The Legend of Steel Empire Image
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Be the first to review!

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: Restore peace in a steam punk world with the striker airplane or zeppelin!

    In a dystopian world where the Motorhead Empire has conquered and enslaved virtually the entire planet, mammoth battleships, armored locomotives, and invincible fortresses dominate the skies. However, there is hope
    Restore peace in a steam punk world with the striker airplane or zeppelin!

    In a dystopian world where the Motorhead Empire has conquered and enslaved virtually the entire planet, mammoth battleships, armored locomotives, and invincible fortresses dominate the skies. However, there is hope for the republic of Silverhead, and you are the only one who can save it. Take control of the Striker airplane or Zeppelin with an aerial mine launcher and engage in intense euro-shmup action, battling enemies both in the air and on the ground, and using devastating screen-clearing attacks in tight spots. With improved graphics and controls, Steel Empire, originally released in the early 90s for a 16-bit console, has been ported to various handheld consoles. Join the fight and defeat the Motorhead Empire.
    Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Feb 9, 2024
    80
    The Legend of Steel Empire made me realise how much fun this classic shmup is all these years after its debut and that's rather special.
  2. Jan 26, 2024
    80
    Despite some very minor annoyances, I really enjoyed my time with The Legend of Steel Empire. It’s a classic old school Shmup brought to the current era with upgraded art and funky music. Fans of the genre should absolutely check it out now that it’s available on Nintendo Switch.
  3. Jan 23, 2024
    80
    The Legend of Steel Empire remains a faithful reimagination of the original release, even including the end credits gag. It will take a medium-skilled player less than an hour to do a complete loop but it is such a good time, that can’t be considered a fault. While it doesn’t quite enter the bullet hell pantheon of other shoot 'em ups on Switch, it is certainly worth the shelf space in your collection and might be the perfect excuse to dust off your arcade stick in 2024. Maybe one day down the line we'll get a proper 16:9 sequel handled by the original HOT-B staff, but in the meantime, this is a welcome return for the original.
  4. Feb 2, 2024
    80
    Overall though The Legend of Steel Empire is a solid release and visually updates a classic steampunk shmup that pretty much everyone loves. Even if you never played the original, this is still a lot of fun and perfectly suited to something like the Switch.
  5. Jan 25, 2024
    70
    The Legend of Steel Empire is a decent enough way to play a cult classic shooter, even with a few rough points in the overall package. If you’re tired of having your head knocked around by the likes of Gradius or R-Type, you might find this to be the approachable shooter you’re looking for. I appreciate that they made some improvements in the presentation rather than just toss the original game out there, but it feels like there was a missed opportunity to do a little more here.
  6. Feb 1, 2024
    70
    The Legend of Steel Empire is a fun and simple shoot em up that welcomes newcomers and presents genre fans with the wanted challenge.
  7. Jan 29, 2024
    60
    The Legend of Steel Empire is a fun side-scrolling shooter set in an interesting alternate history timeline. The gameplay is easy to get to grips with, allowing people of all skill levels to deal with enemies. However, the short length of the campaign is not truly worth the asking price, so I'd recommend waiting for a sale to pick it up.

See all 8 Critic Reviews