Steelrising Reviews

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Automatons stalk the streets of Paris and King Louis XVI rules with an iron fist. It would be a shame if there were a more advanced robot to put a stop to the whole thing.

Spiders did manage to offer a fresh take on a Soulslike and in doing so crafted a solid foundation for a potential franchise. With a bit more of a budget to allow for more enemy types and locations, Steelrising could be a contender.

When it works, it's brilliant. But, like a broken clock, it only works twice a day.

I always enjoy soulslikes that let you experience them however you wish and Steelrising is one such game and it's quite a blast, too.

Steelrising Review

Spiders nailed the Soulslike experience with Steelrising, providing longtime fans of the genre and newcomers alike with an entertaining and innovative experience precisely tailored to their play style. There's a lot to love in Steelrising, and each playthrough will let players discover exciting new ways to rage against the machines. Steelrising is a step in the right direction for the Soulslike genre.

This Souls-like slasher may be set during the French Revolution, but it's not quite revolutionary.

Though slightly wanting when compared with its Souls contemporaries, Steelrising still offers up challenging combat, inventive enemies, and an attractive and atmospheric take on 18th-century Paris at a time of great upheaval. Much like its previous release, GreedFall, you can see Spiders’ ambition, passion, and talent at play here, and while the final product is not quite the success it could have been, Steelrising‘s robot revolution is still worth its weight in cake.

Steelrising neither reaches the heights of the best Souls-likes nor sinks to the lows of the genre's worst, and it can't hide its flaws with next-gen shine.

After years of mediocre RPGs and second-rate detective titles, Spiders Studio finally began to realise its potential in 2019 with GreedFall. A genuinely good role-playing game with rich world building and solid combat, it was proof the French team had the capabilities to produce something special. Three years and a genre change later, the developer returns with Steelrising. It represents yet another step-up for the team. However, one too many technical flaws get in the way of what should be a quality title.

Steelrising is a fantastic video game held back by its adherence to other giants of the genre, and a lack of polish, whether that was due to time constraints, budget limitations, technical hurdles, or myriad other reasons. Whatever the case, the developer's passion for the setting, and the ambitions of a studio on the cusp of the big-time shine through. While nothing revolutionary, Steelrising is well worth your time and attention.

Steelrising is just average. Apart from nice graphics and an interesting musical theme, it doesn't offer much. The history of the world is not engaging, there are no advertised intrigues, and the difficulty level does not pose any challenge.

Choppy combat and a lack of innovation aside, Steelrising is an incredibly unique take on the French Revolution with some brilliant environment and character designs, it just doesn’t do enough to make it stand out from other titles in the genre.

A competent Soulslike lifted by its alternate history premise and Parisian setting, but it’s not quite enough to compete with its obvious inspirations.

Steelrising's Parisian setting and tireless robotic enemies help it to stand out from the growing Soulslike crowd, though its mechanical heart still ticks with the same carefully crafted and unforgiving style of combat. If you want a Soulslike with a bit of a difference, or maybe one that's got an assist mode to help ease you into the genre, Steelrising is well worth considering.

Steelrising is a beginner friendly entry into the Soulsborne genre with its fairly easy learning curve and enticing alternate history French Revolution premise. The art and visual direction are unparalleled with Spiders' amazing depiction and design of steampunk automata, but the game is ultimately bottled down by unpolished combat, inconsistent performance, and too many quality of life issues.

Steelrising is a mix of decent to damned good parts that takes the Soulslike Action RPG and puts it into one of the most ridiculous and awesome settings I’ve seen in a while. Mediocre graphics are countered by a fantastic art style, fun combat, incredible music, and a story that I found myself deeply invested in. If you’ve got an itch for the genre and don’t want to wait for Lies of P, then Steelrising is an excellent alternative to hold you over.

