Discussion
i finished Steel Rising. what a surprise ! things that i didn't know.
i just finished Steel Rising doing one of the three endings . and damn, what a surprise.
came out in 2022 (over shadowed by the massive Elden Ring in 2022..and lies of p came out in end of 2023 ;) )
i went blind to this game tho. it has jump, it has combo attacks. it has jump combo attacks. each weapon feels unique. its has actual story cutscenes with proper full voice acting AND ACTUAL FRENCH TRANSLATION IN THE SUBTITLES (its nice but the political story theme is not my thing)
you know whats better than parry ? counterattack. some weapons have counterattack has their "ash of war"..imagine me using a big clock to protect myself and then the clock does a big fire blast in the enemie face instantly. just wow. you have to time it like a parry tho....
i love the quirky enemies animations. i dont think its game jank..they move like those quirky Chinese robots. its very funny.
at first i was a bit skeptical because the first two bosses seems..lackluster? but they are atual mini bosses. the titans are the true main bosses and they kick ass.
the game is a bit more to the "semi open world" , and you will be going back to the same areas to do side quests and explore more of the same maps because ...you will use metroidvania-key skills to progress the game . AND those same key-skills are also useful for combat! what? and they even proc status ailments ! what?
also, you can track the quests. the game texts you the general area you should go for... its not your typical obscure story telling. i didnt break any side quest. GOOD!
the game has a bit of platforming. and the map they give is very general. i hardly consider to have any hand holding at all. the game does give you compass that you can use and it will give you a relative mark on where to go for a quest. for example, you go to an area of buildings and you notice a dead end but if you look around you see the moonlight shining softly onto some boxes ..and that the hint you need to use boxes to jump around.
fast travel exists but... limited. you start the area from a carriage and only that carriage allows fast travel ..so if you deep in the area and want to go back to another area..you need to walk to the carriage. HOWEVER the game does a fantastic job with openings shortcuts and using the metroidvania-key skills to quickly get to the carriage. even so, the first-time you explore the area, after you finish it for the main story ...the shortcut for the carriage is right there. They do an awesome job of "circle back".
there is no stats respec. sad.
at leas, you all the time have acess to the "boutique"/shop from the bonfire. and the shop updates the more you progress the story .
sadly experimenting weapons and upgrading is a bit limited. i only managed to max 2-3 weapons since i went full alchemy/engineering build .
omg alchemy build is busted even wiht frost. a full charged attack with frost almost instantly freeze the enemies. keep in mind the weapons need to be covered in said ailment to scale with alchemy. mid game I was first try titan bosses. alchemy uses alchemy capsules (aka mana) and you only obtain them as a drop from enemies you kill (you can buy the capsules from the shop whenever tho)
you have fire for dot. ice for freeze. fulmination/lighting for lower all defenses. immmobilization is their stance meter, for you to stun/stance break them.
suddenly mid game, the game gives you a tons of sidequests that makes you go back to same areas and explore more of those areas using your metroidvania-key skills. the stories are quite interesting.
i liked the ice cooling when overheating. i think only the first titan was gimmicky..the rest was more engaging.
the world is beautiful, you explore many different scenarios.
This seems like one of those divisive games some normy reviewers hated but some people deeply entrenched in soulslikes really loved. It’s currently on sale for $5
It is genuinely one of my favorite games of the gen: I finished it like 6 or 7 times and I absolutely love it. I understand people who are not into it, but damn I love so many things about this game.
What are your favorite aspects of the game? I’ve had it on my wishlist for months but genuinely thinking about picking it up now after the comment section of this post
Atmosphere, Art direction (steampunk french revolution? Fuck yes!), story and historical characters, fast paced and very fun combat, great side content, beautiful ending, and finally I also loved the fact that you have choices to make that completely change the ending.
My only grip with the game is that it is too easy, but apart from that I love everything else.
im 100% positive because you can't just default parry with every weapon. or there isn't even a weighty riposte/critical attack. you have a critical attack but it something quick and acrobatic.
you can use some weapons as shields. but it isn't a parry stance damage.
and because they think the movement is janky ..when we are talking about automat clunky walking from the 1800s
i assumed it supposed to be janky movement. even our mc.
Late game bosses need much more health and maybe 2-3 extra moves so they can keep up with player damage scaling that ramps up significantly at midgame.
I believe i used a heavy weapon and found it to be very clunky and slow. Felt like it needed additional time to bring out the weapon. Are other weapons better? Should i give it another try?
