SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech

 Switch
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 82 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 82
  3. Negative: 10 out of 82
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  1. blawren4
    Jun 17, 2019
    7
    This was a good game. The battle system was cool and nuanced with MANY upgrades and ways to build out your deck. Fights can be challenging and force you to adjust your strategy, and losing fights doesn't hurt as the save nodes are generous, and getting back to that spot just makes you stronger by gaining xp. Replays might be fun to go about it in different ways. The dialogue, whileThis was a good game. The battle system was cool and nuanced with MANY upgrades and ways to build out your deck. Fights can be challenging and force you to adjust your strategy, and losing fights doesn't hurt as the save nodes are generous, and getting back to that spot just makes you stronger by gaining xp. Replays might be fun to go about it in different ways. The dialogue, while funny and cute at first, started to get old and I found myself skipping most of it later in the story, just to get to battles, which was the best part.… Expand
  2. nusco
    May 27, 2019
    6
    Image & Form have always been at their best when they mix ingredients from wildly different gaming genres, settings and mechanics. From the "metroidvania spaghetti western with robots" of SteamWorld Dig 2 to the "robot space pirates in turn-based tactical combat" of SteamWorld Heist, this team thinks out of the box, and gave us a few great games in the process. SW Quest, however, might beImage & Form have always been at their best when they mix ingredients from wildly different gaming genres, settings and mechanics. From the "metroidvania spaghetti western with robots" of SteamWorld Dig 2 to the "robot space pirates in turn-based tactical combat" of SteamWorld Heist, this team thinks out of the box, and gave us a few great games in the process. SW Quest, however, might be the point where they push that formula too far. It's not quite a shark jump, but it is a bit of a disappointment.

    The problems of Quest begin with its setting and artwork. OK, this time it's "robots in a fantasy world"–but that theme doesn't work nearly as well as the previous ones. To hammer this square peg in the round hole of the SteamWorld universe, the story frames the entire game as a bedtime story told by Gabriel (one of Heist's protagonists) to his kid–a pretty artificial and tired device. The story is also overwritten and annoying. Where Heist's characters managed to elicit affection with a few rare lines of optional dialogue, Quest tries to hammer home its protagonists with lengthy conversations and a story that piles up one cliched trope after the other. The characters could have spiced the recipe, but they don't. While the robots in earlier SteamWorld games oozed charme, the ones in Quest are cute at best, and frankly ugly at worst. (Also: I love the mashup of themes, but "robot japanese warrior mystical fantasy hero" is starting to feel like you're ignoring the theme and mashing up random stuff.)

    The core talent of Image & Form are their game mechanics, that usually borrow from different sources to produce a fresh and perfectly balanced mix. SW Quest is a bit of a disappointment in that respect, too. A mix between a card game and an RPG sounds like a great idea–and in the best moments of the game, it is. You have multiple characters, each with its own deck of cards. Configuring your team and building your decks is pretty pleasant, and it feels good to play a sequence of cards that work well together. (Like: Character 1 casts a poison spell on Character 2's sword; Character 2 hits and poisons enemy; Character one casts an "Infection" spell that spreads the "poisoned" state to the other enemies). Those spikes of adrenaline are a highlight, but most fights end up being pretty boring.

    Here is what I think is the main problem with the game mechanics: you don't know exactly what kind of enemies you'll face until you start fighting. At that point, you cannot reconfigure your team and decks. That's probably a way to keep you on your toes, but it ends up feeling like you're at mercy of randomness. Sometimes, you can spot one or two of the enemies before you fight them, and sometimes you can't. Once you get into a fight, you can find yourself in a number of remarkably unfunny situations, like a fight that drags on for fifteen minutes in a pointless tug-of-war of damage and healing, or a battle that could be stupidly easy with the right team of characters and instead ends up being artificially hard, just because you don't happen to have the right team or cards.

    Those quagmireish fights are painful because you can't even backtrace easily. In theory, you could abandon the fight, take a round of pummeling, and come back with different characters or decks–but the important fights prevent you from doing that. The other option is quitting the game, that sends you back to the previous checkpoint–and the checkpoints are very unevenly spaced. At one point, I went through four or five long and pretty boring fights, only to suddenly stumble upon a boss that was immune to all the attacks that I had in my decks. After suffering through a few pointless rounds, I had to quit, start over from the previous checkpoint, and go through all those unremarkable fights again. Moments like those made me wish that the game would be over soon.

