I'm going to be real honest with you, Steam is telling me that this game consumed three whole days of my life and I don't know how that's possible. I'm actually *afraid* of how Into The Breach can make time evaporate. Is this the hallmark of a good strategy game? Terrifying.

All jokes (I wasn't joking) aside, this is a robust tile-and-turn-based strategy game with a distinctly Pacific Rim 1 aesthetic. Your goal on every map is absolute victory over the invading giant bugs, protecting civilians and strategic assets with your team of giant mechs along the way.

The gameplay flow is simple on its face and will be familiar to fans of the genre: Your chosen Mech squad and the enemy bugs will take turns as a unit moving around and destroying each other. However, it's only rarely that straightforward, and in fact you'll find many situations throughout the game where you can make enemies destroy each other or themselves and everything in-between.

There will be times in Into the Breach where you'll puzzle over a set of moves for a long time before calculating out a bizarre chain of movements that wind up wiping the board clean and it's probably one of the most satisfying things I've ever experienced in a video game. On the flip side, it will take a monumental amount of convincing yourself to settle for less than perfection, although I will say that the higher difficulties almost explicitly require strategic sacrifices to clear so you'll get over it quick.

This game thrives in its variety with dozens of distinct Mech teams ready to test your ability to wrap your head around their unique gimmicks on the fly. As soon as you've mastered one team, you're straight onto the next and it'll be a wildly different experience. Some teams specialize in controlling the enemy, some are best at starting fires, others can fly freely over terrain, there are grapple mechs and long range artillery and the list goes on. On the enemy side, variety is a bit more scarce, but on higher difficulties the AI is extremely tight and will not pass up an opportunity if you leave an opening for them.

If I had to give this game any demerits, it would be in the fact that *all* of the variety exists on the Mech selection side of things. Every run through this game will be on the same four islands with the same stables of enemies (with minor variations in mission layouts and rewards) and will ultimately terminate the same way. It is somewhat up to the player to decide how many islands they would like to hit before tackling the finale, but at the end of the day it's still going to mostly be the same challenges, levels, and enemies with minor fluctuations. This is not FTL where runs can branch in wildly different directions. For better or for worse, the player is largely in control of the entire experience outside of the rare item drop and the semi-random hero traits.

Into the Breach is *not* Roguelike/lite, and I think it's frustrating that I have to say this. This is a strategy game. There is no procedural generation nor are there random events. Dying terminates your run (and pilots), yes, and you will have to restart, but you do not earn any progress in doing so. There's no meta-progression beyond unlocking more Mech squads and finding the full hero roster, but these things do not actually make the game easier to clear. Runs themselves contain very little in the way of RNG, the maps and missions remain largely the same as I said. You will find occasional random equipment drops and hero traits but they make up a very insignificant part of any given run. The only thing standing between you and clearing the game is your understanding of its mechanics and ability to play around them.

Basically, do not be mislead by the common mention of FTL in the same breath as Into the Breach, they share creators, pixel art aesthetic, and not much else. This is much more in line with Advance Wars than FTL. And that is okay!

Replay value is still solid in spite of that, and achievements in this game actually grant you currency to unlock other Mech squads, so you'll be replaying some of them a few times to chase things down. I'm 69 hours in as of posting this and I have not 100% it, I'm not even really close. It's also really easy to pick up and play for a bit, it lends itself well to short or intermittent game sessions due to the turn-based nature and save & quit function. You eventually do also unlock the ability to put together your own squad of any set of mechs you like, which exponentially expands the goofy shenanigans you can try for.

All told, this game is a triumph and should be far more popular than it is. It's extremely satisfying to play and I highly recommend it if you enjoy strategy games of any sort.

I'm going to be real honest with you, Steam is telling me that this game consumed three whole days of my life and I don't know how that's possible. I'm actually *afraid* of how Into The Breach can make time evaporate. Is this the hallmark of a good strategy game? Terrifying. All jokes (I wasn't joking) aside, this is a robust tile-and-turn-based strategy game with a distinctly Pacific Rim 1 aesthetic. Your goal on every map is absolute victory over the invading giant bugs, protecting civilians and strategic assets with your team of giant mechs along the way. The gameplay flow is simple on its face and will be familiar to fans of the genre: Your chosen Mech squad and the enemy bugs will take turns as a unit moving around and destroying each other. However, it's only rarely that straightforward, and in fact you'll find many situations throughout the game where you can make enemies destroy each other or themselves and everything in-between. There will be times in Into the Breach where you'll puzzle over a set of moves for a long time before calculating out a bizarre chain of movements that wind up wiping the board clean and it's probably one of the most satisfying things I've ever experienced in a video game. On the flip side, it will take a monumental amount of convincing yourself to settle for less than perfection, although I will say that the higher difficulties almost explicitly require strategic sacrifices to clear so you'll get over it quick. This game thrives in its variety with dozens of distinct Mech teams ready to test your ability to wrap your head around their unique gimmicks on the fly. As soon as you've mastered one team, you're straight onto the next and it'll be a wildly different experience. Some teams specialize in controlling the enemy, some are best at starting fires, others can fly freely over terrain, there are grapple mechs and long range artillery and the list goes on. On the enemy side, variety is a bit more scarce, but on higher difficulties the AI is extremely tight and will not pass up an opportunity if you leave an opening for them. If I had to give this game any demerits, it would be in the fact that *all* of the variety exists on the Mech selection side of things. Every run through this game will be on the same four islands with the same stables of enemies (with minor variations in mission layouts and rewards) and will ultimately terminate the same way. It is somewhat up to the player to decide how many islands they would like to hit before tackling the finale, but at the end of the day it's still going to mostly be the same challenges, levels, and enemies with minor fluctuations. This is not FTL where runs can branch in wildly different directions. For better or for worse, the player is largely in control of the entire experience outside of the rare item drop and the semi-random hero traits. Into the Breach is *not* Roguelike/lite, and I think it's frustrating that I have to say this. This is a strategy game. There is no procedural generation nor are there random events. Dying terminates your run (and pilots), yes, and you will have to restart, but you do not earn any progress in doing so. There's no meta-progression beyond unlocking more Mech squads and finding the full hero roster, but these things do not actually make the game easier to clear. Runs themselves contain very little in the way of RNG, the maps and missions remain largely the same as I said. You will find occasional random equipment drops and hero traits but they make up a very insignificant part of any given run. The only thing standing between you and clearing the game is your understanding of its mechanics and ability to play around them. Basically, do not be mislead by the common mention of FTL in the same breath as Into the Breach, they share creators, pixel art aesthetic, and not much else. This is much more in line with Advance Wars than FTL. And that is okay! Replay value is still solid in spite of that, and achievements in this game actually grant you currency to unlock other Mech squads, so you'll be replaying some of them a few times to chase things down. I'm 69 hours in as of posting this and I have not 100% it, I'm not even really close. It's also really easy to pick up and play for a bit, it lends itself well to short or intermittent game sessions due to the turn-based nature and save & quit function. You eventually do also unlock the ability to put together your own squad of any set of mechs you like, which exponentially expands the goofy shenanigans you can try for. All told, this game is a triumph and should be far more popular than it is. It's extremely satisfying to play and I highly recommend it if you enjoy strategy games of any sort.