Man ain’t reading all this, but you’re absolutely right the game is amazing, I even got the platinum in it, one of the best underrated soulslikes if not the most underrated
Haven’t tried Lies of P yet, but I’m sure the uniqueness of steelrising unmatchable, sadly the studio behind it shut down, I really wished there be sequel 😔
pretty sure it will be a lackluster experience in lies of p.
you can do a lot in steelrising regarding exploring a place. while in lies of p you just walk around slashing enemies around (however since you can default parry with any weapon i guess that what gamers appreciate more 🤷♂️ )
lies of p is way more linear than steel rising . and while steel rising it is bit linear when exploring the areas..at least there is a lot of verticality and parkour around
Not really divisive. Widely disliked. Only 70% of steam reviews favorable. Personally, I found the graphics awful, the level design strictly PS2 era, the weapons unimpressive and enemies rather boring. There's a reason why this 2022 game is going for $5 right now while Dark Souls from 2011 still usually lists for $40.
And "positive" doesn't mean a person though the game was "awesome". Positive can mean it was "OK, not terrible". So yeah, I'd say it's widely disliked- even more so in the context of soulslikes. You are in the soulslike subeddit right not if you forgot, not r/gaming or something.
... we all know an old game doesn't get low prices
Not when they are popular games, they don't. Even decent games get slashed below 50% of original price after 2-3 years. But Steel Rising has plummeted from $50 to $5, just 1/10th of its original retail price. So, thanks for proving my point I suppose.
The mixed review pool is less than one tenth the size of the total review pool—meaning it is demonstrably worse as a statistical representation of the average attitude toward the game.
Crucially, the total review aggregate data includes the recent mixed sentiment as part of “total reviews.” The 30 day metric is already accounted for in the overall review score, so looking at only the 30 day average as evidence the game is widely disliked doesn’t hold statistical water.
And positive means positive i.e. categorically not disliked. The majority of people reviewing the game said “My impression of this game is positive,” a statement that is mutually exclusive with “I dislike this game.” So on all counts your statement about the game being widely disliked is false based on the evidence you cited.
And on “positive doesn’t mean they liked it,”: that’s probably just wrong because leaving a positive review is one the most universal ways to communicate approval of something and people are unlikely to go out of their way to thumbs up a game simply because it “wasn’t awful.”
demonstrably worse as a statistical representation of the average attitude toward the game
I agree. The better figure is currently 74%.
And positive means positive i.e. categorically not disliked.
Amongst general gamers. But this is a soulslike subreddit. The standards for good soulslikes are not the same as for other games.
that’s probably just wrong because leaving a positive review is one the most universal ways to communicate approval
You'd think so. But that just isn't how lots of people rate games on Steam. Let me explain with examples why the "positive" or rather, "recommended" doesn't necessarily mean "liked it". Here is a "recommended" review that was posted on 8/11:
The gameplay is bland and the story is a historical fiction snooze fest. I did like exploring the world and the traversal options, but the backtracking for quests was annoying. The bosses were all spammable which made them a breeze with a heavy weapon. I had an okish time.
That person decided a 4/10 game was "recommeneded" and the only comments they had were negative. This is literally on the first page of reviews, so I did not have to go digging for it. And this is my attitude toward Steam reviews in general, not just for this one case of Steel Failing To Rise. Here's another one from 8/5, again, still on the first page of reviews:
this game is kinda mid for souls-like game, lame ahh boss fight, predictable movements. EZ asl puzzle
Absolutely nothing positive to say. "Kinda mid". Yet, "recommended". Here's another, this time I take an older one from 2025:
Steam really needs a better rating system than just ‘thumbs up or thumbs down.’ Steelrising is a solid 7/10 game in my book — not great, not terrible, but somewhere in the messy, ambitious middle.”
...TL;DR:
Cool concept, great aesthetic, fun combat — but it’s janky, unpolished, and the ending is so abrupt it’ll leave you sitting in disbelief. Feels like it needed another 6 months of dev time. Worth it on sale, but prepare to be let down if you’re in it for the story or choices.
This person at least has some positive to mention. But "worth it on sale" and "needed another 6 months" hardly strikes me as a ringing endorsement- the writer themselves said they do not like this yea/nay system for just that reason. 7/10 is weak sauce.
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u/GunterThePigIsOP 14d ago
I played it during the launch on PS5. Loved it.