The Future Of The SteamWorld Universe

The SteamWorld games have dipped their toe in more genres than any other series that comes to mind. They’ve tried their hand at everything from tower defense to Metroidvanias. With last week’s release of SteamWorld Quest they’ve added tactical card games to their collection. It really seems like developer Image & Form is one cart racer away from winning a Guinness world record. So, in hopes to finally get them showcased in those literary forms of deforestation called books, I wanted to delve into which genres might be awesome in the SteamWorld universe.

Monster Tamer (Robo Tamer)

Ever since the release of Medabots on Fox Kids in 2001 I’ve wanted a robot to command and fight alongside. Alas, my hopes and dreams have yet to come true on this front. Of course, many a monster tamer have featured robotic companions such as the Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth series of games. But they don’t quite scratch that robattle itch. I believe that Image & Form could create an amazing robo tamer focusing on an all-new robotic collection of creatures. Instead of using the standard power up and evolution model they could implement an extensive gear system to beef up your robot companions. Sadly a robo tamer couldn’t possibly take place in the main SteamWorld series, largely due to the need for a player character of a different species. But a boy can dream can’t he.    

Narrative Adventure

The SteamWorld series is renown for its storytelling and personality. These are especially apparent in SteamWorld Quest and SteamWorld Heist. It’s because of those great stories that I think a narrative adventure game would be an awesome addition to the SteamWorld universe. I would love to see a goofy noir detective tracking down oil thieves or something of that nature. Their 2D hand-drawn aesthetic would lend perfectly to a narrative adventure game, if not a visual novel. Yet I doubt we’ll be seeing the spiritual successor to Danganronpa come from Image & Form any time soon.      

Kart Racer

If I’m being honest I initially thought of this as a joke, but when I really got to thinking about it I began to love the idea. A SteamWorld kart racer could be incredible, in my opinion. Each of the racers could be characters known from previous games with their own personalized karts. All of the power-ups and boots would be tailored to the SteamWorld universe, such as literal oil slick, powder kegs instead of banana peels, and customizable karts. It’s about time someone created the next great kart racer that isn’t a remaster or a new entry in a seemingly never-ending series. Of course, a major hurdle for the team would be integrating the 2D character sprites and world into a fully 3D setting. But at this point, I don’t think there’s anything this team can’t accomplish. They did get the world interested in card games again, after all.

3D Action Platformer

This is the most likely genre on this list to be featured in the next SteamWorld game due to their resurgence in the last few years and the team’s pedigree with platformers. It would no doubt be easier for the team at Image & Form to create a simple 3D platformer where you collect orbs or something of the sort. But that’s completely unimaginative as the SteamWorld series has always had some sort of combat involved. I personally would love to see something similar to Double Fine’s Psychonauts (one of my favorite games of all time).

Sadly, Image & Form will most likely delve into one the genres they’ve already tried their hand at. This could mean a possible sequel to SteamWorld Heist or a new Metroidvania series similar to SteamWorld Dig. But wild speculation is always fun and as the old saying goes “you always get what you ask for,” or at least I think it’s something along those lines. So here’s hoping we’ll see a SteamWorld Robattle announcement sometime soon.