Steelrising Review – Although there is a fair share of delayed releases in 2022, we have been fortunate enough to experience remarkable Soulslike titles. These include the magnificent Elden Ring by FromSoftware together with smaller indie hits such as Thymesia by OverBorder Studio and now, Steelrising by Spiders.

In this Steelrising Review, we will break down the highly-anticipated Soulslike Action RPG. This dystopian game about the domination of the Automats in the 1700s is not backing down. It features familiar and new gameplay mechanics that old and new Soulslike players will come to appreciate. But the real question remains – is this worth picking up on day 1? How does it compare to the titles we know and love? We will answer these questions and more in this Steelrising Review! Steelrising is developed and published by the same teams responsible for the birth of GreedFall, namely Spiders and Nacon, respectively. It will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on September 8, 2022, for at least USD 49.99.

Steelrising Review – Soulslike Automaton Uprising Done Well

Steelrising Review – Story and Setting

Steelrising is a Soulslike Action RPG set in an alternate and much darker version of Paris back in 1789. It is not only the French Revolution and the social injustices that the people are extremely concerned about but also the rise of the Automats or Mechanical Army. Running rampant and sending the once beautiful city into a tumultuous downward spiral, these automatons are known to work for King Louis XVI himself to initially keep his wife, Marie-Antoinette safe. However, one such creation has stood above the rest in that she has developed consciousness, allowing her to communicate with humans to help them.

In Steelrising, you play as this highly intelligent Automat called Aegis whose ultimate goal is to serve as the “eyes and ears” of the Queen. You will then go on a treacherous journey to understand the truth behind these heinous abominations. Doing so will determine how to control and hopefully stop them. While this is ongoing, you will be involved in a lot of other story beats such as unraveling the mystery behind your character’s state of mind, multiple political tensions, concerns about slavery, and of course, the grievous circumstances surrounding the uprising of the automatons.

Unlike Elden Ring and Dark Souls, the narrative of this game is not a massive enigma waiting to be uncovered. It is rather straightforward in the sense that you explore an area, pick up Notes, and discover Echoes where past scenarios unfold before your very eyes. You also hold onto a wealth of information or Codex, containing every single detail about the characters you meet, the places you visit, and the automats you fight. This is a non-linear story-rich RPG because you can kickstart one quest over another based on the specific locations you decide to visit first.

It is worth noting that the dialogue choices you make in Steelrising will not alter the narrative. There are no factions to side with or companions to think about as you are delving deeper into every plot. The most probable reason is that you are new to the world in a way so instead of making hard decisions, which can significantly impact the lives of NPCs, you aid them to solve dilemmas. That being said, even if this is a departure from Spiders’ previous narrative-driven RPG, GreedFall, the story as a whole is delivered fairly well because you are able to naturally piece together the events that led you to the dystopian state of Paris.

Steelrising Review – Gameplay Mechanics

When it comes to the core gameplay loop, Steelrising follows in the footsteps of its Soulslike counterparts by presenting challenging and rewarding encounters. As such, death will come quite frequently, letting you respawn in standard rest points known as Vestals. Each contains a mechanical chair, which randomly sprouts from the ground, to then breathe life into Aegis while providing an avenue to upgrade and buy equipment.

But once you sit on it, the slew of Mechanical Army you have slain before will come back to haunt you again. Additionally, there is one more rest point in the form of the Horseless Carriage. Its functionality is more or less the same except that this allows you to fast travel from one of Paris’ specific districts to the next.

Another feature worth highlighting in Steelrising is that every time you slay a fellow automaton, you acquire in-game currency known as Anima Essence. You can then spend this to invest points into your stats or Attributes and purchase consumables, passive perks or Modules, gear, and materials from the Boutique.

Steelrising Review – Character Creation and Classes

As with the pre-release version of the game, character creation involves tweaking Aegis’ material, wig, and face so the choices will be limited, and not as intricate. You will, however, get to choose from 1 or 4 classes, namely the Bodyguard, Soldier, Dancer, and Alchemist. The differences for each of these are their starting weapons, Attribute point distribution, and grenades. Let’s briefly go through each of them.

