SteamWorld Build

79%
Game Brain Score Based on 689 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • replayability
SteamWorld Build Game Cover
Great for both Citybuilder Noobs and Experts, SteamWorld Build offers a highly-replayable game with multiple maps and difficulties for players to take on.
Starting at $11.99Buy now
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SteamWorld Build is a single-player Science Fiction 4X game with an intriguing story and wonderful gameplay. As you collect resources and build a new home to save your town, you'll encounter crotchety steamfolk and ancient tech. With stunning graphics, a good soundtrack, and the need for lots of grinding, this game will keep you engaged as you stare into the abyss and dig for riches. Join the SteamWorld Build Community on Discord for updates and support.

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Reviews

79%
Audience ScoreBased on 689 reviews
gameplay53 positive mentions
replayability17 negative mentions
  • The art style is cute and charming, fitting well within the SteamWorld universe.
  • The game offers a relaxing gameplay experience, making it accessible for newcomers to the city-building genre.
  • The combination of city building and mining mechanics provides a unique twist, keeping the gameplay engaging.
  • The game is very short, with a single playthrough lasting around 6-10 hours, leading to limited replayability.
  • The mechanics are simplistic and offer little challenge, making it feel repetitive after the first playthrough.
  • The story is minimal and lacks depth, with little character development or meaningful narrative progression.
  • gameplay207 mentions

    The gameplay is a blend of city-building and mining mechanics, reminiscent of the Anno series and Dungeon Keeper, offering a straightforward and engaging experience. While the core gameplay loop of managing resources and expanding both the city and mines is satisfying, many players find it lacks depth and replayability, with limited variety across different maps. Overall, the game is praised for its charming visuals and solid mechanics, but it may feel simplistic and repetitive after a few playthroughs.

    • “A clean, effective city builder with good exploration, mining, and defense mechanics.”
    • “This is intrinsically tied to your progress in building your city, so the core gameplay loop of switching between expanding the city and expanding the mines naturally feeds each other.”
    • “The gameplay loop can get grind heavy but it's a good game to have up while watching something or otherwise lightly multitask.”
    • “The gameplay is overly simplistic and lacks the tools to optimize or organize your city or mine effectively.”
    • “The different maps don't change the gameplay much, which really hurts replayability.”
    • “Unfortunately the game is quite simplistic and I can already see the gameplay loop.”
  • story194 mentions

    The story in this city builder is generally considered minimal and predictable, lacking depth and complexity, with many players noting it feels rushed and underdeveloped. While some appreciate the charm and humor typical of the SteamWorld franchise, others find the narrative unfulfilling and repetitive, as it remains the same across different maps. Overall, the game offers a lighthearted storyline that serves more as a backdrop to gameplay rather than a compelling narrative experience.

    • “The story is good for what was available in the SteamWorld franchise/universe to tell and still be canon to the SteamWorld Dig, Heist, and Quest games.”
    • “The story, while minimal, is driven by the strong characters.”
    • “The story expands on the SteamWorld universe without stepping on itself.”
    • “The story is very simple and threadbare, and this is probably the least story-focused SteamWorld game since Tower Defense.”
    • “The story was incomplete and lacked closure, but it's $30 so I wasn't expecting Shakespeare; it had nothing that made me want to keep playing.”
    • “The story is shallow and not very engaging.”
  • replayability78 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is a contentious topic among reviewers. While some players appreciate the variety of maps and themes that offer a degree of replay value, many others criticize the game for its lack of meaningful content and challenges, leading to a consensus that replayability is generally low. The game is often described as a short experience, typically completed in under ten hours, with limited incentive to return after the initial playthrough.

    • “So many different layouts to use at the start, plus the addition of 4 themes on top of the standard default makes it very replayable with differences each time.”
    • “Finally, with randomized mines and multiple maps, there is a decent amount of replay value.”
    • “A run-through of the story takes a little over ten hours, but there is a decent amount of replayability with alternate maps, difficulties, and challenges.”
    • “As others already pointed out: replayability is next to zero.”
    • “The main problem is that this game is not replayable.”
    • “Unfortunately, the replayability factor is quite low.”
  • graphics70 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming art style and attention to detail, effectively capturing a whimsical steampunk aesthetic. While the visuals are consistently appealing and contribute to an enjoyable atmosphere, some players note that the maps lack significant variety, leading to a sense of repetitiveness despite their distinct aesthetics. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a strong point, enhancing the overall experience with cute animations and a polished design.

    • “The unique art style and quirky characters add to the overall charm, making it a standout in the genre.”
    • “The general visual design is top notch, and really sells the steampunk aesthetic that SteamWorld prides itself on.”
    • “Lovely graphics and animations; overall, it captures the charm of the SteamWorld series.”
    • “While the gameplay is enjoyable, it lacks depth, with maps and undergrounds feeling too similar despite varied visuals.”
    • “The only difference between the stages is the graphics/layout of the town.”
    • “There are multiple map types, but the truth is the maps aren’t all that unique to each other aside from aesthetics and build space.”
  • music19 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its relaxing and atmospheric qualities that enhance the overall experience. While some reviews note that the soundtrack features standout tracks, others mention that certain areas, like the mines, detract from the musical enjoyment due to gameplay distractions. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, making it a pleasant backdrop for city-building activities.