    I realize that I've been quite critical of this game. However, all that being said, I still finished SW Quest, and I didn't drop it until I'd beaten it. There is something addictive in it, which makes me think that the folks at Image & Form haven't lost their touch after all. It's hard to tell whether they've become complacent, or whether Quest is just a bump in the career of these gaming autheurs–like the lackluster album from your favourite band that you never listen to, except for that one good song. We can still hope that the next game from Image & Form will be another great one like Dig, or even another masterpiece like Heist.    … Expand
  3. Sillence
    May 18, 2019
    7
    A decent way to pass the time, but inevitably a bit disappointing. With few card choices and fewer characters, the strategic options are limited, but even as such, you’ll likely find a groove and just run with it throughout the game with the rare exception here and there of elemental immunities against your primary damage dealer. Even then, you can usually push past without much thinking.A decent way to pass the time, but inevitably a bit disappointing. With few card choices and fewer characters, the strategic options are limited, but even as such, you’ll likely find a groove and just run with it throughout the game with the rare exception here and there of elemental immunities against your primary damage dealer. Even then, you can usually push past without much thinking. This is on “hard mode” mind you. Among characters the balance seemed off, though perhaps intentionally so, with the mage easily dealing far more damage than any other character was capable of, and the other characters usually supporting. This made it both interesting and boring at the same time, for those who apply logic they will find a very good triad and build upon it. The maps were kind of lame, and I didn’t care about the story at all.

    With that said, it was enjoyable, and I did finish it, so clearly it was fun enough to play through, but it’s a more passive experience than I would have hoped for. Great for kids I’d reckon.    … Expand
  4. dugan
    Jun 4, 2019
    10
    If you like image and form's steamworld games, and you like RPGs, then this game is for you. The writing and game design is excellent. The RPG mechanics are well done. It is not overly complicated as some JRPGs can be, and that is a good thing. There is enough upgrade and tactics to make this very engaging experience.

    I was tentative playing at first, by halfway through I was hooked    If you like image and form's steamworld games, and you like RPGs, then this game is for you. The writing and game design is excellent. The RPG mechanics are well done. It is not overly complicated as some JRPGs can be, and that is a good thing. There is enough upgrade and tactics to make this very engaging experience.

    I was tentative playing at first, by halfway through I was hooked to the story and game play, and then at the end I was so happy to experience this great game. I highly recommend this game!    … Expand
  5. Welkinz
    Aug 31, 2019
    8
    It is fun when playing the first time, as you can try different combos, but I feel it doesn't have much "replayability"
  6. cyklopPL
    Jun 16, 2020
    7
    I really enjoyed this game.
    It is very easily accessible when it comes to card game mechanics (for example when compared to the Witcher Gwint card game), the rules are simple yet at the same time gameplay is very enjoyable.
    BUT, it is best played in small time portions. There is not that many cards to build custom deck (once you unlock some powerful ones you tend to stick with them    I really enjoyed this game.
    It is very easily accessible when it comes to card game mechanics (for example when compared to the Witcher Gwint card game), the rules are simple yet at the same time gameplay is very enjoyable.

    BUT, it is best played in small time portions. There is not that many cards to build custom deck (once you unlock some powerful ones you tend to stick with them through many chapters) and as mentioned the gameplay rules are quite straightforward, thus the game is perfect for short sessions. After 1h of continuous play it starts to get boring.

    There is a New Game + mode (which is a plus), but the limited number of cards to unlock do not make it appealing to re-play the game. You will probably stick with most of the end-game deck, maybe upgrading some cards. Still - it's nice that new game+ is here.

    So overall 7/10. Perfectly enjoyable in small 30min subway rides, but would bore to death on a 10h non-stop flight if it was the only game I had.

    While on sale - I would definitely recommend to pick it up,    … Expand
  7. TurboK
    Apr 30, 2019
    10
    Steam World Quest is an amazing mix of Baten Kaitos, Paper Mario and Slay the Spire with a big dash of Image & Form special sauce in it. If you are a fan of RPGs or card games try this game out, very hard to put down.
  8. Rtheom
    Apr 27, 2019
    7
    This is a card-based RPG that is mostly just meh. It's fine enough, but this format has been done before and done better, so it's not worth picking up for the mechanics alone. The combat is a bit repetitive and you find yourself mostly just trying to pull the same 3 combos as many times as possible.

