Steelrising

73%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,065 reviews
  • story
  • optimization
  • gameplay
Steelrising Game Cover
Next to Greedfall, SteelRising shows just how much Spiders has come on as a developer. There are some kinks for sure, but Aegis’ Parisian adventure is easily Spiders’ best game to date.
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"Steelrising" is a single-player Historical Hack and Slash game with an intriguing story, excellent gameplay, graphics, and music. As Aegis, a mechanical masterpiece, players must save the French Revolution by battling King Louis XVI's automatons using challenging combat mechanics and upgradeable abilities. However, the game is missing optimization, full of bugs, and requires lots of grinding, which detracts from the otherwise wonderful atmosphere.

  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • Gog Com
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,065 reviews
story346 positive mentions
optimization220 negative mentions
  • Beautiful graphics and unique art style set in an alternate history during the French Revolution.
  • Engaging combat mechanics with a variety of weapons and abilities, allowing for different playstyles.
  • Interesting story and character interactions, with historical figures adding depth to the narrative.
  • Poor optimization leading to performance issues, including frame rate drops and crashes.
  • Lack of enemy variety and repetitive boss fights, making combat feel less challenging over time.
  • Confusing level design with a lack of fast travel options, resulting in tedious backtracking.
  • story1,173 mentions

    The story of *Steelrising* is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, featuring a unique blend of historical figures and steampunk elements. While many players appreciate the intriguing premise and character development, the execution often falls short, with criticisms aimed at convoluted narratives, excessive dialogue, and a lack of emotional engagement. Side quests are noted to enrich the lore but can feel repetitive and poorly integrated, leading to mixed feelings about the overall storytelling experience.

    • “The environment of the game is amazing and the story of the game entertained me a lot.”
    • “The game overall shows potential, with a promising story and characters.”
    • “The story is intriguing enough.”
    • “The story is undoubtedly the worst part here, being a dull mess of cardboard characters that talk too much and say too little.”
    • “Bosses are easy but the environment design and story is just too convoluted for me; I can't remember which way to go, especially backtracking, and can't remember a lot of characters' names and how they are connected to each other.”
    • “The story is convoluted and very poorly paced, like it was an afterthought, and the cutscene animations were obviously cut back and rushed, with the weird-looking human models looking so bad compared to the automat machines.”
  • optimization680 mentions

    The game's optimization has received widespread criticism, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including frequent frame rate drops, stuttering, and high resource demands that do not correlate with its visual quality. While some users have managed to achieve stable performance on high-end systems, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, leading to an inconsistent experience across various hardware configurations. Many reviewers recommend waiting for patches to address these optimization problems before purchasing.

    • “The game is absolutely gorgeous, but optimization is its Achilles' heel.”
    • “Performance-wise, I don't think it's very well optimized, but if anything, it was just the initial/larger load that felt particularly affected to me.”
    • “Despite all the good stuff, the game is really bad at PC optimization; however, it was worth it.”
    • “The game is too demanding on PC resources and poorly optimized; although the scenery is poor and low-detail, the streets are filled only with mobs, there are no residents, only dead people everywhere.”
    • “Performance-wise, the game runs well overall, but there are occasional dips in frame rate and some performance issues in certain areas.”
    • “The game is poorly optimized and this shows its worst facets on the Tuileries; I thought it was made on UE due to how badly it impacts my PC, high GPU usage and CPU temperature and usage.”
  • gameplay612 mentions

    The gameplay of "Steelrising" has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its unique mechanics, such as the rapid cooling system for stamina management and the engaging combat that encourages aggressive play. However, criticisms include a lack of enemy variety, repetitive environments, and some clunky controls that detract from the overall experience. While it offers a more accessible entry point for newcomers to the souls-like genre, veterans may find it lacking in challenge and depth compared to more polished titles.

    • “It is a unique souls-like where you play a mechanical doll in Paris during the French Revolution.”
    • “The combat style is enjoyable, with a solid dodge mechanic that stands out compared to similar titles.”
    • “The gameplay is fun, with lots of exploration and verticality despite the linear style.”
    • “The gameplay checks all the marks of the genre with some interesting ideas about incorporating traversal mechanics into combat, although nothing really groundbreaking.”
    • “Unfortunately, after a while the core gameplay becomes tedious; there's a lot of backtracking, even with the shortcuts and fast travel coins.”
    • “The gameplay feels like a mixture of Nier and Dark Souls, but with some of their very own systems which work amazingly well.”
  • graphics513 mentions

    The graphics of "Steelrising" receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the game's unique steampunk aesthetic and detailed environments, while others criticize its poor optimization and high system requirements. Despite some stunning visuals, players report frequent performance issues, including frame rate drops and graphical glitches, which detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the art style is appreciated, the game's demanding hardware needs and inconsistent performance leave much to be desired.

