You’ll meet several potential team members throughout the game, and not only do they have their own unique identity, but they also have their own skillsets and abilities that are earned by leveling up. There are a wide variety of weapons and other items to find, and each member of your team can equip a weapon, a hat, and two utility items all of which can be picked up when doing missions or purchased at shops found on the map. Early on you’ll have access to guns with laser sights that make these feats of accuracy that little bit easier, but once you start to find or purchase some of the better weapons, then the training wheels come off and your judgement comes into play, making those insane shots become an even greater feat, and a more satisfying achievement. When it comes to attacking, there’s a clear focus on trying to get headshots for a chance of a critical hit, and even when you don’t think you have a straight path to make a shot, your inherent ability to ricochet shots off walls and objects makes for some incredible trick shots. At heart, this is simplistic turn-based strategy, done in the best possible way. In this side-on battlefield of outer space hunks of junk, your ragtag bunch of automatons do everything by turns, whether it’s moving, firing, or using an item even sacrificing the ability to do the latter two in return for moving further distances.

Yet, it is the ricochet-centric gunplay that absolutely makes this game so incredibly fun. In SteamWorld Heist, it’s something as simple as aiming – so important to pretty much all games that involve ranged weapons, but not something you would usually expect to be the focus in a turn-based strategy game. The best games always have some sort of standout mechanic the feature that makes a game irresistible to pick up, and so moreish that you don’t want to put it down.

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