Long Steel

[b]My Playtime:[/b] 86h (100% achievement, finished the game) [b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] No. [b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (~1 achievement). [b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No. [h1]Intro[/h1] [b]Long Steel[/b] is an action-adventure game with a lot of content and unique bosses. Bosses are not as straightforward and require you a specific way to beat, giving a challenge to first-timers. [b]Pros:[/b] - Unique bosses that require trial and error to figure out - A lot of hidden places to find - Some areas require you to use your newly found items in a way that you won't think of before [b]Cons:[/b] - Bugs and random crashes - Bullets sometimes blend with the background - Some colors can be too bright for the eyes [b]Specs[/b] Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 [h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1] [b]Not now.[/b] [i]The random crashes are happening too often and can make you lose a lot of progress. I suggest to get it only after they are fixed.[/i] [hr][/hr] [h1]In-Depth Review[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] [b]Long Steel[/b] uses top-down, pixelated visuals. I like how varied and color-coded everything is, although sadly, sometimes the color was too monotonous. A dungeon will have a lot of the same colors, which makes it hard to differentiate between bullets, objects, and backgrounds, while some colors can be too bright for the eye. If not for that, the visuals would be perfect. [h3]Story[/h3] There is some effort put into the story. The lore is extensive, although the game doesn't try to overwhelm you with it. The story only puts enough lore needed to progress the plot, while the additional lore can be read from other sources. This makes the story to be lightweight, which is perfect for a game of this genre. [h3]The Game[/h3] [b]Gameplay[/b] [b]Long Steel[/b] is a top-down, action-adventure game similar to [b]The Legend of Zelda[/b], although health increase is done through level-up instead of heart containers. This makes exploration to be not rewarding most of the time since they usually give you coins that you hardly need. That being said, a lot of hidden areas are available to explore, and although most only give coins, others will still give you some unique, rewarding items that are helpful for your journey. I liked how the exploration works. You will get new items and/or spells once you finish a dungeon, which can be used to unlock new areas. Although some are obvious, others are not so much. It's been a while since I had those aha moments from playing these kinds of games, which probably happened because either I already got used to it or the game dumbed it down to make it too obvious. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3186083006 However, despite the large world map, progression is straightforward. You won't be able to access an area unless you finish a certain dungeon first, and you will be forced to return to that area after you progress with the story if you explore it beforehand. Luckily, warp points are spread across the map to make travel easier. You need to get used to the game to enjoy it, though. The controls weren't comfortable at first; the roll button is assigned the same button as the interact button and you'll bump into a wall if you press it too fast since that's what rolling into a wall does to you. And no, you can't separate these buttons despite the keybinding option. Moreover, the game is not a cakewalk. Some areas require you to walk through a straight narrow path that can kill you even with the slightest misstep, both enemies and obstacles can drain your HP quickly, even if you focus on health upgrades, and it takes time to figure out how to beat the new enemies that you found. You won't have any fun with it at first, although as you level up more and have better upgrades, you'll enjoy it better. [b]Enemies[/b] Despite their attack variations, most of them can be killed the same way. Boomerang is too overpowered; you can use it to stun the enemy and kill them like nothing happened. Not that I want it to be gone, though. Some enemies tend to be a bulkier version of the existing ones, and it can be dangerous to beat them normally. However, I would appreciate it if the enemies were more varied instead of being bulky. The bosses, on the other hand, are superb. They can only be beaten in a certain way, forcing you to hit it with all of your items to see the one that works. Moreover, it's not always the newest item that you need to beat them either; you might need items that you got in the first few dungeons to damage it. You need to learn their attack pattern and figure out when they are vulnerable. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3186082712 However, bosses sometimes rely too much on RNG. Although I don't mind that they have randomized attack patterns, some of them are just unavoidable. There is no guaranteed chance to beat the boss without taking damage - you need to be lucky with the RNG for that. Moreover, some attacks just spawn without warning, making it hard to dodge if you don't react fast enough. Some bosses also spawn a lot of bullets, making some fights look more like a toned-down bullet hell game with a keyboard/controller instead of a mouse. [b]Length and Difficulty[/b] I finished the game in 60.4h. The rest of my playtime was spent finishing the postgame content and checking out other content that I missed. Yes, [b]Long Steel[/b] has so much content. It has 9 main dungeons with several smaller, optional ones. There are side quests that you can finish to get more content, secret areas to discover, and mini-games to play. Sure, you can finish it faster by rushing through the content - in fact, I took my time to explore everything - but you'll miss a lot. However, the game wasn't with its downsides either. Some areas can be imbalanced, having enemies that can kill you quickly without you realizing what is going on. Hearts can be hard to find in jars inside the dungeon, forcing you to go back and forth just to get your health to the max. And most importantly, the random crashes will eat your playtime. The game doesn't save your location in a dungeon, and since checkpoints are rare, you will be forced to redo most of the dungeon when that happens. It can be unnerving to some people, especially if the dungeon takes a long time to finish. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3186078916 Some bosses and content might be hard for some people, especially if they don't know where to upgrade their gear, but they can always grind to get enough consumables and spam them throughout the dungeon. It will make the game to be grindy, though, as you need to replenish them from time to time. [b]Issues[/b] The game needs a lot of [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/2219050/discussions/0/7340374196894459099/?ctp=2#c7735567784588481070]QoL fixes[/url], although the developer seems to respond and fix them quickly. They said that the fix for most bugs will be pushed out soon with the others (including the random crashes) being worked on. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] [b]Long Steel[/b] was fun. It has a lot of content and unique bosses. I especially enjoyed the latter; although it can be frustrating to figure out how to beat them at first, it gives some sort of satisfaction once you nail how to do it. Some spells are not utilized as often as the rest, though - I wish they all had an equal chance to shine. Exploration might not be satisfying due to the lack of rewards, but some, especially the ones with extra dungeons, are just as fun as the main content. However, all of these are hindered by the random crashes, which happen often, and some areas that can hurt your eyes. [quote]This game was reviewed with a key provided by the developer for free through Curator Connect.[/quote] [quote]Follow our curator page: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.