Steel Assault's biggest crime is being too short. What's actually there is brilliant, but it sorta blows its load before one feels satisfied. In other words, it's a very sweet experience, but it lacks nuance.
I think the issue could have been solved had it had 2 more chapters at least, cuz as it currently stands, the narrative's very underwhelming. The climax doesn't feel too impactful because it's not built up to effectively. Of course, the game's arcadey nature doesn't call for an epic narrative, but the issue affects gameplay too. All the game's mechanics are beautiful, but some feel underutilized. The tone of the action doesn't shift enough as things go on.
Compare Steel Assault to Alien Soldier (a game it CERTAINLY drew a lot from). In AS, my boy Epsilon Eagle gets a million things done and goes from here to there, gameplay constantly shifting while keeping all core mechanics intact, all in a similar completion length. In contrast, Steel Assault doesn't seem to have the confidence to experiment with the mechanical complexity it already has. Now, it's unfair to ask it to stack up to mf Alien Soldier, but if it had to be such a short experience, it would have been good to make the most of it.
Anyway, I don'y wanna be too negative. The game's a total blast and any 2D action fan would do good to check it out. Normal mode's a push over, so Expert mode's where it's at.
I think the issue could have been solved had it had 2 more chapters at least, cuz as it currently stands, the narrative's very underwhelming. The climax doesn't feel too impactful because it's not built up to effectively. Of course, the game's arcadey nature doesn't call for an epic narrative, but the issue affects gameplay too. All the game's mechanics are beautiful, but some feel underutilized. The tone of the action doesn't shift enough as things go on.
Compare Steel Assault to Alien Soldier (a game it CERTAINLY drew a lot from). In AS, my boy Epsilon Eagle gets a million things done and goes from here to there, gameplay constantly shifting while keeping all core mechanics intact, all in a similar completion length. In contrast, Steel Assault doesn't seem to have the confidence to experiment with the mechanical complexity it already has. Now, it's unfair to ask it to stack up to mf Alien Soldier, but if it had to be such a short experience, it would have been good to make the most of it.
Anyway, I don'y wanna be too negative. The game's a total blast and any 2D action fan would do good to check it out. Normal mode's a push over, so Expert mode's where it's at.