"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness. That is life.” That nugget of wisdom comes not from Confucius or Machiavelli, but from Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain Jean-Luc Picard. It’s difficult to think of a game that exemplifies this sentiment better than Into The Breach. This tough-as-nails strategy game isn’t so much about winning as it is about mitigating loss in the hopes of eventually reaching a positive outcome; it’s a game of pyrrhic victories at best and crushing defeats at worst.
The story of Into The Breach is a simple one, somewhat echoing the plot of Pacific Rim. A species of subterranean Kaiju bug monsters called Vek are threatening humanity, and the resistance responds by deploying giant mech units to repel them, sending back a pilot to an earlier point in time if failure is imminent. As far as narrative elements go, there isn’t a whole lot in terms of characterization or development, but this simple and stripped-back approach works well for this sort of game. Pilots may not have a whole lot of personality and there may not be much of a storyline to follow, but it provides sufficient context for the constant monster punching action that you’ll be involved in.
Gameplay takes the shape of a turn-based SRPG, with you commanding a team of three which fight the near-limitless waves of Vek on an 8x8 grid. Several spaces on each grid are populated by cities, which are the Vek’s primary target. If a city gets hit, a bar is taken off of your grid gauge, which acts as a meta-health bar that carries over between battles. If your grid gauge runs out, or if all your mechs get destroyed in a battle, or if you fail to reach certain objectives on a map, you lose - but you are given the opportunity to send back in time one surviving pilot to start a new game.
The main hook of gameplay is found in how every enemy attack is telegraphed in advance, giving a sort of puzzle game feeling to proceedings. You’re given all the information as to what is going to happen once your turn is over, and it’s up to you to decide how to best tweak that outcome in your favour. Many attacks, for example, are capable of pushing or pulling the units they hit, allowing you the chance to push Vek into the ocean or into the line of fire of another Vek. Considering that there can sometimes be twice as many Vek on the field as there are mech units, it often feels like there’s too much to deal with at once, and this is where the element of loss factors into things.
Into The Breach seems to revel in forcing the player to make devastating decisions, creating many scenarios where there are no 'winning' moves to play. It may very well be that the only way to block that Vek’s attack on a nearby city is by having a pilot take the hit, killing them and removing their mech from the battle. Or perhaps you may have to fire a shot on one of your own cities, in order to push adjacent Vek out of the way and to their deaths. More often than not, the player is made to think about what matters most in the long run, often sacrificing whatever doesn’t immediately fit into that.
Even so, Into The Breach is rarely unfair, making every victory and defeat feel rightfully earned. All actionable information is laid bare for the player to see, meaning that every decision you make is fully informed; you’re told exactly where Vek are going to attack, in what order, and how any environmental factors are going to affect things. There is almost no element of randomness except for the grid defence factor: a 25 percent chance that a city struck by a Vek will suffer no damage. You’re able to undo any unit movement during your turn, but once an action is made, that unit is locked in, with one notable exception. Once per battle, you can use time travel to reset all actions made that turn, allowing some minor leeway in terms of experimenting with different strategies. Into The Breach strikes a commendable balance, then, keeping RNG elements to a bare minimum while still offering a brutal difficulty.
Progression takes place over the course of four themed islands, with a separate ‘final boss’ island being unlocked after conquering two islands. Each of the main four are divided into seven regions, with each one representing a battle, and after four battles, seismic activity will trigger which destroys the remaining three regions and unlocks the boss fight for that island. Much like in battles, choices made on the map will heavily affect the outcome of your run, due to the effect of sub-objectives found in each mission.
Though defending cities and keeping mechs alive is your main focus, each battle will have a couple optional side-activities that reward you in some fashion - such as killing a certain number of Vek or keeping them from destroying a power plant. Fulfilling these objectives grants you boons like extra bars in your grid gauge or stars that can be spent on new weapons in a shop that appears after beating a boss. Individually, these sub-objectives don’t make a ton of difference, but it’s diligently going after them that will grant you a greater cushion as the run continues.
