The Soulslike subgenre has been growing year over year with many developers large and small throwing their hat into the burgeoning ring. Only a handful have managed to make much of an impression and in the year of Our Elden Lord, Elden Ring, developers really need to bring something unique enough to the table to have a seat at it. Less than a month ago I reviewed the solid, brief Thymesia and now we have Steelrising from Spiders. Drawing inspiration from Bloodborne more than Dark Souls, Steelrising manages to impress — especially in the first half of the game. It does suffer in the back half from a lack of new ideas which means it overstays its welcome a bit.

Viva, La Alternate History France

Set in an alternate universe where the French Revolution is stomped out by King Louis XVI, and an army of automaton (robots) powered by the souls of the citizens they snuffed out. The player takes the role of dancing automaton, Aegis, which has been repurposed for combat and tasked with destroying the King’s automatons and saving the people of France from the tyranny of the unhinged king.

It’s a relatively simple and quite original — if absurd — narrative that honestly became less interesting the more it went on. Mostly because there really isn’t any mystery to it. The narrative tells you relatively quickly what’s going on and who the major players are, so it really becomes about talking to other prominent figures and helping them in their corner of the revolution. The game does give dialogue options and some side quests have different ways you can change what happens but these changes seem minimal and only impact some cutscenes. The world itself is completely unaffected by any decisions I made throughout the narrative, so while the story wasn’t amazing to me, it was cool to see a developer try to tell one in a traditional manner as opposed to the opaque approach FromSoftware takes with their stories.

Yes, It’s a Soulslike

Players that enjoy narratives might get something more out of it, but for me, and others like me who prefer gameplay to story, the combat is really why we come to this subgenre. It’s here where Steelrising really shines. It’s also where Steelrising’s Bloodborne influence is most prominent. Mostly focused on dodging and melee, the combat always felt responsive and satisfying. Each weapon has a special ability and these range from a few that block or parry, to AOE (area of effect) damage, to firing a projectile. You can level up the weapons to five, maximizing stats like damage or impact and immobilization – which determines how much damage you do to the enemy’s stance meter. Once the meter is full, the enemy is stunned and immobile, allowing for the next hit to do massive damage. My personal favorite weapon were the Nemesis Claws which had the special ability to parry the enemy attacks and immediately follow it up with a counter punch that can knock smaller enemies to the ground or make larger enemies stagger a bit.

Of course any Soulslike worth its salt has some kind of stamina management while in combat and traversal, and I really like Steelrising’s approach to the mechanic. Since Aegis is essentially a robot she is prone to overheating. As such, the “stamina” bar is really an overheating gauge. Once overheated, she can’t dodge or swing a weapon. Only move around and wait for it to cool. Spiders also added an almost “active reload” where pressing the correct button (triangle on PS5) before the second meter depletes will replenish some stamina. The quicker you press the button, the more of the gauge will refill. It really provided a good amount of strategy and tension to the combat encounters, especially on the larger enemies.

Felling enemies gets you the requisite “souls” or in the case of Steelrising, Anima Essence which can be spent at the in-game checkpoints on stats to make Aegis stronger or more durable. You can also spend them on upgrading weapons or you can shop in the “boutique” which sells elemental grenades, oil vials (for healing), and other items. However, there is a catch. Each area has a finite amount of each item to be purchased at the boutique which means you can and will run out of clutch items like “petrification” grenades which do massive damage to enemy stance meters. These work really well on the bosses. Speaking of bosses, most are “unstable” versions of regular enemies, with the key big bosses being “Titans.” They’re all unique and fun to fight, even if not overly challenging compared to other games in the genre.

Here Be Yharnam

The other area where Bloodborne’s influence can be seen is the level design. The cobble stone streets of France evoke Yharnam in not subtle ways. Where Steelrising sets itself apart, however, is the sheer verticality. Aegis can jump which allows her to climb to the rooftops to get around (where the game will allow it, of course) and eventually she acquires a grappling hook that allows her to ascend in specific areas for even more traversal options. It’s not open, and most of these areas just lead to item pickups or chests that contain armor or new weapons. Unlike Bloodborne, the levels of the game don’t really change save for one section that takes you into mines so it all eventually looks samey. More variety in the levels would have made the later portions of the game feel distinct and would have done wonders for the pacing of the game. In addition to the repeated enemy variety the back half of the game drags a bit.

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.

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:

• Smooth, responsive combat and traversal
• Large, interlocking levels
• Boss fights are fun

Cons:

• Story is hit or miss
• May overstay its welcome
• Levels start to feel samey
• Not a large variety of enemies

Steelrising review code provided by the publisher. Played on PS5. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.