Steamworld Heist 2's launch trailer showcases folksy tunes, geometric gunplay, and a string of accolades
It's a pirate's life for 01101101 01100101!
![FGS](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/V9iJ3yEKLQdoD5eXAtejTF-320-80.jpg)
Steamworld Heist 2 has a new launch trailer, and it's all the seafarin', bullet-bouncin' steampunk you could hope for. Debuting as part of the Future Games Show at Gamescom Presented by Sid Meier’s Civilization® VII, Thunderful's latest entry in the beloved Steamworld franchise is takes us out of the more traditional dusty mesas and Wild West-flavoured carnage, in exchange for a salty pirates' odyssey.
Still, it doesn't seem as though the essence of the first Steamworld Heist has gone anywhere. The previous game was characterised by the thrill of breaking into enemy spaceships and effectively playing a game of billiards with bullets. You'd use ricochets and complex trajectories to bounce your shots around corners to hit enemies, then escaping with armfuls of loot at the end.
That very much seems to still be the case in Steamworld Heist 2, as we see all kinds of complex angles being played - though all these equations will of course end with a steampunk robot getting turned into so much scrap metal. But this time it's taking place on the high seas, with a watercraft that the players seem able to modify, upgrade, and directly control.
And by all accounts, people are enjoying it! The launch trailer is darn-near choked with accolades and positive review scores, meaning that now the game is playable, folks can leap into the fresh waters themselves and feel pretty assured of a good time - which might be why the trailer ends with a little showcasing of the Steamworld franchise's back catalogue. If you end up enjoying Heist 2, there's plenty of other entries to go back and try.
Steamworld Heist 2 is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Steam and GOG, and you can follow the game on X on their official account, @SteamWorldGames.
If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.
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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.
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