    • “Further, there is no time pressure until very late in the game on higher difficulties, so the game is perfectly happy if you just want to hang out on the top side, decorating and tweaking your city, enjoying the nice soundtracks and the wonderful seasonal theming the devs have added since launch.”
    • “The collection of maps provides a great avenue for replayability, and there are some real bangers in the soundtrack.”
    • “Beautiful art style, together with super chill music... just made me go peacefully into my build trance.”
    • “By the time you reach the last mine, you will be constantly bombarded with notifications of monster attacks, to a point where I couldn't even hear the background music anymore when I was down there.”
    • “Music ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ - 6/10”
  • grinding19 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many achievements requiring excessive effort for minimal reward. While some enjoy the initial gameplay, they often report that the later stages become monotonous, particularly due to the lack of depth in city building and the overwhelming grind for resources. Overall, the grind detracts from the enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than fun.

    • “My last complaint is about achievements; they are unnecessarily grindy.”
    • “The lack of overview tools makes the city building portion extremely tedious, and the cave sections are extremely limited by massive turrets in confined spaces that pale in comparison to the effectiveness of just making a huge army of robot soldiers.”
    • “The only word I can use to describe this game is tedious.”
  • humor8 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky storytelling and playful class-based jokes, reminiscent of shows like *Futurama*. Players appreciate the blend of creativity and humor within the narrative, although some feel that the lack of management tools detracts from the overall enjoyment. The game's atmosphere and art style contribute to its lighthearted tone, making it a fun introduction to the city-building genre.

    • “The story is quirky and funny.”
    • “Although it is a relatively quick game to get through, it packs a lot of creativity, humor, and beautiful art into a great introduction to both the genre of city builders and the SteamWorld series.”
    • “It’s equal parts Anno and Dungeon Keeper, with a touch of Futurama-esque robot humor.”
  • stability6 mentions

    Overall, the game demonstrates excellent stability, with users reporting smooth performance and minimal to no glitches or crashes. Players appreciate its reliable gameplay, highlighting that it runs seamlessly and is free from significant technical issues.

    • “It runs like butter; there are no glitches or bugs. It plays the way it's supposed to, which is apparently a tough target to hit these days.”
    • “Game introduces new stuff and fun content in droves; it's also not a buggy mess.”
    • “No real gripes, no crashes or glitches.”
    • “It played smoothly with no glitches or crashes.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance and high frame rates across multiple systems, others experience significant optimization issues that detract from the overall experience. This inconsistency highlights a divide between those who enjoy seamless gameplay and those struggling with performance problems.

    • “Frostpunk was all about production optimization.”
    • “The game runs smoothly and I haven't noticed any bugs.”
    • “Love the game and it runs smoothly (maxed fps) on all of my PCs.”
    • “The game is pretty good, but has terrible optimization problems that I have been unable to fix on my computer.”
    • “A promising game spoiled by performance issues and poor UX choices.”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is characterized by cute graphics, relaxing music, and engaging sound effects, creating an enjoyable and immersive experience. While many players appreciate the charming SteamWorld vibe and humor, some express disappointment over the limited story depth and lack of management tools, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.

    • “Cute and nice graphics, relaxing music, and atmospheric sound effects, well done.”
    • “I enjoy the SteamWorld atmosphere and humor.”
    • “Good graphics, atmosphere, and gameplay.”
    • “Was disappointed to find that the story was so short - I thought the different maps were different campaigns, but it's just the same story with slightly altered balancing/atmosphere.”
    • “I enjoy the SteamWorld atmosphere and humor, but the lack of management tools really takes the fun out of it.”
    • “I figured I'd give it a shot and see if the charming SteamWorld atmosphere could help draw me into the genre.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is described as somewhat touching for those who connect with the story, while others find it less impactful. Overall, players appreciate the fun and wholesome experience it offers, though some hope for deeper emotional engagement in the future.

    • “If you play the story, it is a bit touching if you feel emotions.”
    • “Congratulations to the team for delivering another fun, relaxing, and wholesome experience.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the charming art style and voice lines that contribute to a simple yet endearing storyline, others feel that the overall character development is lacking, with minimal dialogue and depth compared to previous entries in the series.

    • “Great art style, good voice lines, simple but sweet character development and storyline.”
    • “Unfortunately, what is usually a strength for the series is one of the biggest downsides to the build; it feels like there's very little character development or dialogue at all.”
    • “The characters feel flat and one-dimensional, lacking any meaningful growth throughout the game.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the character arcs; they seem to stagnate rather than evolve.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

78% average critic score

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Play time

10hMedian play time
12hAverage play time
3-24hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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