SteamWorld Build

Xbox AchievementsRichard Walker

82/100

A triumphant combination of SimCity and Dungeon Keeper-style gameplay makes SteamWorld Build not only an excellent game, but a comfortable and immediately gratifying experience that should be savoured.

Press StartKieron Verbrugge

8/10

SteamWorld Build is another feather in the series' cap and another great distillation of genres into a friendly and wholly addictive package. The city building and mining halves come together effortlessly thanks to a pitch-perfect campaign, though with just a single scenario there's not a heap of longevity. The console version's awfully-small text also threatens to undo the good done by its superb controls, but in the end it remains another banger SteamWorld game.

Steam Deck HQOliver Stogden

8/10

SteamWorld Build doesn't revolutionize the genre, but it's another solid city-builder that plays great on the Steam Deck

Pure NintendoJemma Casson

8/10

SteamWorld Build is the latest title in the SteamWorld series, marking the sixth entry. The franchise is known for the varied gameplay of each iteration, throwi

Game SkinnyTamzin Bishop

8/10

SteamWorld Build has the right balance of complexity and relaxing simplicity.

COGConnectedJames Paley

80/100

There’s an elegance to city builders that I appreciate. Your fledgling town is a puzzle with constantly moving pieces. Every new addition is an opportunity for something else to go wrong, forcing you on your toes at all times. Yet when things fall into place, it’s positively thrilling. SteamWorld Build is a simple yet satisfying take on the genre. I found it challenging and accommodating all at once. I only wish the game was a bit longer.

GinxTVWillis Walker

7.5/10

Whilst far from being a massive game, Steamworld Build is undeniably likeable. Its genre mixing is ambitious, and well-executed. It is an interesting settlement builder and a quirky Dungeon Keeper-like. But combined, it’s a unique and deeply enjoyable experience; although one that also feels like it’s lacking long-term goals to make the sandbox mode feel worthwhile. Despite this, the game as a whole is worth playing for fans of the Steamworld franchise, and anyone who enjoys a laid back town building game with minimal stress.

XboxEraPieter "SuikerBrood" Jasper

7.5/10

SteamWorld Build is a city-builder with heart that successfully mixes various genres. It is also accessible to players who don’t put hundreds of hours into Cities Skylines and for players who have played many games in the genre it is a cute palate cleanser that can be played through in one weekend. The game offers various maps, but the replayability is what’s going to hold this title back.

eXputerAsad Ahmed

While not particularly challenging, SteamWorld Build is nonetheless a charming city-builder that you can kick back and relax with.

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Nintendo World ReportJohn Rairdin

7/10

As I spent time with SteamWorld Build, I found myself hugely enjoying my time underground, while growing frustrated with the limits of the city-building. Ultimately the linear upgrade-based progression of the city-building removes most of your freedom in that segment of the game. Your city will always develop exactly the same way. You can’t focus more on one unit, or choose one strategy over another. You simply spawn workers, until you can spawn the next unit, and then the next, and then the next. And with each one of these you’ll be picking up buildings and moving them from one part of th…

StartMenuKate Robinson

Unscored

SteamWorld Build is gratifying down to its very core, and its accessible city-building gameplay is broken up by a strategic and robust take on the Dig formula that lives up to a franchise known for its seamless design. The larger ambitions of Build occasionally cause cracks to form in its otherwise impeccably solid foundations, but these moments of instability are offset by a structurally sound experience that truly innovates on its respective genres.