SteamWorld Build Reviews

Terrible. Extremely sad to see SteamWorld go down in flames like this. The world building was getting good, but it seems once it changed hands to the new devs they had no idea what they were doing and just put out garbage for the masses. Game layout is bad, game design is bad, tutorial way too much hand holding. Like an AI did all the work based on what was expected, but had never played a game before and what was actually needed, just a bunch of check boxes to check off to feel like it did a good job.

As others have said, its a mix of anno and dungeon keeper without the depth of either. I mastered all of the mechanics in the first 30 minutes and then spent the remaining hour just watching resource counters tick up until I could grind my way to the end of the story. The implementation of the other 8 or so maps is lazy - They're literally identical in gameplay down too the identical story cutscenes (should you choose to enable them) with minor differences in the layout of rocks and trees on the surface and gold tiles / chasms in the underground. If you play without the story, which you will after sitting through the same thing for the third time, completing the rocket simply boots you out to the main menu screen which feels very anticlimactic. There is some attempt at replay value by each map giving you unique landmark buildings that, for example, make the train come faster or make your extractors work better - but honestly, after the third play through you'll have all the mechanics down so well that you want the game to be making things *harder* not easier as these landmarks do. I played to the end of the fourth map and just gave up - there's nothing to keep me grinding through the others. The target audience for this game is "casual" and I dare say for that audience this game is probably fine. Anyone looking for a longer, more in-depth experience should pass

[b]Score: 7/10[/b] [list] [*][b]Art:[/b] Characteristically charming and colorful, the art direction is one of the game’s strongest points. It maintains the quirky and inviting aesthetic that defines the SteamWorld series. [*][b]Music:[/b] The soundtrack is decent and fits the tone of the game well, but it lacks standout tracks or memorable moments that would elevate the experience. [*][b]Story:[/b] The narrative is simple and largely secondary to the gameplay. [spoiler]The ending, in particular, feels inconsistent. Especially regarding the sacrifice of a minor character, which ends up having no real weight.[/spoiler] [*][b]Gameplay:[/b] A mix of town building and light dungeon management with hints of automation. It’s accessible and not very difficult, making it a good entry point for newcomers to the genre. While the game offers multiple maps with different layouts and unlockable bonuses after each playthrough, the core loop doesn’t provide enough depth to justify repeated runs for most players. [*][b]Recommendation:[/b] Best suited for fans of the SteamWorld series or those looking to dip their toes into town builders without the overwhelming complexity of genre staples. [/list]

Good gameplay, interesting enough story, It's just too little content. The base game has an exceptionally linear progression (that somewhat defeats the purpose of a good city builder) The dungeon section is fun, but once you register you can just destroy all breakable blocks and create unbeatable turret systems it goes far too quick. I think if this game added more content and more variety it would be much better. Pretty much, once i'd gotten past the basics, there was no depth. The art however is great, and it's relaxed so if you're just looking for a "consumable" game that you can sit down, pay some attention to, and complete; it does that very well. I just don't think i'll be playing it again now i've completed the story So to end, if it's on a cheap sale, worth it. Otherwise, probably not for most people

I played this for a bit and refunded it becuase it wasn't for me but honestly, theres nothing wrong with it. the aesthetic is nice, runs well, and is intuitive. I think if the vibe of the game speaks to you, its worth a go.

Okay so ive played all of the Steamworld games so far but even tho this tittle is: Gorgeous to look at Very snappy on all respects No mayor bugs if any (i did not run into any issues so far ) I wonder if they shoulda stayed away from the city builder genre the game is regretably very monotonous after the first playthrough and that's a critical flaw in a city builder every run you do is basicaly the same with no new challenges and the base game aint that challengeing to begin with so they should change their aproach for future content or just let it be i had high hopes for this and was honeslty exited the Steamworld DIG AND HEIST Games were great and so the expectation was high for this but they just didint hit the same mark , but who knows maybe they can turn it around

Still a alright game but definitely the weakest steamworld game. Im not a big city builder fan to begin with. Found the final act of this was a huge difficulty spike that wasnt very fun. Still nice style to everything and it was different from what I normally play. Played with the mechanized expansion if that matters

A good little game, a pleasant story. I doubt about replayability but who knows, I might come back to it later.

Very nice town builder! Cool mining system and very satisfying to play.

The game tried to mix Anno with Dungeon Keeper, yet the result feels way too watered down and bland. [list] [*] Town building part. Here is your Anno: road based logistics, radius based service buildings for populations and large homing districts to provide the work force for your many factories. The problem here is simple: with no different isles and biomes you are just building stuff linearly as it unlocks - no variation, no challenges just placing stuff and waiting for the resources to pile up - oftentimes in alt-tab, since the game doesn’t have any notable speed up mode and there are no events that may require your attention. [*] The mines. On paper this is your “other isle” with unique resources that your main city needs, but it plays as Dungeon Keeper - you build barracks and have no direct control over your minions. In practice it is extremely dull: not only digging through the level takes a lot of time, you can’t even designate everything and leave the game running, as your miners will not reinforce the walls or clean up the debris if they have a digging order - so you have to advance in a slow incremental way. While there are enemies here and you have turrets and guards to take care of those - there isn’t really any tactics or player involvement, as guards are completely automated and turrets are only useful on spawn areas, since you will can’t build a maze with traps or anything like that (and you don’t really have the space for it anyway). [*] Horrible pacing in both modes. The game simply is way too slow. Producing resources is slow. The trader comes once in 5 minutes and only brings 3 random items with him. Mining through even the first level of the mines that has no enemies takes ages. All of the things in the game feel artificially slowed down, and the speed up option doesn’t feel like 2x, more like 1,5x speed. And even with all that said - my first, longest game took me 9 hours, and subsequent runs took around 5 - even on the hardest difficulty. For a city builder game that is simply pathetic. [*] Zero replay value. Against the Storm has a lot of randomization, fail and win states that makes the game interesting to play again. Some other games like Banished clones have a relaxing feel and pace to them so you could play them just to chill. This game has neither. With a rigid build order there is no variation, all of the different maps play the exact same way. With no unique mechanics or depth it doesn’t offer anything special. You play it once and you are done, as there isn’t anything apart from achievements to motivate you to play this game again. [/list] TL/DR: boring, repetitive, no depth or interesting mechanics, only good to play once. Simply not worth your money.