Steel Hunters Feels Like the Transformers Game We’ve Been Waiting For
Roll out.
For over a decade, the developer Wargaming has found tremendous success in creating realistic vehicular combat games like World of Tanks. Steel Hunters might feel like a sci-fi deviation from that foundation, but after going hands-on, it’s clear the game is built on the same principles of tactical combat — and it’s a blast.
There’s been a surprising wealth of mech games over the last year, like Mecha Break, but Steel Hunters manages to stand out from the pack by feeling rooted in reality, despite the 10-ton machines you’re controlling. But while you might look at Steel Hunters and say “That mech game looks neat,” its developers are quick to clarify that they don’t see it as a mecha game, even though it started as one.
“We wanted to step aside from the vehicle shooter, and add more empathy to the characters. One of the reasons we started as a mecha game prototype was because you had a pilot, or driver sitting inside,” creative director Sergey Titarenko tells Inverse. “And gradually we took decisions to walk away from this into more sci-fi territory where we could add more story to our characters. Our team’s decision was to turn away from this [mecha] and create a game that’s much closer to the Transformers universe.”
Steel Hunters’ giant metal titans are inhabited by human souls, and Titarenko says this setup allowed them to work more creatively on building each character, including “their relationship with the world and gameplay that connects to their human past.” While this might feel like splitting hairs, it’s an apt note, as Steel Hunters instantly reminded me of some of the classic Transformers games — specifically Fall of Cybertron.
The caveat, of course, is that the characters of Steel Hunters don’t transform, but there’s a real sense of weight and intentionality behind every move you make. You can feel the ground shake as you walk, and a great destruction system makes these characters feel like giant wrecking balls. There’s a tactile feel to everything that translates over to the core gameplay.
Steel Hunters' main (and currently only) mode is a blend of battle royale and extraction shooter. Six teams of two players are dropped onto a giant map and compete for objectives to gain valuable resources and powerful weapons. These timed matches end when an extraction point appears, and all remaining teams must rush to the point to try to capture it. Whoever can hold it for 60 seconds extracts and wins the game, but you aren’t just competing against enemy teams, as each map is littered with drones and other threats.
Battles with other teams are nail-biting affairs where every move counts.
There are also hero shooter elements, as each distinct character has strengths, weaknesses, and a specific set of skills. Razorside is a human-like robot with strong ranged skills and a focus on soaking up damage with rechargeable shields. My favorite character is the quadruped Fenris, which feels like it comes from another legendary mech series — Zoids. Fenris is all about speed, and has a skill that lets it teleport to flank enemies or get better positioning. Even though you’re playing the same game, these two characters give you drastically different experiences.
To win, you have to strategize with your partner and choose which parts of the map to try and conquer. Random events will constantly pop up during matches, like a strong drone appearing that, when taken out, gives you a powerful weapon. Do you risk running into other teams to take the objective, or skip it while everyone else fights for the prize? These broader-level strategic decisions are then supported by the minute-to-minute gameplay, where every move counts.
Wargaming’s experience on titles like World of Tanks is clearly visible in Steel Hunters, as everything about the combat has a sense of intentionality. If you make a wrong move, it might spell your doom. And to the development team, that’s what sets Steel Hunters apart.
“The market [for shooters] is very tough and competition is fierce, but we have a strong understanding of where we are growing and capitalizing on with Wargaming, the type of experience — moderately-based tactical shooters,” says publishing director Dan Tanasescu. “There’s not a lot of products utilizing this approach, it comes with understanding your player character, capabilities, enemies, and using the environment properly. Just simply positioning yourself in the environment is an essential part of the game loop.”
Every character in Steel Hunters offers unique dimensions.
This sense of positioning and knowing the tactical flow of battle has been essential to games like World of Tanks and World of Warships, but Steel Hunters provides some extra flavor with its dynamic characters. The development team hopes these characters, and the story they’re wrapped up in, will produce emotional attachments from players.
Going hands-on with Steel Hunters certainly gave me a sense of familiarity. You know the kind of game it is and how it plays, but the experience also does enough differently to make it feel fresh. Its weight and intentionality stand out, and considering we still can’t get a good multiplayer Transformers game, it feels like Steel Hunters scratches an itch.
Wargaming is taking its time with Steel Hunters. The development team is taking liberal feedback from early playtests, and like most of Wargaming’s offerings, it will be free-to-play when it launches later this year. The biggest question now is whether those interesting gameplay systems can remain interesting for dozens upon dozens of hours, and if the game can grow in meaningful ways after launch.
The team has plans for at least two and a half years of support, but their hopes are much higher than that. Considering World of Tanks is still going strong in its 15th year, Steel Hunters could hang around a while if it sticks the landing.
“We want Steel Hunters to last ten-plus years, but throughout its lifetime the game will change so much,” Titarenko says. “We cannot really think even in five years' time, but we definitely have a lot of content planned for players.”