There’s a mild bit of character progression, too, in the form of levelling-up pilots. Each Vek kill will net the pilot some XP, and each one can be levelled-up twice, granting benefits like more health or stronger attacks. If a pilot is killed, their mech can still be used in battles going forward, but no more XP will be acquired and all level benefits will disappear. Into The Breach is very much a game where the experience comes in the meta form of players becoming better decision makers, but these progression elements are still added in to make each run feel a bit different.
For those of you looking for replayability, you’ll be pleased to know there’s plenty of bang for your buck here. Into The Breach features roguelike elements, meaning each map, island, and shop will be different each run, giving you a nearly limitless number of ways to play. More importantly, there’s an in-game achievement system tied to completing tasks and pulling off certain feats, with each achievement netting you a coin. Collect enough coins, and you can unlock a new team of mechs, each of which plays and feels radically different than the last one.
Though it absolutely nails its gameplay and balance, one notable way in which Into The Breach stumbles is its presentation, which is forgettable at best. Graphics are presented in a rather basic, sprite-based look that does a fine job of communicating information to the player but lacks that 'wow' factor. Granted, not every game has to be a system showcase, but having a weak art direction does make a game less appealing, especially when you’re spending as many hours with it as you will with Into The Breach. Similarly, the soundtrack is a quiet, atmospheric collection of tunes that do little to enhance the experience; the music is mostly just here to avoid the awkwardness of silence.
Conclusion
Into The Breach is a brutal, uncompromising game of making hard decisions and living with your mistakes, but the short length of battles and endless variety of playthroughs makes for an extremely addictive experience. Though the graphics are nothing special, the gameplay is some of the very best you’ll find in the strategy genre on the Switch, and we can easily recommend this to anybody who’s looking for an in-depth game that’ll make you think. Into The Breach feels right at home on the Switch, and whether you play more at home or on the go, you’re more than likely to get plenty of value out of this release.
Comments 61
A good game spoiled by rogue-like design.
Unlike Fire Emblem or Advance War, this is true modern chess game with a 8x8 board.
Just waiting for fire emblem,
Fun fact, I watched PR and PR:U with a buddy on the same day it was announced that Into the Breach would release on Switch that day. It was pure coincidence
Edit: lol, what I actually wanted to say is that the game is brilliant. Simple as that. If you liked FTL, this is 100% for you. If you are interested in rogue-like designs in general, do take a look. If you are into turn-based combat, do take a look. If you like creative approaches to well established formulas, well, this is certainly a must play then, because it puts some very cool spins on the advance war formula, while also doing away with some other elements.
I'm not sure what a perfect game is anymore, but I don't have any qualms with Into the Breach. If anything, it might be a bit too hard and unforgiving and esp. earning actual progress can feel like a really significant challenge at times, but then again, that is kinda the point and the runs in this game can be held incredibly short, so it's an issue as such, but more of a nature-of-the-beast thing. A 10/10 would have been also fine with me. Fantastic game, no complaints.
I love how it sorta reminds me of Advance Wars, but wow, it just looks really basic.
@JayJ It takes cues from Advance War for sure, but mechanically it's actually alot more complex. Don't be fooled by the basic looks of it though. This game can be a tough nut. More importantly though, it's incredibly fair. You are very unreliant on rolls of the dice and the game provides you with virtually all the information you could possibly ask for to make informed tactical decisions. You will never be speculating in a FE'esque manner, whether your character might dodge this or that attack or make that critical hit. You will (as far as I can tell) never fail because the store is not selling you the goods you were hoping for and building towards. At least I feel like this was more of an issue in FTL than it is ever here.
It's extremely well though-out, balanced and fine tuned. If you fail, it will be your own poor decisions that made it so. That can really make it feel rather harsh though as well.
Chess Wars, loving it so far, game turns nails very fast. Plenty to ponder from the start. The perfect counter point to unlocking stuff in Isaac. Who needs info about online? I am happy to lock myself away with these two for the foreseeable...
Really loved this game. I think all its missing is a bit more of a story and presentation and it would have been a perfect 10.
Just finished Octopath ( with all stories finished + hardest dungeon) and tried this game..wauw..so brutally hard, have died over and over trying to get the perfect outcome, even on normal! Really a good game. Lol didn't expect that!
