STEAMRUSH

About

STEAMRUSH is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Team Sleeping Giant and was released on February 16, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Fast-Paced Melee Combat:Engage in intense melee combat that keeps your heart racing. Quick reflexes and expertly timed slashes, parries, jumps and dodges are essential as you face challenging foes. Strategic Parrying:Master the art of parrying to gain the upper hand in battles. Perfecting this skill is your ticket to success in STEAMRUSH's combat system. Diverse Boss Fights:Battle formidable bos…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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86%

Audience ScoreBased on 64 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features a unique steampunk atmosphere and impressive graphics, making it visually appealing.
Boss fights are engaging and challenging, with varied mechanics that encourage aggressive play and strategic parrying.
As a free student project, it offers a fun experience that serves as a good introduction to the souls-like genre.

The game suffers from clunky controls and sluggish gameplay, making combat feel unresponsive at times.
Many boss fights have multiple phases, which can feel repetitive and unnecessarily drawn out.
As a student project, the game lacks polish and optimization, leading to issues like vague in-game feedback and inconsistent hit registration.

gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
48%
13%
The gameplay is a mix of engaging boss fights and innovative mechanics, particularly the parry and overheat systems that encourage aggressive play. While the combat is fun and has potential, it suffers from a lack of polish and tight controls, making it feel sluggish at times. Overall, despite its student project origins, the game offers a satisfying experience with room for improvement.
- “I was really impressed when I came across this game for the first time. I understand that this was a student project and it will have its issues, but honestly, this is a really impressive game. I had a great experience with it; after each boss fight, I wanted to play more until I reached the final boss. I loved the idea of how it mixes in some parry mechanics to punish players who just keep attacking and catch them off guard.”
- “The mechanics of parrying are better than in the sensational Lies of P, at least because the main character's attack can be canceled by parrying, which feels very good and pleasant.”
- “It's clearly a student project, so don't expect the new Dark Souls (you can finish it in about an hour), but it has some good potential. The heat mechanic of the sword is innovative, satisfying to use, and rewarding as it grants more damage, staggers, and lifesteal at max capacity, so you are incentivized to play aggressively and parry at the right moment.”
- “Gameplay is not polished.”
- “The gameplay is sluggish.”
- “Also, there were no usable items such as heals, buffs, or any other way of increasing your damage output apart from the overheat mechanic, which again led to the final boss being kind of a pain.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, featuring a unique art style and appealing environments, particularly within its steampunk theme. However, some players note issues with optimization, requiring lower settings for smoother gameplay, and criticize certain areas for being too dark, obscuring details. Overall, while the visuals are decent for a free-to-play title, they are not enough to compensate for gameplay shortcomings.
- “The graphics in this game are really quite good, which at least makes the game look more appealing.”
- “When it comes to the graphics and setting: I really like the steampunk theme, the locations are well-made and I like that all the arenas seamlessly connect.”
- “The game runs nice and smooth and has solid graphics.”
- “The graphics are very rough, with only a few graphic settings available.”
- “Some areas are way too dark for my taste, making them unpleasant to navigate and obscuring details on the assets.”
- “While I appreciate the unique art style and setting, the overall graphical quality leaves much to be desired.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users describing it as unpolished and reminiscent of a student project. Many players report needing to set graphics to low to achieve playable performance, indicating significant optimization issues that detract from the overall experience. Despite its use of Unreal Engine, the game struggles with performance, suggesting a need for better volumetric optimizations.
- “However, I believe focusing more on volumetric/fake volumetric optimizations would enhance the overall experience.”
- “Unreal Engine isn't without its performance considerations.”
- “Unpolished, unoptimized, crude school project (or a college project, I don't know, that's what rumors were saying).”
- “Very bad optimization.”
- “Performance: I acknowledge this is a student project, but as someone familiar with the technical aspects, prioritizing performance is crucial.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the ambiance and overall quality of the original soundtrack, others feel that the combat music is underwhelming and that sound effects could be improved. Overall, the music contributes positively to the experience, especially considering the game's status as a student project.
- “I am quite happy with this student project, and they did a better job than I would have expected with both music and game design.”
- “Very nice game for being a homework project (and free too), the music is kind of cool, difficulty is challenging but not frustrating, overall pretty satisfied!”
- “Loved the ambiance and the music!”
- “Could use some better music when you enter combat; currently, it is rather lackluster.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game's story, conveyed through transmissions and collectible lore, captivates players and enhances curiosity about its world, despite its brevity. While some users appreciate its nostalgic presentation reminiscent of old PS1 games, they express a desire for a longer narrative with more gameplay elements. Overall, the storyline is deemed intriguing and atmospheric, contributing to an enjoyable experience.
- “The plot found in the transmissions and the lore from the collectibles help increase curiosity about the world and the game.”
- “The storyline is intriguing, the setting atmospheric, and the gameplay intuitive and well-done.”
- “The plot found in the transmissions and the lore from the collectibles helps increase curiosity about the world and the game.”
- “I don't mind the story as it reminds me of old PS1 games, the way it's narrated with slides and voice in the background; I think it has a charm to it.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a captivating steampunk atmosphere that enhances its intriguing storyline and intuitive gameplay, making it an appealing entry point for newcomers to the souls-like genre. However, some players noted that multi-phase boss fights could be overwhelming, and occasional hitbox issues detracted from the experience.
- “I do love the steampunk atmosphere and how amazing the game looks as well. The only thing I thought was a bit too much was the multi-phase boss fights, and how sometimes the hitboxes wouldn't work. Other than that, I would say this would be a good game for new people to get into the souls-like genre and see if they want to continue or not.”
- “The storyline is intriguing, the setting atmospheric, and the gameplay intuitive and well-done.”