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Heat Signature

Heat Signature

Suspicious Developments · released Sep 21, 2017

ActionAdventureIndieStrategyPC

Heat Signature is a game from the developers of Gunpoint where you break into spaceships, make terrible mistakes, and think of clever ways out of them. You take a mission, fly to the target ship, sneak inside, and make clever use of your gadgets to distract, ambush and take out the crew.

Steam page ↗OpenCritic ↗Metacritic 79 · users 7.7 ↗
88
VGC Score
■Stablemedium confidence
89%
At launch
95%
Steam all-time
78%
Press
79%
Player sentiment
90%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)–783
All-time Steam reviews95%891000
Metacritic user ratings–803
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)90%846
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 88.1, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 7,458 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 17 reviews sampled · 14 total reviews in window · weighted 12.2 up / 1.3 down · computed 7h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (11)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 80
    EurogamerEurogamer
    trust 66Sep 21, 2017

    “A scrappy, open-ended, infiltrator's delight for the player who enjoys breaking levels more than beating them.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    PC GamerPC Gamer
    trust 64Sep 21, 2017

    “By making excellent use of its procedurally generated world and wacky gadgets, Heat Signature is a mission worth taking.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    Geeks Under GraceGeeks Under Grace
    trust 61Apr 19, 2018

    “Have you ever wanted to be Boba Fett, Spike, or Jubal Early? This is the game for you. Addictive, fun, and easy to jump in for two missions or 2 hours, you'd be hard-pressed to find a fan of science fiction or shooters who didn't like this game.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    IGNIGN
    trust 61Sep 21, 2017

    “With a set of thieving and assassination tools that beg to be used creatively, Heat Signature’s puzzle-like missions are great for jumping into for a few goes at a time to try something just crazy enough to work. That’s when the fun stuff happens.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    Saving ContentSaving Content
    trust 58Oct 19, 2017

    “Heat Signature is such a surprise to play. It’s freedom, and cycling number of missions allow you to take the tools which you’ve been given and craft and experience all your own. The incredibly smart integration of your Steam friends finding their way into your game adds reference and value to the tasks you’re given. Heat Signature is easily one of my favorite games of the year.”

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    PolygonPolygon
    trust 57Sep 22, 2017

    “Heat Signature is one of the tightest indie action games I've played, packing a maximum amount of excitement into a minimum amount of time and space. My first few hours with the game were genuinely wonderful, filled with rapid-fire moments of delight and triumph. But when I hit my personal skill ceiling, I could do no more than repeatedly bang my head against it. I respect Heat Signature. I admire its success in accomplishing with such skill what it set out to do, and if it had been more forgiving, it wouldn’t be as tense. Heat Signature’s laser focus on in-depth mechanical play with high consequence is at once what made it satisfying for me to play and what made it easy to put down and walk away from when I hit the limits of my tactical creativity.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    Game InformerGame Informer
    trust 55Sep 27, 2017

    “Heat Signature’s strength lies in its ability to make you think fast when you have all the time in the world.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    USgamerUSgamer
    trust 54Sep 25, 2017

    “What you're left with is a game that many players will get around 10-15 hours out of before being shut out behind a vicious skill wall. Until that point, every player will run into some amazing moments that beg to be shared with friends. Heat Signature is a machine for watercooler talk. And if you're up to the challenge, there's a mountain waiting to be surpassed here. I just wish there were a few tweaks that would allow Heat Signature's fun to continue on for everyone, not just the highest skilled folks among us.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    PCGamesNPCGamesN
    trust 51Sep 22, 2017

    “Unfortunately, Heat Signature’s structure lets it down somewhat. It becomes a repetitive grind, broken up by the occasional amazing moment. The procedural generation makes it feel special, randomly creating an environment for these unique anecdotes, but it is a double-edged sword as there are a multitude of uneventful missions in-between. Still, it all feels worth it for those moments when there are a few seconds left on the clock and you are forced to take desperate action. ”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    Vandal
    trust 48Oct 21, 2017

    “This is one of the best "space bounty hunter simulators" we've played in a while. A very interesting title we recommend particularly if you like 2D.”

    read full review ↗
  • –
    Rock, Paper, ShotgunRock, Paper, Shotgun
    trust 60Sep 26, 2017

    “Suspicious Developments have distilled that chaotic kinaesthesia into something much smaller, smarter and spacier, which is absolutely to be praised.”

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. New Patch: 2021.1.20.1
    Jan 27, 2021
  2. New Patch: 2019.10.25.1
    Nov 4, 2019
  3. New Patch: 2019.8.8.1
    Aug 13, 2019
  4. New Patch: 2019.1.10.1
    Jan 14, 2019
  5. Space Winter is back, there's a patch, and a sale!
    Dec 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  6. New Patch: 2018.11.5.1
    Nov 8, 2018
  7. New Patch: 2018.10.17.1
    Oct 17, 2018
  8. An update on The Space Birthday Update
    Oct 7, 2018
  9. The Space Birthday Update is out! Daily Challenge, Character Traits, 4 unique enemies, 20 features!
    Sep 27, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  10. The Space Birthday Update: Quality of Life
    Sep 27, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  11. The Space Birthday Update: The Daily Challenge
    Sep 26, 2018
  12. The Space Birthday Update: Contractors
    Sep 25, 2018
  13. The Space Birthday Update: Player Story Trading Cards
    Sep 24, 2018
  14. The Space Birthday Update: Upgraded AI & Reworked Alarms
    Sep 23, 2018
  15. The Space Birthday Update: Glory Missions & Clients
    Sep 22, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  16. The Space Birthday Update: New Hazards
    Sep 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  17. The Space Birthday Update is out!
    Sep 20, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  18. The Space Birthday Update: Character Traits
    Sep 20, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  19. Two weeks to find two weapons left by two legends in love
    Feb 13, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  20. Space Winter Is Here!
    Dec 22, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  21. New Patch: 2017.11.30.1
    Dec 1, 2017
  22. New Patch: 2017.11.30.1
    Dec 1, 2017
  23. The Fair Points Update
    Nov 22, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  24. The Fair Points Update
    Nov 22, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  25. New Patch: 2017.11.01.1
    Nov 2, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  26. New Patch: 2017.11.01.1
    Nov 2, 2017
  27. Death is Canceled for Space Halloween
    Oct 27, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  28. Death is Canceled for Space Halloween
    Oct 27, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  29. New Patch: 2017.10.16.1
    Oct 17, 2017
  30. New Patch: 2017.10.16.1
    Oct 17, 2017
  31. New Patch: 2017.10.13.2
    Oct 14, 2017
  32. New Patch: 2017.10.13.2
    Oct 14, 2017
  33. New Patch: 2017.10.10.1
    Oct 11, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  34. New Patch: 2017.10.10.1
    Oct 11, 2017
  35. New Patch: Version 2017.10.03.2
    Oct 3, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  36. New Patch: Version 2017.10.03.2
    Oct 3, 2017
  37. New Patch: Version 2017.09.29.2
    Sep 29, 2017
  38. New Patch: Version 2017.09.29.2
    Sep 29, 2017
  39. New Patch: Version 2017.09.28.1
    Sep 28, 2017
  40. New Patch: Version 2017.09.28.1
    Sep 28, 2017

…and 10 earlier patch announcements.