Steam Prison: Beyond the Steam Review
Author：Admin Date：2026-03-18 Reads：
Steam Prison was one of the first otome games I ever played and it still remains one of my all time favourites despite playing it several years ago, back in 2019. Of all the games that could possibly receive a fandisk, I never would have expected Steam Prison to even be a contender as the original game was released in Japan back in 2016 – that’s almost TEN years ago?! The announcement received a fair amount of hype from otome fans, however, the full release of the game sparked mixed reviews from the audience – and I’m here to investigate why!
General Overview: What to expect?
I supposed I’d better get this out in the open first. I know we’re all here to play an otome game, but if it’s purely romance you’re after, then you are more than likely going to be disappointed by Beyond the Steam… there is barely any of that here. This fandisk acts more as a sequel to the first game (specifically to Steam Prison’s Grand Ending), featuring two new stories: “Cainabel” (around 60% of the game), and “A New Theory” (around 25% of the game). In the “Cainabel” section, all the routes are blended into one main story, so rather than getting a dedicated cut off point, scenes for each character are slotted into the overall storyline. This means the route will have to be replayed for pursuing new characters. The main route is split into two perspectives, each section containing the routes for 4 characters (Group 1: Ulrik, Adage, Fin and Jevite, Group 2: Eltcreed, Ines, Yune, and Jereme). The “A New Theory” section only includes two routes for Fin and Sachsen, and are both quite short; again, featuring very little romance. Additional content (around 15% of the game) includes bonus episodes with each character (although there’s still little-to-no romance here either), a short recap of The Grand Ending, character profiles with messages from the voice actors (interesting touch), and a spot the difference mini game. So, why would you play it? I know everything I’ve said seems quite negative so far, but if like me, you thought Steam Prison’s peak was all about the banter between the characters and the ways in which they were involved with each others’ routes, then there’s plenty more where that came from – we even got to see a different side to some of them this time! Please don’t write it off just yet… give it a chance!
What makes it different?
Steam Prison: Beyond the… Fog?
The thing I loved most about Steam Prison (the first game) was its fantastic world building and overall atmosphere, and Beyond the Steam equally delivers on this aspect. Rather than using the familiar steampunk world as a continuing theme, Beyond the Steam delves even further and features a brand new environment as part of its main story; a biome you don’t see often in otome games – the desert! This new location has given the series a new identity with a selection of brand new, beautifully drawn backdrops, a full costume change for the cast, and even two new characters!
#NotAFanDisk:
Beyond the Steam is the least fandisky fandisk I’ve ever played, and I think it’s important to keep this in mind going in to get the most out of the new content. The game continues from Steam Prison’s Grand Ending, so if you’ve played that already, you should have an idea of what to expect. As a person who prefers story over romance, I genuinely got a lot of enjoyment out of this instalment – however, I do agree that more romance could have been implemented quite easily and made this FD much stronger (especially for the bonus episodes). Also, if you’re in it purely for the well-hyped Sachsen route, my advice would be: don’t expect too much.
What is the Grand Ending? (Contains mild spoilers):
