SteamWorld

Last updated

SteamWorld
Steamworld series logo.png
Developer(s) Image & Form
Thunderful Development
The Station
Publisher(s) Image & Form
Thunderful Publishing
Platform(s) Nintendo DSi
Nintendo 3DS
Windows
OS X
Linux
PlayStation 4
PlayStation Vita
Wii U
Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
Stadia
PlayStation 5
Xbox Series X/S
First release SteamWorld Tower Defense
July 5, 2010
Latest release SteamWorld Build
December 1, 2023

SteamWorld is an anthology series of video games created by Image & Form. All games depict the adventures of a race of steam-driven robots in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world, with different genres for each game, ranging from action and strategy to role-playing and simulation. [1]

Contents

Story overview

The story of SteamWorld begins in a post-apocalyptic Earth, where human society has fallen into collapse. SteamWorld Tower Defense tells the story of a huge war between humans and robots for the control of Earth. After a long conflict, the robots prevented the human invasion and the surviving humans took refuge in the underground. Since then the bots began forming a civilization reminiscing the American Old West, with the upper classes composed of bots running on petrol, while the lower classes run on coal to survive. In SteamWorld Dig , a robot miner called Rusty inherits his uncle's mine and begins digging all the way to the ruins of an ancient race of electronic bots called the "Vectron", who is reactivated with his arrival. To prevent the Vectron from taking over the surface, Rusty defeats them, but disappears.

In SteamWorld Dig 2 , a young robot girl called Dorothy who is Rusty's friend, looks for Rusty's whereabouts and discover that he was captured by the Humans, who intend to take control of the Vectron technology to reclaim the surface. However, the Vectron reactor in their possession overloads, causing a chain reaction that destroys Earth, with Rusty and Dorothy surviving by boarding one among several rockets created to evacuate the bots from the planet. The creation of one of these rockets is shown in SteamWorld Build , where a mysterious robot called Core guiding a bot population to settle near an old mine where they dig up parts of a rocket. Once the rocket is completed, Core reveals himself as part of the Vectron Hivemind who infiltrates the rocket's systems as they take the city's inhabitants to safety.

List of SteamWorld games

TitleYearPlatform(s)Genre(s)
SteamWorld Tower Defense 2010 Nintendo DSi Real-time strategy, tower defense
SteamWorld Dig [2] 2013 Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux Platformer, action-adventure, metroidvania
2014 PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U
2015 Xbox One
2018 Nintendo Switch
2020 Stadia
SteamWorld Heist [3] 2015 Nintendo 3DS Turn-based strategy, action-adventure
2016 Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, iOS
2017 Nintendo Switch
2020 Stadia
SteamWorld Dig 2 [4] 2017 Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita Platformer, action-adventure, metroidvania
2018 Nintendo 3DS, Xbox One
2020 Stadia
SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech [5] 2019 Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux Role-playing, deck-building
2020 Stadia
SteamWorld Build [6] 2023 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Construction and management simulation
SteamWorld Heist II [7] 2024 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Turn-based strategy, action-adventure
SteamWorld: HeadhunterOn hold [8] TBA Action-adventure

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References

  1. Wood, Austin (December 6, 2017). "How SteamWorld bucked 'the easy route' and became a series without a genre". PC Gamer . Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  2. Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (March 4, 2014). "SteamWorld Dig release date announced by Image & Form". VG247 . Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  3. Whitehead, Thomas (December 1, 2015). "SteamWorld Heist Release Date and Pricing Confirmed". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  4. Brown, Fraser (September 14, 2017). "SteamWorld Dig 2 is coming to PC on September 22". PC Gamer . Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  5. Stevens, Colin (March 27, 2019). "SteamWorld Quest Gets a Release Date". IGN . Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  6. Watts, Steve (January 23, 2023). "SteamWorld Build Announced For 2023 Release, Demo Available Now". GameSpot . Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  7. Bailey, Kat (April 18, 2024). "Steamworld Heist 2 Announced: We Talk to Thunderful After the Sequel's Indie World Showcase Reveal". IGN . Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  8. Mäki, Jonas (February 23, 2024). "SteamWorld Headhunter might have been cancelled". Gamereactor. Retrieved April 18, 2024.