When time and money is running a bit short in life, a new triple-A action game spanning dozens of hours and costing a premium price just isn't what you need. Sometimes, a shorter (and hopefully sweeter) experience is required. There are plenty around, but the latest newcomer to this club is Steel Seed, a stealth-infused sci-fi adventure that is radiating Stellar Blade, Uncharted, and Assassin's Creed energy.
In Steel Seed, you step into the futuristic footwear of Zoe, who's accompanied by her hovering droid companion Koby. Fused into a robotic body and wielding some savage melee weapons, it's your job to explore an underground facility that is home to an army of deadly machines, all in order to find your father. According to the action game's developer Storm in a Teacup, Zoe's appearance and abilities draw inspiration from the Blame! manga and RoboCop, among others, and that definitely shines through.
You'll work your way through this facility with a mix of traversal (there's plenty of Uncharted style ledge grabbing, wall scaling, and running-across-bridges-while-explosions-happen-ing), combat that appears to find a middle ground between hack-and-slash and soulslike, and plenty of stealth sections. You can use Koby to distract enemies or draw them near to you, or you can sneak your way through long cyber-grass to avoid detection.
While the vast majority of the game is a 3D, third-person affair, there are a few occasions where it switches to a side-on, 2D view as you take cover from incoming fire and navigate obstacles.
Zoe and Koby can be upgraded by way of a skill tree, and there'll be some light puzzle solving too - something your robotic companion will usually play a role in.
Our very own Ed Smith was pretty excited by Steel Seed when he got the chance to play an early version of it a year or so ago, but now the final product is here.
Steel Seed is out right now on Steam and the Epic Games Store for PC players. It's currently got an introductory discount of 15% on both platforms, making it $32.38 / £28.47. There's also a demo that you can download and try on Steam if you want to take it for a test drive first.
If you decide that Steel Seed isn't for you, here are some alternative stealth games to give a go. Or if you want to take a look at what else is dropping in the near and distant future, head to our upcoming PC games guide.
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