TL;DR: If you were hoping for a proper route for Sachsen and/or not-so-sane Fin, with all of the detail and drama of those from the first game, you will probably be disappointed. Wait for a sale.

Deeper dive: I loved the original game, so naturally I was eager to get my hands on this one. Unfortunately, after completing it, I wish I would have waited.

The quality of the translation is top notch, but both of the story sections are painfully short and the endings largely unsatisfying. Compared to other titles in the genre and even the first game, this one was incredibly light on the romance. What little happens to be there exists in more of the "and only if you squint" capacity.

The mini game took up a decent chunk of my playtime and while it was actually pretty fun, it was nowhere near fun enough to distract me from my disappointment.

I was so looking forward to "A New Theory" and when I finally got there, the pacing was just so off that it felt like I was playing through a rough outline of how things were meant to happen, rather than a fully completed, fully fleshed out storyline. Events progressed at lightning speed with little to no character development in between and then suddenly, just as things were getting interesting, it was over.

I bought this game mostly for Sachsen and his route. I was so disappointed. It's short (2 hours for me to finish it, with all VAs playing) and there is no romance. I really wish they had of given him a route that was close to, if not equal with the LIs from the original game. It honestly felt like a half baked attempt to pander to myself and other people who have been wanting a route for him since the original game launched. I wasn't expecting a fluffy, happy ending story but I really do feel cheated with what we ended up getting. If Sachsen's route was going to be that short/not romantic I wish it would have been clarified somewhere prior to launch. I would not have purchased the game if I knew going in what exactly his "route" entailed.

To be quite honest, I think my main issue overall stems from the fact that for some reason, they chose to make this a fandisc based off the Grand Ending and not every LIs good ending from the original Steam Prison. Its a nice idea in theory, but it just feels like... this is not a Steam Prison game. I appreciated what the original Steam Prison did, and what Cyrus achieved in each LIs route respectively. I wanted to see what happened after the good endings, not whatever this is.

EDIT: I have played more and absolutely baffled by the decisions in this game. Why are the two new LIs given so much attention?? If they wanted to push them so hard make another game in the series, with a different protagonist or something. Or make a proper fandisc and have these two as additional content in a "What If" scenario by themselves. You have hardly any content with any of the previous LIs because these two new guys are everywhere.

That being said, the translation is very well done and I hardly spotted any grammar issues. As always, MangaGamer does a fantastic job with their translations.

For the price I paid ($40.49 CAD + tax) I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you are a die hard Steam Prison fan.

I love how the paths give a chance for all the love interests to interact with each other and it's really fun (esp the interactions between Ulrik and Adage) since in the prequel we pretty much had only Ulrik and Eltcreed and it’s really refreshing to see other characters interact with one another. I can see this FD getting mixed reviews though. This one is a positive one though since I loved the first Steam Prison so much and I am so happy with the sequel so far as well!
Also I have heart eyes for Jereme

EDIT:
After finishing the entire game (about 16-17 hours of playtime), I can understand the disappointment of A New Theory. It was short and the development of the relationships and characters were bare minimal. At that rate, I feel like making a complete and actual route for Sachsen as DLC in the first game would've been better. As for Cainabel, I enjoyed the plot and the new characters. As I said before, the interactions between characters were fun and enjoyable. I just wished for actual routes with different events for each character, instead of having only 2 character specific events or dialouges in each path. And also I feel like this game is way too overpriced, having it almost at the same price as the first game is insane but as a huge Steam Prison fan, I had to make the investment. Another problem is that Jevite had much more screentime that Jereme but that might just be because I'm biased lol. Anyway I was left with bittersweet feelings after finishing this fandisk. It's not cause it's a bad game, I was expecting more for its price, but either way I'm still happy that this game got a fandisk in the first place.

For someone like me who wanted this game solely because of Sachsen's route, it still was not worth it (the length is around 1.5 hour and there was no real bonding between Cyrus and him enough that offers us something new about the characters.)

(Scroll down for the longer version)


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[Otome/VN] A sequel, and also contains a fan-disc element. As a girl protagonist, enjoy the afterstory with your chosen love interest in the steampunk worldview. Cozy fun minigame included.

