Steel Rising is a soulslike because of course it is.

There’s no getting away from it now, this is going to be a very loaded, busy, competitive genre over the next few years so if you’re fan, you’re going to be eating for a while.

Whether you’ll be eating well is another matter. Steel Rising is at least one of the better recent examples of the genre I’ve come across. Elden Ring excluded, of course.

It does do things differently, at least. For one, it’s set in Paris 1789, which probably sounds infinitely more exciting than yet another turn at a horror or fantasy.

You’re also playing as an automaton rather than a bold knight or courageous cowboy. As such you’ll be unlocking slots on your body to insert modules at vestals – which are basically sinister-looking barbers chairs situated inside a cage.

As such, the game feels a bit more like The Surge where you can customise your body as well as your weapons at these rest points. Standard fare also dictates upgrading attributes as well, like power, agility and even engineering.

This is also pretty useful as within Steel Rising you can actually hit your enemies with projectiles of varying properties, like fire, frost and lightning bolts. This could be all the difference in battle and is well worth keeping on top of.

You also get some pretty hefty weapon variety with two arms to equip. For me, I had a Halberd to start which works quite well up close and at range, but I also managed to find a musket that sends out some powerful shots. I even had some razer claws which my inner Wolverine secretly enjoyed.

And even the aesthetic of the characters and the world you reside in feel very authentic of the time and setting with bicorn hats, muscadin coats, and enemies that feel like the stuff of French Revolution nightmares.

Another interesting approach is how the game really tries to feel like a gradually enveloping story. If you’ve ever played a Spiders game before (The Technomancer, Greedfall) you know these folks really like to take you on a journey.

You’ll regularly pick up notes that hint at story and character development. You’ll build up a codex, learning more about the main stakeholders, and there’s even Side Quests to dive into to really fill out the experience.

All of this is brought together with a massive Map of Paris that will see you visit familiar locations embroiled in war, taking you all over, while introducing you to leading historical figures like Marie-Antoinette.

But yes, ultimately it very much plays like a soulslike. You kill enemies, you earn some of their essence in order to upgrade your abilities. If you die, you lose it all and respawn at the nearest vestal and you get lots of bosses and sub-bosses to fight through.

For me, this is actually the part where the game unravels. I’m quite an experienced Souls player now with various titles to my name and I found the rhythm of Steel Rising’s combat to be a bit off. I time my dodges well enough yet still find I’m getting hit. I can’t seem to get far enough from enemies as they hit me from all angles.

I even found the environment got in the way of the camera a few times, with reeds of grass blocking my view when I’m in the middle of a tense boss battle. Anyone who has played a Souls game knows how tight some of these encounters get so every instant counts.

I also found the encounters quite repetitive and dull after a while, lacking the tension you’ll find in a Demon’s Souls or that sense of awe and wonder in Elden Ring.

It’s a stunning looking game, though, really shining in Dolby Vision on Series X. Its depiction of a burning Paris quite stunning at times as the sun tries to creep from behind the clouds and buildings burn brightly as you saunter past.

And while its story does take a while to get going, once it is in motion it’s fairly enjoyable and does offer some interesting factoids about an important part of history, even though it’s obviously fictional with its facts.

Verdict

Steel Rising isn’t entirely a triumph, then. The narrative and the way it’s executed, the way you develop your character and its approach at something different is hugely commendable, but as a soulslike the timing feels off, the environment tends to get in your way and sadly it comes across being a bit dull. A real mixed bag.