    My biggest problem with the game though is the fact that it doesn't seem to have any    This is a card-based RPG that is mostly just meh. It's fine enough, but this format has been done before and done better, so it's not worth picking up for the mechanics alone. The combat is a bit repetitive and you find yourself mostly just trying to pull the same 3 combos as many times as possible.

    My biggest problem with the game though is the fact that it doesn't seem to have any connection to SteamWorld beyond the art style. The characters keep making references to being "hungry" or having "flesh wounds that heal" and you get "trashium" and other gem types from the dig games as crafting materials, but you never actually see them in the world or anything like that; they're mostly just a line of text. It feels like Image and Form made a mediocre RPG, knew it was mediocre, and so changed the art last minute to make it "SteamWorld" to try and grab a few extra sales off of that.

    This will be worth picking up once it goes on sale to $15, but you're fine until then. It is worth playing in the end, but it's not creative or unique enough to warrant a day-one purchase, even for SteamWorld fans.    … Expand
  9. GamerGuysNGals
    May 3, 2019
    8
    Steamworld Quest, Hand of Gilgamech is a steampunk, RPG, card fighting game. It follows the journey of an adventurer by the name of Armilly, who wishes to join the local Hero Guild. Shes inexperienced with low quality armor so no one actually takes her seriously at first. But after the Hero Guild is attacked and the village is ransacked, Armilly and her friends set out to find out why. YouSteamworld Quest, Hand of Gilgamech is a steampunk, RPG, card fighting game. It follows the journey of an adventurer by the name of Armilly, who wishes to join the local Hero Guild. Shes inexperienced with low quality armor so no one actually takes her seriously at first. But after the Hero Guild is attacked and the village is ransacked, Armilly and her friends set out to find out why. You lead the heroes through an incredible hand drawn world with a very story book feel, where you play out battles with nothing but your wits and a handful of cards. You must craft your deck from a choosing of over 100 unique cards. In this game of heroes you will find gold, dragons, indepth worlds, magic, knights, turn based battles and all the best thing RPG’s have to offer. The game has a great mix of traditional fantasy, steampunk robots and a great, humorous narrative.

    Pros: Amazing graphics, engaging storyline, and lot of cards to choose from and use.

    Cons: For a card game, it feels more like a full on RPG, such as Final fantasy. Limited to 6 cards at a time during battle.

    Overall: 8. While the storyline premise with the heroes going off to fight evil is sorely overused, the combination of RPG and card fighting is done really well, and the steampunk art style is done amazingly. A lot of choices to make, humorous dialogue and amazing visuals.    … Expand
  10. Fireantus
    Apr 30, 2019
    9
    A brilliantly fun little RPG with a very well done, fluid and entertaining combat mechanic. It's simple, it's quick, it's charming! For fans of SteamWorld it might be a bit of a mixed bag - sure the art style is there and it's as whimsical and charming as ever, but the characters acts less like robots and machines and even slip it into their language, making it feel a little strange?A brilliantly fun little RPG with a very well done, fluid and entertaining combat mechanic. It's simple, it's quick, it's charming! For fans of SteamWorld it might be a bit of a mixed bag - sure the art style is there and it's as whimsical and charming as ever, but the characters acts less like robots and machines and even slip it into their language, making it feel a little strange? Otherwise though, the writing is often quite funny, characters have clearly defined personalities and the story is developing nicely and with quite a swift pace.

    The biggest plus for me is the Combat system. The cards are astonishing and building a tight, 8 card deck that works and combo well with other characters kit is quite a fun mini-game of its own. I read some previous reviews and while I don't want to negate their experience, I am not sure if perhaps something was skipped and omitted in their playthrough?

    On merely chapter 5 I have quite a lot of different cards crafted and quite a collection to pick from for all characters but Orik (since he just joined the party). They are already enough to shift the characters into different roles - I can make Copernica into a fierce fire mage, supported by Armilly who damage herself for more damage and decrease fire resist to foes with a heavy tank Gallo kitted entirely for regen, healing and shielding. The fact that it's editable on the fly between battles means also that you can and should outfit your team to match the enemies in the location (For example caves are choked with Redcaps who have some resist to fire damage, to fire mage Copernica is not as effective as kiting her with Ice and Electiricy).