    • “The graphics are great and the steampunk-ish retro-futuristic vibe is unique and cool.”
    • “Stunning visuals: the game’s world is beautifully crafted, with a rich, detailed environment that captures the essence of its alternate history setting.”
    • “The art style and graphical fidelity are impressive.”
    • “The graphics can't save the fact the world layout is very confusing; once you get to a point, retracing where you have been and how to get somewhere is tedious.”
    • “On the other hand, the game’s technical limitations are noticeable, with occasional graphical pop-ins, texture issues, and performance drops that can disrupt immersion.”
    • “Terrible graphics and worst optimization I have ever seen.”
  • music120 mentions

    The music in the game has received a mixed reception, with many praising its beauty and atmospheric qualities, particularly in enhancing the overall experience. While some tracks are described as hauntingly beautiful and fitting for the game's setting, others find the soundtrack to be forgettable or lacking in memorability. Overall, the music is often highlighted as a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's ambiance, despite some critiques regarding its presence and variety throughout gameplay.

    • “The music is incredible.”
    • “The atmosphere and feel of the areas you explore are absolutely incredible and the music fits the game extremely well, making it a very immersive experience.”
    • “The spectacular alternative history backdrop of France around Louis XVI is a delightful way of getting people interested in the events and people of the French Revolution, and that’s backed with some of the most enjoyable and distinctive level and environment design that I have seen in a long while in this genre, and the soundtrack is one of the best of this year.”
    • “The soundtrack and voice acting are present and unremarkable.”
    • “Can't say the same about the music though – it's probably the most uninspired, bland and forgettable aspect of the whole game.”
    • “Gets pretty boring later on when you fight the same enemies, bosses aren't memorable and neither is the music.”
  • atmosphere119 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and beautifully designed environments, particularly reflecting the unique setting of an alternate-history 18th century Paris. Reviewers highlight the effective use of lighting, sound design, and music, which collectively enhance the overall experience, making it captivating and engaging. While some noted minor issues with gameplay and enemy difficulty, the atmospheric elements remain a standout feature that draws players into the game's world.

    • “The atmosphere is immersive, with excellent use of lighting and environmental storytelling.”
    • “The atmosphere and feel of the areas you explore are absolutely incredible and the music fits the game extremely well, making it a very immersive experience.”
    • “The sound department also did a marvelous job in creating a rich atmospheric layer that really supports the immersion.”
    • “The atmosphere is just right with burning barricades and defensive positions set up, but overrun by automats, corpse piles everywhere and frightened citizens hiding in their homes.”
    • “Somehow the animation looks robotic despite tight controls which really helps contribute to the atmosphere.”
    • “Music during titans’ fights ruin the mood and atmosphere.”
  • stability66 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues across both PC and console platforms. Players have experienced everything from graphical glitches and frame rate drops to game-breaking bugs that hinder progress, leading to frustration. While some users report a smoother experience on certain hardware configurations, the overall consensus is that the game suffers from significant stability problems that detract from the gameplay experience.

    • “The game runs great at 80fps.”
    • “Game runs perfectly with no glitches.”
    • “I don't have a top of the line system but the game runs great on custom (medium-high) settings and 1080p resolution.”
    • “The game is somewhat let down by poor optimization and occasional buggy areas or features.”
    • “The game inexplicably drops to 1 fps and freezes for 3-5 minutes every hour or so (on RTX 4090 and i9-14900k).”
    • “It's buggy, crashes, and is too demanding on hardware.”
  • grinding57 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often frustrating, with many noting excessive backtracking and repetitive enemy encounters that detract from the experience. While some appreciate the lack of heavy grinding compared to other RPGs, the general consensus is that the gameplay can become monotonous, making exploration feel less rewarding and combat more of a chore than an engaging challenge. Despite some positive elements, the grinding and level design issues significantly impact the enjoyment of the game.