[VN] 同名タイトルの世界版。前作である無印タイトルの後日譚＋新章＋ミニゲームで構成されている。

For more discernment on the anime games we curated, feel free to check out and follow our Steam Curator.

Visual Novels.
Normally not my Kind of Game.
But after meeting ANGEL EYES i changed my Mind
and tried some.
There were good ones and not so good ones.
I enjoyed reading about interesting Characters and there Storys.
And here we are again.

Welcome to STEAM PRISON - BEYOND THE STEAM!

In 2019 there was a STEAM PRISON Game with different Routes and Endings.
STEAM PRISON - BEYOND THE STEAM continues the Story 2 Years after the so called Grand Ending.
For those who are new to STEAM PRISON there is a section in the Extra Zone, showing the Grand Endind, Characers and more.
Nice Idea.
But, i went into it without knowing the Characters. Just to get a new and Fresh Experience

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3375782310

The Game is taking place in a Steampunk Scenario.
Like the First Game, this Game has different Ways and Endings.
There are also 2 Storys, the one i call Main Story and a second one about a Character named Sachsen Brandenburg.
Well, for me it is a Little bit funny as a German because Sachsen and Brandenburg are 2 Countrys in Germany, like Arizona or Texas in Amercia.
But a nice Idea and i like it.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3375778935

I don´t want to spoiler something about the Story so i just say that it got me chained like a good Book.
Learning about the (charming) Characters and following their way and the good written Story was really fun.
But read intensive, the Story is komplex.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3375781445

The Graphics are wonderfull and that goes also to the Music and Sounds.
They fit in perfectly. The Voice acting is also great.

What can i say.
If you look good Books with interesting Characters and you like Steampunk then this is for you.
Thanks to the Developer for the Invite, i enjoyed my Trip.
Nice done.

Thank you for Reading.

I'M DISAPPOINTED!!!! GIVE US AN ACTUAL SACHSEN ROUTE!
As someone who really loved Sachs in the first game, I was really disappointed in A New Theory. It was literally the whole reason I bough this game. You get one ending and other two ending of A New Theory relate to Fin. I wanted to see character development of Sachs because if you played the first game and read his backstory you know partially why he's the way he is. I was so hopeful but it so short. I was hope for something as long as the other love interest's routes in the original game. I really wish I read the reviews to see how so many people were annoyed about the lack of a proper Sachs route.

I have nothing wrong with art, music and translation. I would just recommend getting this game on sale if you were hoping for a Sachsen route.

It's Steam Prison but at the same time it's not. I love love love the first game, but this one is not doing it for me.

I think enjoyment for this game will depend on what you expect from it. Steam Prison as a game doesn't really have romance as its selling point (despite being an otome game) so I went in with no expectations in that department. Needless to say it was pretty in line within my expectations (or lack thereof). The game is enjoyable if you like the characters enough, which I do. I'll try to lay out pros/cons from what I can gather.

Pros:
-for the Cainabel portion (which is a good chunk of this game) it's a lot less bleak than the first game as it branches off from the first game's best/true ending.
-despite the short length, I think the game does a good enough job expanding on the characters while having call backs to their arcs in the first game that are left unexplored in the best end.
-seeing the love interests interact/bounce off each other was quite refreshing imo
-the two new characters are solid and have interesting enough stories that kept me engaged, though this is just from my personal experience
-mini game is fun and gives you new chibi illustrations of the love interests
-a lot of bonus episodes/scenarios and even has some translated comments of the game's cast which were an interesting read for those interested in what the seiyuus think of the characters they were in charge of.

Cons:
-because of the short length it can be hard to fully flesh out some stories
-there's more focus on the new characters than the pre existing love interests, so if you're not interested in the new characters enjoyment levels may drop
-Saschen 'route' isn't romantic, so for anyone looking to romance him, you won't find that here.
-most if not all of the endings are quite open-ended (this can be a con for some)
-no kiss CGs, romance in this fd is minimal

All in all I'd only recommend this if you're a really big fan of Steam Prison and its characters and want to know more about how they expanded on its world building. If you're here for romance and sweet moments between the heroine and the love interests, I fear that you might not be getting much of that.