It's super good. Don't miss out on this one if you like tactics games. It's a game where every turn matters, and each turn comes with hard decisions. It's still brisk, though, because each battle is only about 5 turns, so restarting after a failed campaign doesn't feel like a slog like in other, more drawn out roguelites. It almost feels more like a co-op board game (without the co-op).
I'm surprised to read your comments about the soundtrack, FTL has such an amazing soundtrack.
I'm impressed when a game that has only just servicable visuals, music, plot, and characterization runs away with a 9. Has to be a lot of fun to play!
@Nincompoop
Is it really much more rogue-like than other procedurally generated strategy games, like X-Com or Civilization? I mean, it seems to have an ending and everything.
Just wondering if you could elaborate on what it is you feel detracts that much.
@Pod In Civilisation you died after like 100 hrs of gameplay, this game only takes minutes for that to happen.
Just like chess, this is a short game... that is the reason many devs chose the rogue-like design, to prolong the gameplay by making people try over again from the beginning. It's annoying when you made a mistake and has to begin from scratch rather than restart from that level. Procedural generation helps to keep it fresh every time you restart but it's also time wasting.
This game is one of the greatest TBS titles that I have played in recent years. I hope they support it with DLC. They can expand the game with additional islands and additional difficulty and units and enemy types.
For me, Into the Breach sits together with Celeste and Hollow Knight as the best switch games released in 2018. Hard to pick my favorite one.
I downloaded this game almost immediately after the Direct although I also found the visuals almost disturbingly basic. Not only in regard of style, but also the design choices are really really average and boring (though I like that you fight insects).
I liked a lot that the battlefields have a compact size and every level is really short. Also the gameplay is SO rewarding. The mechanics really make for some great combos and are still not in itself complicated. Also I think it is really fair that you can reset your units if they didn't attack yet and reset a whole turn once every level. The different units really mix up the gameplay aswell.
The music is great too, nothing to distracting, to me it has some Metroid-vibes.
I think the upgrade-system could be better though, since you hardly can upgrade your mechs at all (or I missed how you get those spheres and the energy for it).
I would give this game maybe an 8/10 because it really lacks a story and charm (visuals + characters). Gameplay is really addicting though.
@Nincompoop
Alright, thanks.
Sounds like it might not exactly be my cup of tea, even if I like hard, short games. But I'd like them to look and/or sound good, as well as feel somewhat novel in their design, if I am to be punished like that.
I don't think it is a hard people make it to be.
There is an easy mode as well, that people can use to get used to the mechanics, but after you understand how all works normal mode is pretty winnable.
I have won on normal with all squads on first time except for one.
You can do a 2 -4 island run. A 2 island run will probably be around 80 minutes and 4 island 2:20 hours
I really like this game and find myself playing just one more run far too often.
@Pod
It feels novel and to me it sounds good. It also has some slight, but nice rumble. It is a lot more satisfying than it is frustrating and you really get the hang of the basic mechanics very fast.
It feels pretty fair to me.
Though so far I only got to Island Nr. 3 and didn't do the end boss yet. There could be more Islands, but for the price the amount of content is alright and the hazards and enemies don't get old.
Edit: I also like the animation of the enemies creeping out of the ground. It's pretty creepy, especially when you lose....
@AcridSkull For what it's worth, I really like the music. It's quite ambient, but also very atmospheric and matches each situation well. It changes smoothly as you go from the preparation phase to combat, etc.
Phew... seems like too much of a tough sell to be 9/10 for your average player, but if it's good at what it does for an SRPG, who am I to argue.
@MeloMan For me, it's the tightness of the design that's so appealing. There's no extraneous elements or needlessly complicated systems at play, which is more than many SRPGs can claim.
Finally on the Switch #BuyItNow
@MeloMan I don't really think it's an SRPG at all. It's just a turn based strategy game, similar to Advance Wars, though mechanically it is quite different. Personally, I feel it deserves 9/10 or more - it's an outstanding strategy game.
