SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech

SteamWorld Quest may be Image & Form's finest game yet, presenting a charming tale and a nuanced combat system wrapped up in a wonderfully cohesive style.

You can’t talk about SteamWorld Quest without first recognizing its genre-hopping developer, Image & Form. Not only have they kept the SteamWorld name and steampunk aesthetics intact since the original SteamWorld Dig (and to a lesser extent, SteamWorld: Tower Defense on DSiWare), they aren’t afraid to branch the franchise out into new and exciting genres. 2015’s SteamWorld Heist saw them flex their muscles at strategic turn-based shooting while SteamWorld Dig 2 is a near-perfect Metroidvania. So enter SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, the newest entry in the series that also, predictably, s...

All in all, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is a very good, if short, game.  Every fight will be different depending on your party composition, equipment, and deck setup, with each fight having multiple ways you could overcome them.  With a combination of luck, skill, and planning, each fight was both a chance to gain exp before the next boss, and an opportunity to try out combos before the big fight, fulfilling a card game player’s dream.

At first glance, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech shouldn’t work. Not only does the title’s genre vastly differ from its predecessors, with SteamWorld Dig 2 being a Metroidvania and SteamWorld Heist a tactics title, but it also does so by existing in the niche space that is RPG card games.

Pack lightly for a jolly trip.

Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is a creative infusion of card-based combat with a traditional RPG. It plays entirely unlike any other card combat game, and it’s worth a look even for those who don’t generally like the genre. While it’s light on story, less replayable than other card games, and could use some refinement when it comes to building decks and equipping characters, it’s still a fun twist on a familiar concept that’s easy to recommend.

The fantasy/steampunk SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech offers a streamlined and highly accessible foray into a genre known for complexity and strategy. While this classic, turn-based affair hinges on cards and decks, anyone who’s ever leveled up and explored a dungeon has everything they need to dive right in to this adventure. SteamWorld Quest is a colorful and fun (if woefully linear) dive into the new age of deck-building, role-playing fare.

Under pressure.

Image & Form's latest SteamWorld entry dips its toes into the realm of RPGs as it delightfully integrates a deck-building card game into a turn-based RPG.

Image & Form's iconic SteamWorld series has been providing gamers with enjoyable games over the years within a few different genres. Now that they created a dungeon crawler RPG, let's see how its cast of robots fare in this latest offering.

The weakest of the recent SteamWorld games but still an enjoyable, if rather unfair, mix of role-playing game and card-battler.