Can’t believe this game came out just a year before we got Lies of P . I picked it up because of the aesthetics and similarities to Lies of P, and yeah… that was my first mistake. I tried to keep my expectations low, but even then, the game just didn’t impress me. Combat is the make or break, the bread and butter of a souls-like game , and Steelrising’s combat is just bad.

:-Decent Graphics and aesthetics.
-Got on sale dirt cheap so I won't refund it.
-Devs have put thoughts in the fundamental design of the game (talking about the in-game mechanics not the graphics design)

:-Combat is the huge disappointment in a souls-like game
-The game does not have a block or perry mechanic even though some weapon's special attribute is: "Block" (developers are trolling or they forgot to implement)
-The tutorial popups were inconsistent, some disappeared before I could read them, and others just stayed on screen till I manually press a button.
-Runs very poorly, Even on low settings it required 6GB of VRAM minimum. (As mentioned in requirements)
-Voice lines are out of sync
-Walking and combat animations are weird and floaty.

I'd give this game a solid 2.5/10

I am genuinely very impressed by Steelrising. I generally try to review games on their own merits, regardless of developer; but having played 3 Spiders RPGs in the last decade and finding all 3 to be heavily flawed (Mars: War Logs, Bound By Flame & The Technomancer), I started to lose my faith in this developer a bit. It was frustrating because I said multiple times, both in discussions about the games and in my reviews of them, that Spiders has potential, so much of it, but it just isn't applied in the appropriate way and the end results are flawed, repetitive games with unbalanced combat and technical issues, but a core of good somewhere too deep to reach. I didn't even want to try Steelrising as a result, but somehow it found itself on my list of games anyway, so I hesitantly tried it.

And, what do you know - it is actually pretty good! That's not to say it's perfect, or even great, but I think Steelrising is a HUGE step up from the technical messes that a lot of the previous Spiders RPGs were (taking aside Greedfall, which at time of writing I have bought, but not played yet). It is a Soulslike with an interesting setting, good voice acting, a history-tinged story and actually serviceable combat. As Aegis, an automaton, you travel across Paris at behest of the Queen to stop a king driven mad by power. There are many different weapons in the game with light, heavy and special attacks, as well as different elements that can burn, freeze or electrocute enemies. And of course you can upgrade your stats and equipment as well as your "flask".

The enemy automaton designs are pretty interesting, combat is incredibly fluid (to the point that I didn't believe this was the same developer given how stiff previous combat systems were) and exploring Paris is generally pretty fun, with some Metroidvania tinges included as you eventually unlock two items that open up some paths in previous areas for secrets. The music is also very well done and there are even some emotional story beats that surprised me.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and roses. This is still a Spiders game so there are some technical issues and flaws. A lot of the out-of-bounds areas have no effort put into them, to the point where you can look over a hedge and see buildings floating in the air. In many areas you can also easily glitch yourself out of bounds because there are just no guardrails or invisible walls there. The enemy AI glitched out in the last area of the game and some enemies stopped attacking me, which was unsettling as they still turned to look at me, but didn't do anything. There were a few crashes, only two or three times though. Areas are pretty and I like the 1800s Paris style, but the game's visuals are very repetitive, with only really a few area types that constantly repeat (mansion, city area, forest, sewers, and one cave), so the game gets a bit tiring to look at after a while.

The game is also (this could be a pro or con depending on your preferences) very easy, especially for a Soulslike. I did die a few times just from overconfidence, but if you are careful, you will never die, especially if you stockpile your items, some of which are very overpowered (like infinite endurance flasks) and of which there are many. Still, I prefer that to running into a brick wall.

Regardless of previous comparisons to other games of Spiders, Steelrising is a game that well and truly stands on its own. It's a shame that at time of writing, aftet finally making a game that I would consider to be very competent, if not perfect (maybe a 7/10), Nacon wants to sell Spiders after falling into bankruptcy. I really hope Spiders, in whatever capacity, will continue to be able to develop games, because Steelrising shows that they have learned from a lot of their previous mistakes and the talent I always knew was there is finally on display. If you like Soulslikes and active combat, Steelrising is very worth a look and I'm happy it turned out to be a very fun game!

I played through to the end of NG+ on PS5 a couple of years ago. I'm currently on NG+++ on PC.

I really like it. I have no idea why this one got overlooked and Lies of P got all the love. I think Steelrising is a vastly superiour game in every respect.

It does have some stability issues. Not during normal gameplay, but when you travel to different areas it can crash. Always make sure you save before doing that. When you unlock the carriage, always enter, exit and then re-enter to travel. I had to do the same thing on PS5.

It's pretty clear the game was not a financial success, not to mention the dramas that Nacon are going through at the moment. It could have done with some bug patches but I presume they just didn't think that was financially viable.

But despite a few rough edges, it looks, plays and performs great. I really, really like it. I think it can stand alongside Stellar Blade and Nier Automata as a trinity of robot girl combat games. Tragically underated.

(PC Specs not attached because I'm not writing this on the same PC I played it on.)