@Nincompoop Of course it is all opinions, and I know many people (Yourself included) seem to hate all things with Rogue elements, but I really don't think the game is hampered by the design choice. I think it benefits the game greatly, and in my opinion, it is made better for it. I agree that there are many games that should not be procedurally generated, but Into the Breach, FTL, Slay the Spire, Spelunky, etc... are all examples of it done right, in my opinion.
@Ralek85 I agree with pretty much everything you've said about the game, including the possibly "perfect" comment. I think anyone into strategy games, Rogue-like games, or just fans of the developers/FTL should check it out. I can't think of any improvements to make.
My brother was telling me about this game on PC a month ago. Then I saw it on Switch and was like hold up, isnt this the game he was raving about?
I loved FTL so I've definitely been meaning to pick this up. For anyone who has played both versions, how do the Switch controls for this compare to the PC version?
pass for me. I await wastelands 2. this just looks a bit meh too be honest however i did absolutely love FTL. would rather a switch port of that.
This is the first game that might manage to pull me away from the never-ending time suck that is Binding of Isaac. I'm loving how this game is like XCOM, tetris, chess, & Fire Emblem.
@chagrined I like playing on KB/M, but I found myself wanting to play with a controller on my HTPC/GPD WIN 2, which was a bit cumbersome. Ultimately, that's why I purchased the Switch version as well - it's much better suited for Controller than the PC version. Everything controls just fine.
Bought it on day 1 and never regretted buying it. I am still so bad at playing it, but it is extremely fun!!
I didn't even know it was releasing on Switch, had it in my gog wishlist for a while. I'm on vacation and am already building up a list of games to buy when getting back
@chagrined Switch controls are pretty much perfect. The battles take place on small grids, so you don't have to travel far with the 'pointer' to select your character. Think Final Fantasy Tactics or Advance Wars.
Hate the basic visuals and INCREDIBLY small maps. I'd be all over this if it was more of a Front Mission-style game.
Played this all weekend, so much that it affected my sleep...
Just a note, losing all your mechs does not actually lose you the mission. Sure, the Vek will be free to kill as many buildings as they please and you will lose all your pilots, but once the turns tick over and you have some Grid remaining you can still win.
@Nincompoop
Your point on "time wasting" is very interesting.
I think it is more to be seen as Indies often seeking the "retro feel" of the old days when you had to restart the whole game (sometimes no saves or password at all), but today having people go through the exact same levels over and over couldn't be done. So procedural makes it possible in a way.
I'm buying the game tonight as soon as I'm done with my work !
@Tibob It's the content. Hollow Knight with the huge amount of content would be crazy as a Rogue-like, no one will ever finished that game. For content-lite game like Dead Cells it made sense, it's like the movie Groundhog Day where you repeat the same day over and over but every time you will learn something that can be applied to the next cycle.
If ITB has more content the dev would've avoided the rogue-like approach. They 'cheated' with procedural generation to create random levels rather than manually designed ones...then again, with a 8x8 board there's won't be much difference. Or maybe they chose a simple 8x8 board to make the procedural generated levels easier to work with?
I wanted this game from the moment it was released on Steam but held off buying it cause I knew it would come to Switch eventually. I mean, it is perfect there, it would be madness not to!
@Tiefseemiez
That's good then, thanks for the notes.
I never played FTL, so I'm a little on the fence with whether these guys' design philosophies might be my jive.
@Nincompoop I really disagree it is "cheating" in this case. It's like saying the randomly generated maps in Civ (As someone else pointed out) or Age of Empires, among a myriad of other strategy games, is cheating. This game has a ton of content. The devs did not use procedurally generated levels to pad the content in the game, it supplements it and keeps the maps fresh. I do agree with your criticisms of Rogue-like games in general. Like any genre, there are plenty of examples of it done right, and plenty that are done wrong - I think this is an example of it being extremely well executed.
Out of curiosity, do you like any games with procedural elements? If it's just that the genre isn't your cup of tea, it would make sense this doesn't appeal to you.
EDIT: One last comparison - I actually think of ITB as more of a puzzle game, than anything. Like you said, you're playing on small 8x8 maps and you have perfect knowledge of enemy movements. If the maps were 100% static, it would be incredibly simple to "solve" the game, and know exactly how to clear each scenario, every time.
