SteamWorld Heist 2 marks the seventh game in the SteamWorld franchise, which has built itself more as an anthology than a series. The name is a playground for different ideas, loosely connected around a cartoon-robot aesthetic, rather than a connected universe of familiar gameplay structures and stories. Heist 2 marks only the second direct sequel, after SteamWorld Dig 2. Since Dig was SteamWorld's breakthrough, it seems significant that the second true sequel is going to the more-modest cult-hit SteamWorld Heist. But the proof is in the pudding, as SteamWorld Heist 2 is a massive leap over the first game, expanding on virtually all of its systems without overcomplicating them or compromising its charm.
Like the first game, SteamWorld Heist 2 defies easy categorization, as it really only plays like itself. You and your band of Steambots go on missions to tightly enclosed indoor spaces, and take part in turn-based tactical combat. While there is cover and abilities with cooldowns like you might find in a typical XCOM-like, the 2D perspective shifts more than just your point-of-view--in comparison to its genre contemporaries, Heist 2 plays extremely differently. Rather than flanking around enemies, there's a huge emphasis on verticality, as well as lining up trick-shots using laser sight-like aimlines to bounce your projectiles off the walls or objects to hit an enemy ducking behind cover. And like the first game, you can pick up bags of optional loot, typically including one especially well-hidden or well-guarded piece of epic loot, and then head for the evacuation point to end the mission. How long you stay to grab every last piece of loot is often pressed by an escalating alarm system, creating a nice tension between risk and reward.
Where SteamWorld Heist 2 builds on the first game's structure is through a variety of new systems, each of which feels full-fledged in itself and complements the existing loop. Primary among these is a new job-class system, which is defined by your weaponry. Any Steambot can equip any job by simply switching their primary weapon during the mission loadout, and the requisite experience points they earn in that mission will go toward the equipped job. Each job has five levels to unlock, with a sequence of powerful abilities becoming available throughout.
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