First is the Bodyguard who wields heavy weapons to deal massive Physical Damage while blocking the majority of incoming attacks. However, due to their immense strength and the weight of the weapons they use, they tend to move slower. The starting Attributes of Bodyguards are Durability to boost max HP as well as Engineering for better armor.

Second is the Soldier who also wields heavy weapons but unlike the Bodyguard, their special move involves striking targets from a distance. In terms of their Attribute spread, Soldiers focus on Power to amplify Physical Damage and Vigour to boost Endurance.

Third is the Dancer who specializes in wielding light weapons, allowing them to move quickly. Because of their increased Agility and Vigour, they can efficiently immobilize automats and swoop in to deal high Critical Damage. And last but not least is the Alchemist who also uses light weapons. Due to their starting stats, specifically Elemental Alchemy and Engineering, they can inflict long-lasting status effects and their Alchemical Resistance is considerably enhanced. Alchemists also carry vials to neutralize afflictions that they may incur in combat.

Steelrising Review – Character Progression

The classes in Steelrising act like a template in terms of how you wish to begin your experience as an automat. Attributes determine the effectiveness of Aegis in combat. For instance, if you wish to boost her stamina to execute more attacks, then raising Vigour should be a priority. Or if you want to maximize the Physical Damage she deals then investing in Power is the way to go. Either way, you have to remember that respeccing is not an option so you need to be careful where you allocate points since these are pricey at higher levels.

Another aspect of character progression is Modules. These correspond to 4 passives that you can unlock with Module Keys and upgrade using Anima Essence. Some examples of the perks you can acquire include the Immobilisation Module to improve the chances of disabling automats and the Avarice Module to raise the amount of Anima you gather from fallen targets.

Steelrising Review – Exploration and Loot

When it comes to Steelrising’s exploration, there is an overworld map of Paris showing the districts you will be hopping to and from via the Horseless Carriage. While venturing to these points of interest, you only have your trusty compass for guidance. This dictates how far you are from your next destination. Similar to the narrative, exploration is not linear, which means that there are times when you will need to revisit places to unlock whatever secrets they may contain once you have all tools available at your disposal.

What has captured my attention in this regard is the game’s good level design. Despite the non-linear layout, it does not allow players to waste time by aimlessly meandering from one point to the next. Steelrising has ways of seamlessly connecting one pathway to another so that you can focus on the story, exploration, and combat more. Furthermore, verticality is executed much better at later levels after unlocking certain movesets. You will find yourself wondering how to reach platforms and jump across rooftops. Half the fun is figuring out where to go next and how to get there.

Occasionally, however, traversing these spaces can feel empty since you will not be able to enter and explore every nook and cranny of the buildings you see. They are simply there to create a grim environment rather than something for you to investigate.

In terms of equipment, you will come across several weapons, armor, and consumables, which can range from vials for HP restoration to grenades to deal massive damage. Weapons can be upgraded at rest points by spending Anima Essence and specific materials like Cast Iron and Bronze Ingot. Remember that in Steelrising, you can wield and switch between 2 weapons. In this scenario, you can inflict Freeze first using a Musket and then pierce the enemy by charging into them with the Halberd.

Armor, on the other hand, is not as versatile since they are only collected and equipped based on the Attributes you intend to focus on. It is not possible to upgrade them either. Moreover, there is no crafting in the game so you cannot destroy the weapons you have upgraded to salvage their respective materials.

Steelrising Review – Combat and Difficulty

In addition to the gameplay mechanics, Steelrising’s combat is well-executed in terms of its pace and fluidity, and these qualities become more apparent as you progress further. Enemies move faster while the damage caused by their attacks will hit Aegis hard like in Bloodborne, making your overall experience more challenging later on. This is also due to the introduction of group encounters and tight spaces. If you have not yet figured out your playstyle, combat will be tough so I highly recommend investing in at most 2 Attributes and weapons at a time to avoid spreading yourself too thin.

Understanding and learning the enemy’s movements is the key to surviving and beating them to a pulp. What’s also evident is the great number of Automats present in the game, making encounters very fun to handle. For instance, you will be facing Hoplite Guards who excel in dealing counterattacks to annoying musicians like the Trumpeteer who inflict status effects and are extremely quick on their feet. Their actions are not only unique but also nuanced because of how unnatural and unpredictable they move.