    • “The game is not very grindy and generally respects player time, and overall I think the game does a decent job of balance (but it is on the slightly too easy side of it).”
    • “This, in turn, made those games tedious and feel like a chore to walk through big empty maps just to get to your next objective.”
    • “Unfortunately, after a while the core gameplay becomes tedious; there's a lot of backtracking, even with the shortcuts and fast travel coins.”
    • “The overall game design - you go to a location, then back to it for something else, fighting the same enemies over and over, until even their great design makes them tedious to look at.”
  • character development24 mentions

    Character development in the game is generally viewed as lacking, with many reviewers noting that secondary characters feel underdeveloped and serve primarily as plot devices. While the main character and overall character design receive praise for their aesthetics and animations, the depth and emotional engagement typically expected in character arcs are notably absent, leading to a sense of superficiality in the narrative experience. Despite the appealing visuals and voice acting, the game's character development fails to resonate with players, leaving them indifferent to the story and its characters.

    • “The voice acting and character design are well-executed.”
    • “There is also character development which was a surprise considering Aegis is a robot.”
    • “This game has a beautiful character design for the main character, an interesting clockwork dancer that reminds me of extremely high-quality warforged art for D&D, that I adored watching move, fight, and sprint across the game.”
    • “Limited character development: secondary characters lack depth and development, making them feel more like plot devices than fully realized individuals.”
    • “There is no character development here, nothing that makes you care.”
    • “Character development is extremely uninspired compared to even the weakest titles by Spiders.”
  • replayability18 mentions

    The game's replayability is bolstered by features such as multiple character builds, a New Game Plus mode with additional content, and a variety of weapons that encourage experimentation. However, some players feel that the overall replay value is limited, with certain builds overshadowing others and a lack of compelling reasons to replay beyond trophy hunting. While there is potential for replayability, opinions vary on its effectiveness and appeal.

    • “The NG+ in this game has a lot of new content, so that bonus for replayability.”
    • “New Game Plus adds good replayability by letting you push your weapons/stats further alongside different enemy types and familiar enemies with extra abilities to keep it feeling new.”
    • “The fact that the moves and attacks are tied to the weapons gives the character additional depth and adds variety and replayability to the game.”
    • “Overall, I'm glad I played it, but it's an average game with no real replay value.”
    • “No replay value for me, as the game neared the end I just wanted it to be over so I could move on to something else.”
    • “This balancing ruins build variety, because there's just an objectively better way to build your character, which affects replayability.”
  • humor16 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with players finding moments of hilarity in the absurdity of character designs, exaggerated animations, and unexpected bugs, such as accidentally triggering boss fights. While some aspects, like the comical music and the robotic expressions of characters, elicit laughter, others, like bland character introductions and frustrating gameplay, can detract from the overall comedic experience. Ultimately, the humor is often situational and can vary significantly in effectiveness throughout the game.

    • “Sliding down a slope looks hilarious.”
    • “With the access to health regen relatively regularly and less aggressive enemy types, I never felt like I had to go all out to clear an area or defeat a boss. The attacks are a little too telegraphed, and having enemies parry your attack and still not hit you is very funny.”
    • “The story isn't even important - it's so basic and uninteresting that there's nothing to grab onto. The characters are boring, and the facial AI animations are funny to say the least.”
  • emotional14 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the touching story and beautiful soundtrack that evoke strong feelings, others criticize the lack of emotional connection due to poor presentation, such as subpar animations and excessive dialogue. Despite the game's potential for emotional impact, many feel that technical issues and a lackluster narrative detract from the overall experience.

    • “A nice souls-like with great graphics, good voice acting, and a touching story.”
    • “When I first loaded the game, the music alone got me emotional; it's a gorgeous soundtrack.”
    • “The true ending made me cry, and I really liked Aegis.”
    • “Terrible performance, mediocre gameplay, very boring story, a total of like 5 enemy types, just really forgettable, uninspired, and bad.”
    • “Boring story but great gameplay; worth giving a try if you can buy the game on sale.”
    • “Good soulslike with an extremely boring story.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for prioritizing DLC releases over fixing existing bugs, which many players view as a predatory cash grab. Users feel that the DLC should have been included in the base game instead of being sold separately, especially given the unresolved issues that have persisted for two years.

    • “Normally I would say it's no big deal, but the fact they released DLC for the game as a cash grab rather than addressing these bugs beforehand is just predatory, and I think we're better off not supporting this type of behavior from developers.”
    • “Easy to fix bugs still remain 2 years past launch and after DLC has been released for a cash grab.”
    • “The DLC could easily be included with the base game rather than being a quick cash grab.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

71% average critic score

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Play time

11hMedian play time
16hAverage play time
4-25hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 23 analyzed playthroughs

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