    I have no idea why Healing/Shielding is a waste of time and cards? Perhaps it is later in the game, it is entirely possible and will see, but up until now it's my bread and butter - getting the regular expendable health every few turns is great in shaving enemy damage down by a major degree, limiting my time on healing and using items between combats to keep the team healthy.

    If there are any minuses in my sight, well, there will be two:

    - Battles are a bit repetitive. Every area is seeded with like 3-4 enemy types and you will encounter them in various combinations. Later on they remain the same, just with different color scheme and perhaps 1-2 extra cards with new moves to keep you on your toes. That would be passable but... Bosses I encountered are also reskins of regular enemies, which is not acceptable (not always, but it happens!).

    - Navigating the map is a bit tedious and require some solid backwalking to get all the juicy chests. This is important, because if you don't explore the area to its 100%, you will feel lack of resources, money and cards which are hidden in the chests across the maps. In the first map alone (the town) you can get, if I recall well, 2-3 new card types for Gallo alone! If you don't explore and miss them I can see how you can feel like your options do not expands at all. Therefore the game force your hand and you must explore fully to get the fullest experience with minimum frustrations.

    All in all it's a fun, charming game that completely sucked me in. It's funny, it's dynamic and have surprising amount of flexibility behind its systems. 9/10, strong recommend for this low price.    … Expand
  11. night4
    Apr 26, 2019
    7
    Pros:

    -fun & unique turn-based card-based combat -shared resources means you can make one party member the star with all their special cards -the fights... for the most part Cons: -you have to do the exact same fights too many times -Art style -not enough control over decks for a long time due to lack of cards -healing/shielding kinda blows. It's generally so weak    Pros:

    -fun & unique turn-based card-based combat

    -shared resources means you can make one party member the star with all their special cards

    -the fights... for the most part

    Cons:

    -you have to do the exact same fights too many times

    -Art style

    -not enough control over decks for a long time due to lack of cards

    -healing/shielding kinda blows. It's generally so weak it's a waste of cards/time

    -not nearly enough materials to craft with, and the crafted cards mostly aren't that good anyway    … Expand
  12. Kaprawiec
    Oct 29, 2019
    10
    If You like card games, this is one of the best out there. Only competition comes from Slay the spire, but its so different, this one is story driven, that focuses only on combat. Optimally buy both because they offer totally different gameplay and overall experience.
  13. Siafni
    May 14, 2019
    10
    Best indie game currently on Switch for me and in my top 3 Switch games right now. Interesting world and characters/foes. 8 cards per character makes it easy enough to deck build strategically whilst keeping the game from being shallow or too complex. Good replay value, but I would have liked a NG+ (unless I missed something). I completed the game in 22 hours.
  14. jeffbizloc
    May 21, 2019
    9
    Steamworld Quest is a card based tactical game that I really enjoyed. I beat it on Legend difficulty and outside of a couple battles didn't find it overall too tough.

    Game(s) like: Thronebreaker Pros: - Steamworld games are just awesome in general - the setting and characters are enjoyable - Gameplay was creative with the play 3 + bonus system - Card collection/upgrade system was    Steamworld Quest is a card based tactical game that I really enjoyed. I beat it on Legend difficulty and outside of a couple battles didn't find it overall too tough.

    Game(s) like: Thronebreaker

    Pros:
    - Steamworld games are just awesome in general - the setting and characters are enjoyable
    - Gameplay was creative with the play 3 + bonus system
    - Card collection/upgrade system was well done though about halfway through I had about the same characters and cards

