Steam Marines

Steam Marines is a squad-based tactical roguelike set aboard a steampunk spaceship under siege by robots and aliens. Players command a team of marines with unique classes, navigating procedurally generated levels in turn-based combat. The game offers a challenging experience with permadeath, requiring careful tactical positioning and resource management. While the core mechanics have potential, many players found the game repetitive and lacking depth, with limited progression and unbalanced difficulty spikes. The interface and controls are often described as clunky and unintuitive, and the AI turns can be slow, leading to pacing issues. Additionally, bugs and technical issues, including crashes and map design problems, detract from the experience. Despite these drawbacks, some players appreciate the game's difficulty, tactical challenge, and nostalgic pixel-art style. The developer was active during early access but appears to have ceased updates, leaving the game feeling unfinished and overpriced for its current state.

Highlights

Players praise the tactical squad-based gameplay reminiscent of classic titles like XCOM and Space Hulk, appreciating the turn-based combat and permadeath that heightens tension. The variety of marine classes and the need for strategic positioning add depth. The procedurally generated levels provide replayability, and the pixel-art steampunk aesthetic evokes nostalgia. Fans of challenging roguelikes find the brutal difficulty rewarding, and some highlight the game's intense atmosphere and strategic decision-making. The developer's early engagement with the community during development was also noted positively.

Criticisms

Common criticisms include the game's repetitiveness and lack of meaningful progression, with limited skill trees and underwhelming loot. Difficulty spikes are often too harsh and unbalanced, especially between Easy and Normal modes. The user interface is frequently described as clunky, unintuitive, and hard to navigate, with poor visual clarity causing confusion. Technical issues such as bugs, crashes, long AI turn delays, and problematic map generation (including rooms without doors) frustrate players. The game feels unfinished, with missing features, poor balancing, and a lack of polish. Many reviewers consider the price too high given the game's state and recommend waiting for a sale or avoiding it altogether.