Steel Ranger 2 (Covert BitOps / Protovision) Coming Soon
Game description: Steel Ranger 2 is a multidirectional action adventure developed by Lasse Öörni of Covert Bitops. It is the long-awaited sequel to the acclaimed 2018 original, and like its predecessor draws clear inspiration from Turrican and Metroid. You play as the commanding Ranger, dispatched to a desolate Earth to investigate a series of devastating bombardment attacks traced back to dormant fail-deadly defence systems. You are not alone for long. Your second-generation Ranger suit runs on a self-recharging battery that powers your rifle, smartbombs and special movement abilities — drain it dry and your firepower drops to a crawl until it recovers. Your rifle begins in Full Auto mode and gains additional firing modes as you explore, while the Heat Blade handles close-quarters threats and can swat incoming projectiles out of the air. Smartbombs clear rooms in a blast, and mines control tight corridors. Parts scattered throughout the world fuel both your heavier weapons and the upgrade stations that improve suit capacity, recharge rate and weapon damage. The game spans over 800 screens of ruined Earth with full-framerate multidirectional scrolling, hiding secret areas, explosive-breakable passages and progression-gating upgrades. The standout is wheel mode, which converts armour damage to battery drain, increases mobility and opens lower passages inaccessible on foot. Boss battles, three difficulty settings, multiple save slots, a branching story outcome and a 45-minute SID soundtrack with separate exploration, story-event and boss themes complete the package.
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Production - 97%
97%
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Fun - 94%
94%
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Depth - 95%
95%
Summary
Steel Ranger 2 is, plainly put, one of the finest games the Commodore 64 has produced in the modern era. Lasse Öörni has taken everything that made the 2018 original worth playing and quietly fixed what held it back — the Ranger moves with a lightness and responsiveness that makes the first game feel stiff by comparison, and the difference is felt immediately. Getting around all 800-plus screens is a pleasure rather than a task, and that matters enormously in a game asking you to spend hours inside its world.
The suit-energy system is the design masterstroke. Routing your rifle, smartbombs and movement abilities through a shared recharging battery transforms what could have been a fairly straightforward run-and-gun into something with genuine tactical texture. Knowing when to push and when to pull back, when to burn the battery on a smartbomb and when to nurse it through a tight corridor — that constant calculation keeps every combat encounter from feeling routine. The Heat Blade adds further depth; swatting projectiles out of the air mid-fight never stops being satisfying.
The world itself is expansive without feeling padded. Secrets reward curiosity, wheel mode opens up whole sections of the map in a way that earns its Metroid comparison, and the parts economy gives exploration a clear purpose beyond atmosphere. The 45-minute SID soundtrack matches the ambition of the rest of the package — separate themes for exploration, story events and boss fights, and all of them doing their atmospheric job properly. This is not background noise; it is a score that understands the game it is accompanying.
Protovision selecting Steel Ranger 2 as their 2026 Gold Cartridge release is the right call. If you have any love for Turrican, Metroid, or the broader tradition of exploratory action games, this belongs in your collection.
Overall
95%User Review
( votes)Pros
Exceptional Production Values: Steel Ranger 2 is a showcase release in every respect — the atmospheric background graphics, smooth full-framerate multidirectional scrolling and highly animated sprites combine to produce something that genuinely has no business running on a 40-year-old 8-bit machine.
A Soundtrack That Earns Its Place: The 45-minute SID score is not background noise. Distinct themes for exploration, story events and boss fights do real atmospheric work throughout, and the care taken to ensure consistent sound across both 6581 and 8580 SID chips is a welcome touch.
Storytelling With Consequence: The game opens with a strong narrative hook and commits to it — character interaction, a well-constructed plot and an ending shaped by the choices you make give Steel Ranger 2 a story-driven weight that most action games on the platform never attempt.
Combat With Tactical Depth: The shared battery system, multiple rifle modes, the projectile-deflecting Heat Blade and a parts economy that forces genuine trade-off decisions elevate the run-and-gun action well beyond genre convention.
A World Worth Exploring: Over 800 screens of ruined Earth, secret areas, explosive-breakable passages and progression-gating upgrades like the transformative wheel mode give the game a Metroid-style pull that rewards curiosity at every turn.
Cons
No cons from me, SR2 is an exceptional piece of craft.
Additional Screenshots:
Be honest to yourself. This is yet another review with NO cons at all!
I agree that Lasse’s work is exceptional, and that I would personally be very enthusiastic in my review about SR2, but come on. Look yourself in the eye and ask yourself if positive-only reviews are worth anybody’s time.
Review score 2/10 from me.
My review, my opinion. Live with it.
Did you get pre-release access as well? I would assume so otherwise how can you rate the game and you wouldn’t make things ups to push your own agenda would you?
But I am happy to publish all your opinions regardless. Keep the coming as it brings more eyes on the website.
No, I do not have a free pre-release version, and I cannot review it. If I did, I would do my very best to be critical, transparent and balanced. Like a serious reviewer should be.
Tell me, if there are no cons, how come your score isn’t 100%? How can I now compare your review of this game to others you’ve reviewed? How is anyone supposed to guage your opinion, if all you can say is “it’s all fantastic”? I am making a serious point here Louie.
Tell me another thing, where is your review of Comchinko by Dr. Mortal Wombat, or any of his other games? Or do you only do reviews of games you are given free copies of? Do you realise that a review on Steam (the largest online game platform in the world) requires you to indicate if you got the game for free or not. It influences how people see your opinion. You will always be less likely to be negative of a game you got for free.
Don’t think I don’t appreciate you publishing my comments, because I do. I am convinced there is a decent person in you.
..this part of your anwer intrigues me Louie:
“you wouldn’t make things up to push your own agenda would you?”
Is that what you do? Do you make things up to push your agenda?
Great review!! Everything I wanted to know. I can’t wait to get my hands on this one. The first Steel Ranger is what got me into C64 gaming to start with. Thanks for the review!!!!!
Thanks for your comment. I really can’t wait for everyone to experience it and if you enjoyed the first one then this one is sure to not disappoint.