    Cons:
    - You could play with 3 chars but had 5 in the end. Would of liked the game to force you to use all versus use the same tactics/cards throughout most of the later journey    … Expand
  15. richardc
    Jun 11, 2019
    10
    I loved this game. I really like the "deckbuilding" type games and this was right up my alley. Fun to build decks, try out different decks and characters, etc.
  16. Nintendopost24
    Jun 2, 2019
    8
    Difficile de trouver beaucoup de défauts à SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech. À chaque fois que le studio Image & Form entreprend de revisiter un style de jeu il s’en donne clairement les moyens. SteamWorld Quest est l’exemple parfais du RPG conte de fée. Ici pas de conflits politiques à portée philosophiques. Non, ici tout est simple, mignon et charmant.Le jeu est accessible maisDifficile de trouver beaucoup de défauts à SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech. À chaque fois que le studio Image & Form entreprend de revisiter un style de jeu il s’en donne clairement les moyens. SteamWorld Quest est l’exemple parfais du RPG conte de fée. Ici pas de conflits politiques à portée philosophiques. Non, ici tout est simple, mignon et charmant.Le jeu est accessible mais demandera une certaine maîtrise stratégique pour certains combats.On se demande bien ce que nous prépare le studio pour la suite, mais dans tous les cas on est impatient :).… Expand
  17. GloryForry
    Jul 13, 2019
    7
    Zuerst begeistert ob des interessanten Genre-Mix, war nach 10-15 Stunden die Luft raus. Auf Dauer etwas eintönig aber es ist nicht so, dass ich den Kauf bereue.
  18. LegendOfStewart
    Dec 4, 2019
    8
    SteamWorld Quest is a wonderful fantasy RPG from a company who continues to put out consistently solid games. This game has a wonderfully complex yet simple battle system that keeps you coming back for more, even when the story sometimes shows how threadbare it can be, especially for a fantasy RPG. However, the great turn-based combat, beautiful graphics, and excellent soundtrack allSteamWorld Quest is a wonderful fantasy RPG from a company who continues to put out consistently solid games. This game has a wonderfully complex yet simple battle system that keeps you coming back for more, even when the story sometimes shows how threadbare it can be, especially for a fantasy RPG. However, the great turn-based combat, beautiful graphics, and excellent soundtrack all contribute to another wonderful experience within the SteamWorld Universe.… Expand
  19. LazyLoad08
    Dec 19, 2020
    8
    Another very good entry into the Steamworld franchise. Challenging enough but not frustratingly impossible - have to redo some fights and rethink your approach. I've finished the story and don't feel like playing again, but that's not necessarily a fault.
  20. abrus
    Mar 26, 2022
    10
    It's so much fun spending time in this game! The combat is really satisfying, the characters are distinctive and well developed, the graphics are gorgeous and the experience is engaging right through till the end. I finished this game 18 months ago and came back for another playthrough! Mechanically it is reasonably similar to Slay the Spire, but the big difference is that this is a storyIt's so much fun spending time in this game! The combat is really satisfying, the characters are distinctive and well developed, the graphics are gorgeous and the experience is engaging right through till the end. I finished this game 18 months ago and came back for another playthrough! Mechanically it is reasonably similar to Slay the Spire, but the big difference is that this is a story where you level up of your deck and your characters as you progress. Each character plays quite differently from the others and it's fun experimenting with different card combinations between battles. The one minor gripe I have with this game is that some of the boss battles seem unnecessarily long and grindy, but otherwise this is a really enjoyable 15 hour playthrough. Highly recommended!… Expand
  21. purpleninja39
    Feb 21, 2022
    9
    It's been a long time since a game and its mechanics have clicked with me this much. This game has simple, yet engaging card-based gameplay, which I'm hard-pressed to dislike, and a cast of enjoyable characters I found surprisingly interesting. The only real weakness is the story, it's nothing special. I would reccomend with zero hesitation if you're a fan of this type of game!

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best Switch Game of 2019
83
#83 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019
49
#49 Most Shared Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 53
  3. Negative: 0 out of 53
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 27, 2020
    95
    The SteamWorld just keeps on picking up more and more steam. I can't wait for what's next! [Issue #40 – July/August 2019, p. 29]
  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Jul 18, 2019
    80
    A card-based RPG with a steampunk twist, rewarding gameplay and the usual, delightful Steamworld style.
    Read full review
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Jul 8, 2019
    90
    We are yet to witness a bad Image & Form game, as the latest SteamWorld instalment is amazing as usual! Great turn-based combat, likeable characters, story, and graphics, are just a fragment of a magic formula, that can obviously summon an awesome and entertaining title with ease. Do not miss it.
    Read full review
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