''Steelrising'' is an

action role-playing video game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games emphasize real-time combat whe ...

developed by

Spiders Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species di ...

and published by

Nacon Nacon SA (formerly Bigben Interactive SA) is a French video game publisher, holdings company and gaming peripherals manufacturer based in Lesquin. It designs and distributes gaming accessories, and publishes and distributes video games for va ...

. The game was released for

Windows PC Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

, and

Xbox Series X and Series S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...

in September 2022.

Gameplay

''Steelrising'' is an action role-playing video game played from a

third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to del ...

. As the player progresses in the game and defeat enemies, they will collect Anima Essence, which can be used to upgrade the player's weapons and skills, though upgrading the character can only be done at "Vestal" checkpoints found throughout the world. The Vestal checkpoints also allow the player character to rest to replenish their

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

. Players are encouraged to play aggressively in the game, as stamina refills entirely after a brief cooldown. The game features an "Assist mode", which allows players to manually adjust various factors of gameplay in order to lower the game's difficulty.

Story

In an alternate version of the French Revolution,

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV), and Mari ...

has created an army of clockwork automatons (Automats) and rules Paris with fear.

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

implores her Automat bodyguard, Aegis, to leave and find her surviving children, as well as what has happened with King Louis. Aegis manages to find

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, who is attempting to rally a group of the National Guard, but they have been slaughtered by a Titan, a massive Automat built by Louis and the Comte. Aegis first attempts to find her creator, whose workshop has been ransacked, before being directed to find several high ranking members of the Estates-General, who appear to have all been marked for death by Louis. Other real-life historical figures who appear in the game's story include

Maximillien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...

Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan banker and statesman who served as List of Finance Ministers of France, finance minister for Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innov ...

and

Alessandro Cagliostro Giuseppe Balsamo (; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795), known by the alias Count Alessandro di Cagliostro ( , ), was an Italian occultist and confidence trickster. Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. He became a gl ...

Development

The game was developed by French studio Spiders, which previously released titles including '' The Technomancer'' and ''

GreedFall ''GreedFall'' is an action role-playing game developed by Spiders (company), Spiders and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game is set in an early 18th century-styled fantasy setting and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, a ...

''. According to CEO and lead writer Jehanne Rousseau, the gameplay of ''Steelrising'' was heavily inspired by the ''

Soulsborne A Soulslike (also spelled Souls-like) is a subgenre of action role-playing games known for high difficulty level, large worlds filled with enemies and emphasis on environmental storytelling, typically in a dark fantasy setting. Japanese develop ...

'' games. Publisher

officially announced the game in July 2021. The game was originally set to be released in June 2022, though it was subsequently delayed to September the same year.

Reception

According to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the game received "mixed or average" reviews.

References

External links

* {{Spiders (company) 2022 video games Video games developed in France Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in Paris Video games set in the 18th century Video games about cyborgs Video games about robots French Revolution video games Alternate history video games Windows games PlayStation 5 games Xbox Series X and Series S games Action role-playing video games Nacon games Spiders (company) games Soulslike video games