Sudoku is also played on a small grid. While you could hand craft Sudoku puzzles, a good algorithm can easily generate infinite puzzles for you to solve and enjoy, of varying difficulties. In that case, I would say a digital Sudoku game would be hampered by 100% hand crafted puzzles, unless they were to supplement randomly generated puzzles. I feel the same way about ITB.
@roadrunner343 I already mentioned: Dead Cells, it's rogue-like done right. That game doesn't use rogue-like design to prolong the gameplay or make it challenging... it was conceived as part of the game mechanic. In Dead Cells, dying and reborn is a cycle of life: it's a spiral that slowly leads upwards. It's the same as RPG grinding where eventually your experience point will make you powerful enough to push through.
(All rogue like = procedural generating)
Hmm, I will have to pick this up.
@Nincompoop I saw you mention Dead Cells, but I wasn't sure from your post if you enjoyed it or not. Also, I understand Rogue-like = procedural generation, which is why I used the two terms interchangeably, along with random generation, which of course doesn't truly exist.
Since you're open to games with procedural elements, I say try to watch some more videos/reviews, because the game is truly great. If you were fully against all rogue-like games, of course I would suggest staying away.
Admittedly, I am a fan of many procedurally generated games, so I probably am slightly biased, but I also agree that not all games benefit from it (I.E., Steamworld Dig 2 is a much better game than 1) so take from that what you will.
The art style is what is really throwing me off from experiencing this game. I just can't feel connected to it. Maybe if the game goes on discount I will try it anyway.
Front Mission please.
I’m sure it’s good, but the visuals look like something out of the 90’s on a pc.
Another eShop title to add to the wishlist. I can dig the GBA style graphics,only thing off putting to me is the small maps.
What does that mean, the graphics are nothing special?
For a 16-bit style roundbased strategy game it has great animations and lots of detail.
This is a gem of a game. Best turn based strategy game of the last couple of years for me. And it fits the Switch so well. A good 9-9.5 for me!
@roadrunner343 @singingbrakeman Thanks both! This is useful.
Chiming in to say I really like the art style. I like the little map zooms before you choose where to go, and from there the map loads immediately. I like the sprite art and all of the surrounding details.
I find all of it very attractive and it sparks my imagination, reminding me of playing with toys in the backyard.
Can the 8 bit aesthetic please die already?
@Ralek85 Sounds good, if it has the simple and balanced approach of the first Advance Wars game I will probably love it. Based upon what you described it sounds worthy of praise at least.
@hatch
I agree with you!
I don't like the new titles at all. It makes it hard to distinguish between news and reviews. I almost didn't recognise this review, because the title made it look like a regular article.
I lost an entire evening playing this little gem. Well worth the price I say and I like the aesthetics, reminds me of the earlier Front Mission models on the grid.
Don't mind the random nature of the missions, just like Xcom missions, randomly placed enemies. Not sure it's right to call anything with a random nature a roguelite, seems almost just to be used like a slur or negative aspect of a game these days.
I’ve never tried a game like this, might try it it on sale to dip my toe into th genre
Got it, and really like it. ...Was curious how the graphic simplicity was going to feel and now after playing an hour I think Subset hit the right balance. If the graphics were simpler the game wouldn’t be sexy enough to intrigue, but if they were more detailed you’d feel a bit more short-changed that a mech type can’t do more. - I’m really digging the game. - Was also surprised on the amount of unlockables.
I'm sure I will simultaneously be enamoured and infuriated by this game. Sign me up.
@Ralizah It's clealy not meant to be a Front Mission-style game, though. It's more of a puzzle grame from what I've seen, with strong strategic elements. Either way, it seems to be more focused on being addictive and replayable, much like FTL was.
A little more than an hour in, and it's my favorite game of the year. This kind of game just speaks to me.
It's good, but it's not FTL imo. I finished the game on my first real attempt, using 4 islands.
There is some replayability from unlocking and using other squads, but some squads just feel unfair IMO. Probably give this a 7, whereas FTL is a 10 for me.
Just played the hell out of this. Loved it. - Is there a Part 2 in the works???
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