SteamWorld Heist 2’s new job system brings a whole scrapheap of customisation to the charming 2D XCOM-a-like

The original SteamWorld Heist was an absolute treat, slamming the charming robotic world of the SteamWorld series together with a 2D take on the turn-based strategy of your XCOMs and Valkyria Chronicles and such. With SteamWorld Heist 2 recently revealed for an August release on PC, developers Thunderful have teased some more details on the sequel’s shiny new job system.

The job system adds a Final Fantasy XIV-like job-switching element to assembling your crew of robotic pirates, letting you assign them various different classes that specialise in all the things you’d expect. There’s the sharper accuracy of Snipers to play with, melee-happy tanks in hammer-swinging Brawlers, your buffing and debuffing Engineers and your explosive-blasting Boomers, among others.

Each character can freely hop between job as they like, with each class tied to a particular weapon – giving your android crewmember a shotgun will designate them as a Flanker with the ability to use extra movement to their advantage, for instance, while making them a Reaper will balance the ability to shoot again if you scrap an enemy with their inherent bloodlust, which might see them left exposed as the red coolant mist descends.

Each class will have its own abilities to unlock as you progress, but several of those effects will then be able to carry between classes, opening up the chance to combine the laser-pointed aiming of a Sniper with the nimble-footed speed of a Flanker and the tougher armour of a Brawler, say. As such, any progress you make in a class will also remain there if you decide to switch back later on.

The rest of the latest gameplay dive gives a quick look at some of the enemies you’ll be lining up in your sights and ricocheting bullets off walls to turn into scrap. I’m especially fond of the Rattlers, a bunch of skeletal-looking baddies who are actually robots who’ve swapped their mechanical parts out for bone.

SteamWorld Heist was a blast, and it’s been too long since it came out way back in 2016. A sequel is very welcome, and this new job system sounds like a smart addition to an already winning formula. We’ll get to check it out in full on August 8th.