The Indie Informer

This year has seen a glut of exciting games of all genres, builders included. With Pharaoh: A New Era coming out in February, The Game Award nominated Terra Nil, and a hands-on with upcoming Gourdlets, the building entry in the SteamWorld series has varied and exceptional competition.

After digging into SteamWorld Build for three hours, it’s easy to see it can stand proudly with its fellow builders. Its mechanics are friendly to new players and deep enough of genre-aficionados. The game loop is made even more compelling with the mining, which leans into adventurous exploration and discovery. And though its narrative feels a little thin, the gameplay make it hard to put down.

SteamWorld’s latest installment is set up thusly: An endearing pair of grandfather/granddaughter cowboy robots (say that out loud and just appreciate that description for a moment) head out in search of “ancient technology” lead by a super suspicious computer.

It places a frame around the building aspects, but doesn’t affect it greatly. Aside from brief cutscenes that accompany hitting milestones, it’s easy to forget the story and driving characters. I’m not hugely bothered by this, considering the genre being historically light on narrative. However, fans of story-driven titles may want to take note.

In contrast, the gameplay is substantial. In fact, I was concerned with how much I had to contend with initially. However, the tutorial got me on track with step-by-step instructions deftly leading me through all the nuances of constructing a thriving robot cowboy settlement. One quality-of-life thing I want to shout out is that, when I click on a building, everything I need for it also pops up in the menu.

Lumbermills need to be connected to foresters, for example. And instead of rustling through the menu to get to the more developed building before backtracking to find the resource provider, the game simply has both buildings available when I access lumbermills. It’s such a smart way to tackle a common hassle.

Mining might be my favorite part of the game so far. After fixing up the old mineshaft near my growing settlement, I can put my population to work looks for resources and the game’s ultimate goal, pieces of a rocket. This segment of the game has building overtones, but is largely centered on discovery and combat. Breaking through a wall to find a rare material just sitting there for the taking is a great feeling, and the gameplay shift is great for breaking up the more intensive management needed in the world above.

I still have a lot of ground to cover in SteamWorld Build, but if this is your genre, you’ll want to pick this one up.