The same goes for the gargantuan mini-bosses and Titans, which are heart-pounding and nerve-wracking battles. I especially enjoyed defeating Titans because I unlocked additional movesets to further improve my character.

As Aegis, you can execute light, heavy, and charged heavy attacks. But one of the most important actions is stealth attacks because successfully sneaking up to your targets and harming them from behind will significantly decrease their HP by more than half. Doing so will give you the advantage you need, especially when facing powerful Automats. Overall, combat continues to be engaging and forgiving even in the mid to late game encounters, making Steelrising a great middle-ground to Soulslike games.

Similar to Nioh’s Ki Pulse, you will have to manage your stamina, otherwise, you run the risk of overheating. And when this resource has been fully depleted and you instantly recover it, you will receive some percentage of the frost status effect. Triggering this constantly can freeze you, leaving you extremely vulnerable in fights. To avoid it entirely, creating space by jumping backward should help you safely recuperate for a few seconds.

Despite the fun factor of these encounters, there is one element that could be improved when it comes to balancing and this is the overpowered grenades. It was noticeable back in the pre-release version and it is still pertinent up to now, making combat easier. If you have a ton of Anima Essence and you stock up on a lot of Explosive Grenades, for example, you can beat bosses simply by throwing these at them. Reducing the damage they deal will help scale up the challenge.

Even if Steelrising does not have a difficult option, Spiders has implemented an Assist Mode to allow players to tweak encounters accordingly. You can reduce the damage Aegis takes by a certain percentage, keep all of her Anima Essence when she dies, and improve her cooling system for better stamina management.

Steelrising Review – Audio, Visuals, and Design

Steelrising features beautiful environments with improved lighting and shadows similar to GreedFall. From the harsh and bleak city walls to the abandoned and burning buildings, you will immediately feel the citizens’ deplorable conditions due to the uprising of the automatons.

The visuals are not only visceral but also terrifying because of how torn down Paris is, which effectively creates haunting scenes of a bloody alternate history of the French Revolution. Because of better lighting, you will clearly see most enemies even when battles take place in the dark. However, the character’s facial animations continue to look stiff such that only their mouths move and their eyes blink so the cut scenes can pull you out of immersion.

In terms of the audio, what I love about its execution is the mechanical sound of Aegis and the Automats. The whirring of gears and sprockets and the humming of these pieces of machinery are always heard in the background. And these effects go hand-in-hand with the unnatural way they move and fight in encounters, thereby elevating your experience of the game.

When it comes to the weapons, not only do they sound fleshed out and varied, but they also have enough weight in them. You will see and hear the impact of their blows whether it involves shooting rounded bullets from afar with the Shield Musket or executing charged heavy attacks using the Halberd. Additionally, the voice acting is equally impressive because of its outstanding and realistic qualities when human beings and Aegis speak. Spiders certainly nailed the audio in Steelrising.

From a technical standpoint, I experienced occasional framerate drops while exploring. There were also visual glitches in the starting areas in which some enemies did not have their HPs displayed while in combat. Other than these, there were no crashes or any game-breaking bugs in the version that I played.

Replayability and Pricepoint

A single run of Steelrising can last from 25-30 hours when you aim to finish every quest. This figure will probably double if you decide to experiment with different classes since you cannot respec your stats and upgrades.

For the Standard Edition containing only the base game, you will be spending USD 49.99. Comparatively, the Bastille Edition costs USD 59.99 where you will also receive a Discus Chain Weapon and the upcoming expansion known as Cagliostro’s Secret. These prices are pretty decent, especially if you are the type of player who intends to test out multiple playstyles to find the best fit for you.

Final Thoughts

Steelrising features gameplay and combat mechanics, which will pull in new and veteran players alike, from the builds they can come up with to the challenging encounters against a wide variety of Automats. What makes this Soulslike action RPG more appealing are the gorgeously dark and detailed environments of Paris as well as its heart-pounding audio and sound effects whether you are out there exploring or fighting tooth and nail for your survival.

The game has also got you covered if you are curious about how the alternate history of the French Revolution will unfold. You should definitely consider playing Steelrising when it comes out on September 8, 2022, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

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If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out our The Ascent Cyber Heist DLC Overview Impressions and Thymesia Review.