It has been six years since FTL: Faster than Light appeared on the digital shelves. Now, we have the opportunity to play the next strategy brought to us by Subset Games. They called it Into the Breach, and the first impressions are fantastic. The game is a turn-based roguelike strategy filled with mechs, which in my case was reason enough to give it a shot.
Get Ready to Die a Lot…but You Will Know Why
As for the storyline, it’s not that deep, but it doesn’t matter. Vek, the evil race of aliens, wants to destroy the world and you are the head of a squad to stop them. In a roguelike game, you expect to die a lot. But you shouldn’t worry about that. The pilots within your team are tasked with creating a rip in time and space that enables you to jump Into the Breach (get it?) and get another opportunity. The trick is that here you will know precisely what mistake you made that cost your life. That will enable you to prepare better for the next match and finally defeat the evil aliens.
Now, since you are traveling to an alternate timeline, it’s only natural that things change a bit. That is why the game offers you a choice of the pilot to begin the next game with. Aside from that, the stage and the objectives will be randomized, which will make your task trickier.
Fancy a Game of Roguelike Chess?
You could say that Into the Breach reminds of roguelike chess. You have three team members to deploy, but I suggest carefully analyzing the map first. Your opponents start the turn, and it’s your task to stop them. You will know their moves before you play yours. You will also be shown the consequences of every possible step before you perform it. If you manage to defend their attacks, you will keep your health bar intact. This gauge is called “power grid,” and you will transfer it through levels, which (again) adds to the difficulty of the challenge expecting you. The game is split into islands and islands are divided into stages. Did I mention that the game is incredibly tough and it will be tricky even to clear the first island?
Fortunately, the health of your mechs will refresh between levels. You can upgrade them and use pilots to improve their abilities, as well as unlock new mechs. It’s not easy to choose the right move, but just keep in mind that the goal is to decrease the damage inflicted by Vek to a minimum. To complete the level, you don’t have to destroy the aliens. Instead, you just need to survive for the required number of turns.
