Steelrising

Let them drink oil

Stroll in the gardens of the Château de Saint-Cloud and you’ll see beautiful statues and plants. You’ll also see the bodies of soldiers, and patrolling automata, which have culled the previous help to take over as part-protectors, partjailers of Marie Antoinette. As Aegis, her only personal protector, it’s up to you to help both her and the country.

As in the real world, revolution has gripped this alternate-history take on France circa 1789. In this version, however, Louis XVI has an army of robots that has taken to the streets to quell the chaos.

But Paris must wait: as Aegis, you first need to get out of the manor where your mistress is being kept. Making your way to the river plays out like a stage in microcosm. It’s the perfect place for us to get to grips with automaton combat.

GUILTY GEARS

Developer Spiders is no stranger to action RPG combat, but this is the first time the studio’s been so directly inspired by FromSoftware, with pinches of Dark Souls and a hefty dollop of Bloodborne forming the mechanical skeleton (literally) of Steelrising.

Like the trick weapons wielded by that game’s hunters, Aegis’ weapons, which pop out of their body, can be unpredictable. Each of the four starting classes begins with a unique one. The

Bodyguard has a huge, gleaming axe that can block damage; the Soldier has a long halberd with an almost syringe-like gun at the end that can make the most of the greater range; the Dancer fights with a foldable fan that can chain together strikes and then unfurl into a shield; and the Alchemist uses batons that can be charged with frost (weapons can be infused with fire and electricity as well).

While the classes dictate how you begin your journey, they’re only a suggestion. As is common in the genre, it’s up to you how you spend level-up points to increase your stats, and more equipment can be found or purchased. The 18th century was an era when style was crucial to the nobility, and you can customise Aegis to look as dashing as you please, choosing everything from face types (with plenty of white blush if you wish) to wigs, and even the type of material you’re built from, like wood or gold.

The clockpunk-style visuals are on point, then, but they’re not just a coat of paint. While enemies aren’t as human-like as Aegis, they’re still all automata, meaning you need to learn to read their mechanical whirring so you know when to dodge and when to hit back with your own light and heavy attacks.

Your Endurance, too, which dictates how many actions you can take before having to wait (stamina, essentially), plays into the theme. When it runs out, you overheat, but you can deploy rapid cooling with w. Time it right and

you restore almost the full bar at the cost of sustaining some frost damage. In addition, lubricant oils can be applied to negate enemy elemental damage, you can unlock mod slots to alter things like your health or cooling costs, and your Estus-flask-style recharging healing item looks like a can of oil you pour into your mechanical back. Naturally, you can rest at checkpoints to level up.

Running down rows of hedge mazes, through gates, and between trees, even the gardens tease the kind of twisting, labyrinthine design we expect from the genre, with hidden chests, shortcuts, and more. A jump and mantle introduces some nice verticality (we clamber up a watchtower at one point, and over ruined carriages), with an unlockable grapple really opening up Paris’ rues.

OUR FRIENDS ELECTRIC

Enemies we face include armoured guards with blade arms, musketeers with spears, naga-like snake ladies who breathe fire, and a hefty lad able to blast out a sphere of electricity that we back away from sharpish. Fortunately, Aegis’ dodges and strikes are responsive, and while it takes us a while to get the hang of the quick, mechanical movement of the enemies, the tells begin to feel fair.

That electric enemy, a boss called the Unstable Lightning Ram, who guards the river to Paris, has clear swings he readies, but just to be extra fair his large health bar emits markings to make it clear when he’s revving up for the big radial attack. Once we’re lubed up with lightning-resistant juice he becomes easier, and we begin to lean into the Alchemist class, frost strikes slowing him down enough that we can stun him and knock him into the ground, charging up a few heavy attacks in a row by using our rapid cooling. There’s plenty that feels unique in combat, and the ability to elementally charge your weapons is the most promising aspect.

If that’s not enough, Steelrising is being released with an Assist mode right out of the gate to make the notoriously tough genre accessible to more players, allowing you to tweak various parameters such as damage taken. There’s no reason not to head to Paris. (Though take some protection.)

IMPRESSIONS

One of the most promising, responsive soulsbornes we’ve tried in a while: the alt-history clockpunk aesthetic and elemental edge makes it stand out from the crowd, and it’s got nice assist options.

“AN ASSIST MODE MAKES THE NOTORIOUSLY TOUGH GENRE ACCESSIBLE TO MORE PLAYERS.”

1 2 3 1 Think about the elements you’re using, and you can really gum up the enemy’s works. 2 Every weapon has a unique skill – some, like the Dancer class’ fan, handily allow you to block damage. 3 Your automaton foes have mechanical quirks to their tells but you’ll be dancing around them soon enough. 4 Plenty of inventive transforming weaponry has been teased, so you’ll be able to find a pummelling style of your own.

4

Grappling is an early unlock that greatly opens up exploration options on the streets of Paris.