Calling all mech pilots! The bug-like race known as the Vek are here to destroy what is left of our world. Do you have what it takes to protect our cities and defeat the alien menace? Do you believe that the only good bug is a dead bug? Then, get ready to jump Into the Breach and find the timelines where humanity is victorious!

Into the Breach is a tactical rogue-lite. It borrows elements from both the tactical RPG and rogue-lite genres but becomes its own thing entirely. You control a team of three “mechs”, which are giant suits of mechanized armor. Your goal is to save Earth from the Vek, a race of alien bugs hellbent on destroying the human race. The main plan is to kill the Vek and cause as little collateral damage as possible. However, it’s not that simple: there is a lot of nuance here which elevates the experience.

Into the Breach plays like a Tactical-RPG. You have a grid-based movement and attack system. Each mech has its own movement speed (that is, the number of spaces it can move in a single turn) and attack distance. All the enemies operate in this way as well. The action is turned-based, with you performing all of your moves and attacks first, and the enemy resolving their actions.

Some levels even have environmental hazards, like having the ground fall away every turn.

There are some clever differences that set Into the Breach apart from the rest of the standard T-RPGs. For example, every level is the same size. There may be different layouts and obstacles, but the 8×8 grid is the base for every map. You also always have three mechs at your disposal. At the beginning of a run, you’re able to choose which ones you want and they will be your team for the entire run. You can upgrade and buy new abilities for them, but there is no army building or adding units to the field during a battle.

Another big difference is that you are able to see your enemy’s next attack on the board. On their turn, they will resolve their attacks, move, and then set up their next attack. Since you can see exactly what they are planning to do, you are able to react before they attack again. This mechanic does not take away from the difficulty of the game but instead adds an inventive layer to the strategy. As a player, you now have the ability to fully plan and make decisions, which is empowering and fun.

You’re also able to choose which levels you want to play, strategizing risk and reward based on what you currently need.

With identical level size and the ability to see your enemies moves, each round becomes almost like a puzzle to solve. You know what the Vek are targeting and you know the capabilities of your team. Therefore, you can use your turn to strategically manipulate the battlefield to your advantage before the Vek resolve their attack. You can kill or push them to save a building or mech, or you can even maneuver their placement to attack each other. This eliminates the issue of unbalanced AI. Every round is fair and the outcome is in your hands.

Into the Breach also implements many features from the rogue-lite genre. In true rogue-lite fashion, not every run will be a success, and this is OK. Subset Games even gives a narrative reason for the failed runs, so it feels natural. Regardless of whether you fail or succeed, you’ll just jump to a different timeline and attempt to save the world there. This also explains why every run is procedurally generated. This, along with various team builds and levels of difficulty, provide for almost limitless replayability.

Let’s wreck ’em with the mechs, son! … I’m sorry.

As you play through the game, you can unlock new pilots and new mechs. Each mech and pilot has their own abilities and features. For example, there are pilots that give any mech the flying ability. There are mechs that focus on displacing the enemy and those that focus on dealing direct damage. You can choose one of the existing teams or create your own, building a team that best fits your play style with pilots/mechs that work well together. There are so many combinations to be made that you could spend hours just learning the different mechs’ abilities and how they synergize with each other.



As you can see, there are a lot of mechs to choose from. Random Squad runs are always fun, even if they end in disaster!

There is a lot to Into the Breach, but it doesn’t ever feel too complicated. There are three difficulty levels to choose from, but even the Normal mode is fairly difficult. I highly recommend starting on Easy to get a feel for the gameplay before moving on to harder modes. Everything you unlock will move over, too, so there is no reason to not start at a lower difficulty. Also, there is a comprehensive tutorial that is very helpful in laying out the basics.

The graphics and sound design are great as well. The pixelated designs pay homage to the GBA games that clearly inspired this, such as Advance Wars. The portraits of the Vek are truly gross and monstrous. The music adds to the epicness of saving Earth while not being overbearing. It comes together in a succinct aesthetic to act as the backdrop for the tactical gameplay.

Protect the train! Destroy the Vek!

For me, Into the Breach is currently one of the best games on the Switch, though I understand puzzle-like tactical gameplay may not be for everyone. With the procedurally generated levels and various mechs and pilots, there is almost infinite replayability. Due to the addicting and fun gameplay, I want to play it over and over again. It is no easy feat to create a game with this much replayability, let alone one that you’d actually want to replay this much; Subset Games continues to impress. Being able to take it on the go and play levels in short increments is a great way to experience this game. Experimenting with the different mech combinations and trying to get the perfect run for a hard mode victory never gets old.

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