As soon as I saw the trailer for Stormworks: Build and Rescue I knew I was in. This is a physics-based game where you are in charge of a sea rescue company. The idea here is great and not something that I can think of another game specializing in before this. As I write this the game is still in early access.
How to Download Stormworks: Build and Rescue
To download the game from Steam, click on the Download button located below this review.
The Game Review
You have two different game modes at your disposal. You have the career mode which is the main game mode. Here you are starting from nothing as you work your way up to offer the ultimate sea and rescue service. You start off doing small missions, maybe delivering essential medical supplies, pulling a dude out of the water, and so on.
You do missions like this so that you can earn money and unlock new parts. Eventually, you can build up your operation so you can save people all over the map! You can do this by sea or by air and the game is very challenging and requires a great deal of strategy as you go. There is a narrative here and the game tries to give you a reason to be doing the things you are doing.
The other game mode on offer here is the sandbox mode. This is basically like the career mode where you can do the missions, but without the restrictions. When you start this mode, you have everything unlocked right from the start and you do not have to worry about money either.
The way that the game plays is from the first-person point of view and I would say that it is kind of like Minecraft. You have a series of blocks to build stuff like your helicopters, boats, and so on, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. You see, Stormworks: Build and Rescue does not just task you with placing blocks together.
You also have to think about the way these blocks are going together. Not only that, but gears and gyros play a part. You have to make a framework so that your helicopter, for example, can actually take off and fly. Then you can start to build it out and design it the way you want. There is a lot of trial and error here, but I found this to also be a lot of fun.
My first helicopter, for example, looked super badass. Unfortunately, I went for style over substance and this thing was lopsided and would not fly properly at all. You are always learning as you play the game and eventually you will become an expert in what works and what will not.
I really like what they are doing with Stormworks: Build and Rescue and I am very interested to see what else they have in store for it. The game does have a steep learning curve, but learning as you are going and learning from your mistakes is something that I enjoyed more than I thought I would.
