SteamWorld Heist as well, although they promise that things will be different this time around. SteamWorld Dig only got one press release around three months prior to the launch. “Yes, it was quite ridiculous and we got lucky with the massive response at launch,” Brjann recalls. “This time we’ll keep our fans and media in the loop. So much is happening with this game. I have the patience of an insect, but will try to keep from pestering you every day.”
Dale reviewed SteamWorld Dig last year and gave it a prestigious 10. He said that “in every single area that matters, Steamworld Dig is a masterclass of game design.” You can read his review here. He was also lucky enough to be able to interview Brjann Sigurgeirsson, who discussed the new installment in the Steamworld series, which you can read the first part of here.
