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The Swedish game development company who created the addicting Nintendo 3DS game SteamWorld Dig announced yesterday that they would be unveiling their latest project today. During the announcement trailer, the video showed off their latest IP, SteamWorld Heist, a game that is not a sequel to Dig, but a spin-off into a new genre of the series. Fans of Dig will be happy to hear that despite being a spin-off, the game still maintains the 2D strategy and adventure aspect of its predecessor, as well as steampunk aesthetics and cowboy-robot designs.

The game is set in outer-space where you are the captain of a ship in which you build a team of steam-driven robots to raid other ships, further increasing your crew. Gameplay features a 2D, turn-based combat system that follows an in-depth storyline, telling the tale of your crew and your adventures throughout space. It is best to take your time when deciding where to move because making haste decisions without proper thought is a sure way to an early defeat. You have an unlimited amount of time to plan your strategy and plot the best path for your crew by using your robot’s capabilities in the appropriate situation. Using a shotgun in a ranged attack is not the best approach to an easy victory.



After amassing your crew, you will set out upon your main objective of boarding and raiding enemy ships, taking everything that you can. While combat is inevitable, it is best to avoid all enemy contact as much as possible. As it is not your ship, you are at a disadvantage when engaging someone. They know the ship well and use every angle to either ricochet a bullet to hit you or the explosive that you happen to be standing by. This can work in your favor as well. Even if you don’t have the home advantage, you can still use the angles of the ship to help guide your bullet to its intended target. Its free aim feature will make it a little more difficult to make contact, so patience and a steady trigger finger will aid you in your fight.

Still being in its early stages, NintendoLife was able to get their hand on a rough demo of the game. Though it was severely lacking any sort of story line, the testers were immediately intrigued with the thrill of being under pressure, deciding which path to take and if it would lead to their demise. From the moment the game starts, there is a counter that tells you how long you have till the enemy reinforcements spawn as well as how many turns are available. At the build’s current state, once one of their teammates was killed, they were not able to have him respond. Instead, they had to use their resources to steal more money in order to buy that model again. Whether that feature will be implemented into the final product is still unknown.

With a targeted release date of February or March 2015, you can expect the game to ultimately arrive on 3DS, Wii U, PC/Mac/Linux, PS4/Vita and Xbox One. The order of release across platforms has yet to be finalized.

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