‘SteamDolls – Order of Chaos’ Pairs Top-Tier Voice Acting With Indie Bones for an Enjoyable Time (Hands-on Impressions)

Steampunk vibes and stealthy gameplay make SteamDolls – Order of Chaos an interesting combination. A Metroidvania that rewards stealth, rather than smashing enemies with your plasma weapons? I’m intrigued enough. Add the vocal talents of Metal Gear Solid, and you’ve got my attention. While SteamDolls is in Early Access, the bones are solid and the meat is good, but it does need a little more time in the oven before it’s ready to serve. If you can handle some jank, you’ll find that SteamDolls – Order of Chaos has a lot to offer.

‘steamDolls – Order of Chaos’ kept us Waiting, huh?

SteamDolls puts a lot of eggs in the proverbial basket when it comes to its aesthetic, and for good reason. It’s a gorgeous game, featuring great environments and plenty of exploration. No matter where I found myself, I would typically take a few moments to soak in my surroundings. It’s gritty, yet hauntingly beautiful. 2D cutscenes pepper this adventure with just enough spice to keep things more than interesting while not wearing out their welcome.

The gameplay is 2D, with a combination of 3D models and 2D sprites littering the world. At the start of the game, a brief warning did come up. It let me know SteamDolls was a work in progress, and to ignore animation bugs. As a game coming into extremely Early Access, SteamDolls didn’t have many issues on that front. Some parts of the game feel slightly stiff, but as development continues, it seems like these issues won’t last. But where it stands, it’s impressive at best, and slightly distracting at worst.

What makes SteamDolls stand out in a crowded genre, however, is the hacking mechanics. At the press of a button, the world would shift, allowing me to see into the more intricate details. It didn’t matter if I just needed to find the proper switches to hit to get power flowing once again, or if I needed to see what caused the aftermath of a double murder. I could quickly peer into the past, or the present, and get that additional bit of lore and world-building.

Fun Stealth and Combat Make Encounters More Exciting Than Most

When I first jumped into the world of SteamDolls, it gave me The Whisper at his best. I was ripping through enemies without any hesitation. Inflicting pain, suffering, and chaos wherever I went. That was all quickly stripped away from me, however, at the hands of Gabriel. He informed me that rather than starting at the end, we needed to start at the beginning. That’s where the Stealth truly trumps the standard action, and why it’s better to stick to the shadows during the early game.

While The Whisper is great in combat, he’s slightly weak at the start. The Whisper feels like you’re trying to rip through a blanket using a wet noodle. Unless you stick to the shadows and use stealth to your advantage, that is. That’s where he truly shines until I could unlock further upgrades to make him more powerful. But even after that point, stealth felt very natural. You could even say that The Whisper feels a little bit like a snake in that regard. Jokes aside, combat is fairly simple in SteamDolls, consisting primarily of hitting the attack button until an opponent meets defeat. However, they’re not afraid to fight right back, so utilization of the dodge button is going to be important here.

The worlds that I got to explore, however, were the highlight. Everything pops off the screen in the most explosive ways possible. It’s a very pretty game, even when it’s at its darkest and dirtiest. But the exploration and puzzles here are easy to handle, not feeling overbearing at any point in time. It was a breeze to make my way through these levels, except for when I got caught and needed to fight my way out of the predicament.

‘Steamdolls’ Is a Work in Progress, and It’s Both Seen and Felt

While I am enjoying my time with SteamDolls, I’m eager to see what it will be able to do with more development time. As the game is releasing in Early Access, it’s taking full advantage of that particular labeling. There are some parts of SteamDolls that currently feel unfinished, such as the animation issues listed above. However, since the title does warn players of this, it should be expected if you’re hoping to jump in.

Beyond the small gripes I’ve had with the game so far, it feels incredibly solid to play. It’s a joy to look at, sounds wonderful, and all of the voice acting so far has been top-notch. It’s a great new Metroidvania addition and one that could work well for players who are slightly unfamiliar with the genre.

No matter if you want to see some old friends reconnect through the power of voice acting, or you’re looking for a gorgeous new game to lose yourself in, SteamDolls has the potential to become the next big thing. There’s still plenty of work ahead, but it’s solid already and only can get better from here.

Verdict: Recommended

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SteamDolls – Order of Chaos is available now in Early Access on Steam. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.