The SteamWorld series moves to 3D with SteamWorld Headhunter
A brief teaser showcased the head-flipping art style.
Thunderful Games premiered details of the newest entry in the critically acclaimed SteamWorld series, SteamWorld Headhunter, at its Thunderful World event, accompanied with a teaser trailer showcasing how the SteamWorld art style translates to the third dimension.
Billed as a third-person cooperative adventure, SteamWorld Headhunter’s premiere is light on details, but does hint at the gameplay’s direction in the trailer. The short video depicts two robots having a showdown at high noon. When one robot shoots the other and they go to check the body, the head is missing. The final shot is of that same head on four spider-like leg appendages leaping towards the other robot, suggesting that head swapping or hijacking bodies might be a mechanic in the final game.
The SteamWorld series of games are known for reinvention, going from the search action trappings of SteamWorld Dig to the 2D XCOM gameplay of SteamWorld Heist. The series even tried card battling with SteamWorld Quest. But all those games were firmly rooted in 2D, while Headhunter is a 3D affair. It will be interesting to see how Thunderful Games is going to make the vibe and tone of the SteamWorld series gel in the third dimension, but if the trailer is anything to go by, the series is in good hands.
Until now, Image and Form was the developer of the series, but Thunderful itself is billed as the dev for Headhunter. It’s unclear if the former will have any of its fingers in the game’s development, especially given how it was incorporated into Thunderful Games proper. We do know that the Image and Form name is still being used in promotional materials for The Gunk, its first major game away from the SteamWorld universe. Time will tell if Headhunter keeps up the quality the SteamWorld name is generally known for.