Thinking back, the hardcore action role-playing formula introduced in Demon's Souls and further refined in the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne and Elden Ring was truly one of a kind. The combination of challenging and deep combat, environmental storytelling, and amazing atmosphere has always been very difficult to replicate, and only a handful of developers have managed to create games that could rival From Software's excellent games, such as Team Ninja with the Nioh series. Getting all these elements right while providing an experience that is fun to play is a real feat, as the many failed attempts of creating a proper Soulslike have shown us in the past few months.

In a genre that’s tending towards over-saturation, Steelrising injects some much-needed vigour to preserve it from stagnation. By artistically blending robotic fantasy and French history, French gaming studio Spiders tells us a harrowing tale of tyranny. With Paris on the brink of destruction by mechanised monstrosities, we are tasked with restoring peace, and man is it fun.

Steelrising comes from the talented development team at Spiders, who have been honing their craft in making video games over the last several years. I’ve long championed the studio for making steady improvements, with The Technomancer an underrated action RPG gem of theirs in 2016, and Greedfall in 2019 taking the concept further with a deeper story that is reminiscent of Bioware’s efforts. Greedfall has earned itself an upcoming sequel, but in the meantime Spiders have dabbled in another...

Unfortunately, these obvious positives are dragged down by level design sorely lacking in verticality, enemy encounters sorely lacking in variety, and a narrative sorely lacking in investment. It’s one of the more admirable attempts at the Souls formula in recent memory, but it doesn’t have every piece of the puzzle.

Steelrising never quite feels like a cohesive experience, but its warring halves of Soulslike combat and narrative RPG storytelling are compelling enough in and of themselves.

Steelrising makes some welcome changes to the genre formula but its best qualities are blurred by its lacklustre writing and world design.

Steelrising is a story first, Souls-like second, with the player getting an alternative take on the French Revolution. The storyline, side quests and character development is pretty decent, but the combat does weigh it down since it is supposed to be more difficult than it is.

“Steelrising has some lofty ambitions, but poor execution slays this potentially innovative Soulslike.”

Spiders Studio tackles a different sub-genre of RPG with Steelrising, going for a Souls-like experience this time around. While competent, it doesn't achieve much to stand out from the crowd.

Overall, Steelrising is a commendable stab at the Soulslike genre by Spiders. It’s visually appealing, and Aegis’ unique abilities eventually make exploration feel more rewarding while also enhancing the combat. Those jumping in should be aware that combat isn’t quite as tight at that found in the likes of Dark Souls though, and Steelrising is a bit rough around the edges in general. Still, there’s a lot to like here for those seeking out a challenge within a new setting.

Steelrising has a great premise, and all the ingredients necessary to be a great Soulslike game. It just doesn't get the mix right, ending up all the more frustrating for how good it could be.

With an engaging and aggressive combat system, and a unique alternative-history setting, Steelrising is an interesting albeit familiar Souls-like.

France at the end of the 18th century was a hot mess. Revolution was in the air. So was political oppression, counter-revolution, warring factions, and a desperate desire for change. A little known fact — at least according to Spiders’ new game, Steelrising — is that there was also an army of deadly automatons laying waste to opponents of the King. So, grab a croissant and let’s see if Spiders’ new Soulslike is worth your time.

Steelrising puts together a solid, accessible Soulsborne title complete with fun combat and simplistic RPG elements. However, the dated aesthetic combined with the overstretched narrative and the foibles that come with it make this feel like a Spider Entertainment game and more of a basic third party title. The heart of the development team shows from time to time, especially near the end of the game. But, the way the team executes this formula knocks the fundamentals out of balance, creating an uneven experience with too much of its weight on the back end.

Steelrising is a super solid soulslike that incorporates a wonderfully unique setting and lots of well-designed battle and traversal mechanics into the mix. There's tons of lovely little details in the world and characters here and the combat is addictive, crunchy stuff that gives you lots of cool weapons to toy around with. The story may not be the strongest, it all takes a while to get going properly and the scraps can get a little rough around the edges from time to time, but overall this is an impressive new entry in the genre that fans should absolutely make some time to check out.