I was looking forward to the opportunity to play Steelrising, the new project from Spiders studio (the creators of GreedFall). My meeting took place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, in the press area of Nacon (the publisher). And, at the same time, the closed beta opened up to players around the world. So I experienced this moment live with the developers, glued to their phones, as they scanned the web, to see the first streams starting... and also the first feedback being published. Of course, I was playing at the same time, and they made themselves available to help me progress and to answer all my questions. But I really enjoyed sharing this oh so stressful moment with them.
The story of Steelrising embarks on an alternate history of the French Revolution, in a version of our past where the court of Spagnol would welcome automatons. When the people threatened to rise up in 1789, King Louis XVI ordered them all to be transformed into war machines. This transformation is unfortunately what happens to the heroine, Aegis, once a ballerina, who finds herself embroiled in a deadly civil war. Four specialties are possible for her: alchemist, dancer, soldier and guard. I opted for the second, more faithful to its past. Also more suited to my style of play, me who likes to play fast melee fighters.
Souls-like assumed, several options nevertheless exist to assess the difficulty of the game and adapt to each player. Beyond the usual levels, specific gauges make it possible to configure in detail elements such as the damage received or the regeneration of endurance.
I disembark in the palace gardens, and I take a walk. Enemies are quick to attack me, other automatons, like me, and I'm glad I opted for simplicity, because I'm already starting to take significant damage. The discovery of a hidden chest is an opportunity to talk about the heroine's equipment, which is done via four slots: hat, jacket, pants and boots. I can't help but smile when I collect life potions which, of course, are called "cruets" here. It will be understood that all of the usual vocabulary is adapted to the robotic nature of the heroine.
Further, I activate a waypoint, called Vestale. This is where I can change its configuration. Indeed, she benefits from various improvements, patches that are installed directly in her spine and which offer her significant bonuses. Be careful though, settling on one of these stations certainly allows you to save your game and access a merchant, but it also makes all the enemies reappear. Use sparingly, then!
Taking advantage of a universe with graphics of rare quality and impeccable playability, Steelrising is undoubtedly the game that is likely to mark this start of the 2022 school year, the release being scheduled for September 8 (next Thursday). Of course, it's still just as difficult to really gauge in about twenty minutes, but I can already say that I haven't seen the time pass, that I haven't encountered any bugs, and that the world is as beautiful as I expected that. I really would have liked to stay with Aegis longer...
And that's good because, as I said in the intro, the beta is already playable if you pre-order the game. You can in particular go through our partner Gamesplanet, which offers the Standard edition at €42,49 and the Bastille at €50,99. The latter includes DLC with a new area, new characters, enemies, bosses, weapons, and more outfits. Or else, directly on Steam:
