Into the Breach

A puzzle game, hidden in strategy game, hidden in a turn-based game.
Quite brilliant. I wonder if the devs had one of those in mind but as the game was created, it took a life of its own. That’s how it feels to play it. You are constantly learning about interactions, weapons secondary effects, buildings that don’t crumble, damage done over time, and the random arrival of time pods that can make or break a playthrough.
In one of my most celebrated forays into the final Volcanic Hive, there I stood with my rusty, trusted mechs hanging on to dear life with 1 hp left on the last turn. Completely surrounded, I did what I could to minimize the damage. All Veks were neutralized or incapacitated, but as I cheered one last hurray, I saw a cheeky Beetle hanging out at the edge of the map. I could neither reach him nor attack him from afar, and so all hope was lost.
But that was until he charged, and - by the grace of the Gods, the building held and the Renfield bomb did its duty by blowing up the hive to smithereens.
What a great feeling, what a great victory and what a great game.

I think Into The Breach is one of the greatest games ever made.
If I had to quickly summarize this game, I would say that it takes all of the good tropes of turn-based tactics games, then it improves upon them even further, and then it assembles them all together to create a pure, potent form.
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Bad:
- From a UI perspective, I didn't think that the process of installing and allocating reactor cores was very intuitive at first, but I figured it out soon enough.
- I think the game could do a better job of explaining how the "Undo" button works - i.e. that you can't undo the moving of a mech after another mech has completed an attack action. This is probably obvious in retrospect but I think a clearer explanation would be nice for smooth-brains like me.
Good:
- Every battle takes place on a small 8x8 grid, and that means that there are no "boring" turns. From the very start of the battle, your units are almost always within striking distance of the enemy, and vice versa. For example, you never have to spend several turns just to reposition your mech to a better position (like in Advance Wars). On almost every turn, you move your mech AND you do something "cool"; that could be attacking an enemy, blocking an enemy spawn, freezing an enemy, etc.
- You know exactly what the enemies are going to do on their turn. This means that your turns are always informed. You're never guessing or making lame decisions (e.g. "uhhh, maybe I'll do this in case the enemy does this idk lol"). You're always coming up with clever tactics and having "aha" moments that make your brain feel big and wrinkly.
- Every battle is only 4-turns long. This might seem stupid at first, but it's actually a nice limit. Each turn is significant. I think it helps to prevent the battles from becoming a snorefest. I've had some battles that end with no enemies on the map because I'm blocking their spawn with my mechs. If the turn limit were longer than 4 turns, these "battles" would become boring very quickly.
- The game is highly replayable. Your battles require you to control a squad consisting of 3 mechs, and there are 14 different squads in total for you to choose from. Each mech in each squad has a unique ability. The new abilities of each squad you unlock are forcing you to come up with new tactics. All of the squads are fun to play. Apparently there are over 200 maps, and there are lots of different enemies. This game feels very dense in terms of content and game mechanics.
- If you buy this game, you will very quickly discover whether you like it or not (most definitely within the 2-hour Steam refund limit - probably within like 15-20 minutes). This game is like 10 bucks on sale and at most like 20 bucks.
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If you like turn-based tactics games (e.g. Advance Wars, XCOM, Wildermyth, Mario+Rabbids), you should play this one.
If you didn't like Faster Than Light (the other game made by this company), I would still suggest that you check this one out.
If you're a smooth-brain (e.g. me) and want to feel like a wrinkly-brain (e.g. Albert Einstein, Euclid, Jimmy Neutron), you should play this one.
9.8/10
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BONUS BEGINNER TIPS SECTION THAT NO ONE ASKED FOR BUT MAY HELP YOU ENJOY THE GAME MORE QUICKLY IF YOU JUST BOUGHT IT (lol)
- Don't expect to kill every enemy in every battle. 98 percent of my battles end with 2 to 4 enemies still left on the map.
- Try to prioritize the health of your grid over the health of your mechs.
I could give some more tips but I'll leave them unsaid so that you can have your own "aha" moments that make this game so great.

Note: Between this version, the Switch version, and the iOS version, I easily have more than 200 hours in this game.
I rate this game a 10/10. Simply put, this is one of the best strategy games of all time. No other turn-based strategy game I've played has been able to fuse the strategic depth, mechanical simplicity, and infinite replayability of Into the Breach. I never write Steam reviews (this is my first one), but I had to write this one just because I feel so passionately that the game deserves it (and partially also because I hope this inspires Subset Games to make a follow-up).
This game truly makes you think -- and it does so in a way that is challenging without being frustrating; brilliantly simple while still being very deep and rewarding. You will learn and become smarter as you play this game. If you're even remotely interested in strategy or puzzle games, I highly suggest you buy this game. It will reward you for good thinking, and there are so many moments in this game that will make you feel like a strategic genius in the best way possible.
Gameplay: Into the Breach is a masterclass in game design. The mechanics are fairly easy to learn, but the skill ceiling is high. I love how the strategy in the game is deterministic for the most part -- while the map and spawn locations of both your mechs and the enemies (kaiju-like creatures called the Vek) are random, all moves are telegraphed, which really allows you to think through how you want to play. Each mech squad is also designed synergistically around an interesting game mechanic, many of which are ingenious and change the way the player interacts with certain elements of the game (e.g., one squad focuses on smoke, another focuses on getting Vek to damage each other, etc.), which makes you want to experiment with different strategies. The availability of different squads makes different runs feel fresh, and the different weapons, pilots, island rewards, and skills pilots get as they level up adds some nice randomness. It's the perfect blend of rewarding strategy (no frustrating moments of "95% chance to hit" shots missing) and replayability to unlock new pilots, achievements, and mech squads. One of my big issues with FTL is that failed runs often feel like they're due to bad luck instead of skill -- that feeling is not present in this game. I also love how you can undo moves without restriction (before you've attacked) -- it helps you plan and think. In this game, nearly every defeat -- and conversely, every victory -- is explainable and understandable, and you can learn from your mistakes. Wins feel very satisfying and well-earned thanks to the way the game is designed.
UI: The UI gets a special mention for being extremely user-friendly and well-designed. Each weapon has a little clip that plays when you hover over it, making it clear what the effects of different tools are. The damage numbers are not crazy big, allowing you to calculate and plan without getting in the way of the core gameplay mechanics. The turn order and interaction of various systems in the game are communicated very clearly and make it so that you fully understand why certain things happen the way they do.
Graphics: I really like the pixel art graphics in this one -- they increase readability, and I never have any issue with understanding the moves or damage numbers on the board. I also like how they include the option to add grid coordinates to each game board, which both enhances the experience and makes tiles and strategic moves easier to communicate. The pixel graphics have another hidden benefit, which is that they don't date the game much. I can easily imagine the visuals of this game being present in a game made today, and that timelessness helps this game persist as an infinitely replayable gem that I'm happy to open up and play anytime.
Music: I love the music in this game -- the atmosphere that the music helps create is simultaneously exciting, but also great for focus and thinking. I often use the music of this game when I want to focus for work because it feels perfectly designed to be played in the background while you're doing something cerebral.
Theme/Motif: I love the time travel/sci-fi theme of this game. It feels both exciting and grounded at the same time. The game feels inspired by movies like Pacific Rim, and the world, despite not being a core focus of the game, contributes to the overall atmosphere of the game. The only strange thematic inconsistency for me is that you're meant to be saving the world, but the perfect population count you can save in this game is 30,000 people. It doesn't detract at all from the game experience, however.
Replay value: In case it hasn't been clear in my review so far, this game is infinitely replayable. The fact that they added additional content via the Advanced Edition for free is the cherry on top -- there are so many great new mechanics, mechs, enemy types, and strategic possibilities added by the expansion. And I love how you have the option to customize what specific aspects of the new content you want to include in a given run. You can tell this was a labor of love by the developers.
Final verdict: As mentioned, 10/10. Probably very obvious given how much I'm gushing about this game.
I sincerely hope that Subset Games somehow makes a sequel (or spiritual successor, or follow-up) to this game. I absolutely love strategy games, and with this being one of the shining jewels in the genre in my opinion, I hope to be able to play more games like this. On that note, if you enjoy this game, another game I recommend that scratches a similar type of itch is Tactical Breach Wizards. Also a well-designed game, and I can tell it was inspired by Into the Breach.
In summary, Into the Breach is one of the greatest strategy games ever made, and one of my favorite games of all time. If there were a pantheon of video games that should be preserved for future generations to learn from and enjoy, this should absolutely be one of them. Again, I hope that Subset Games somehow develops a follow-up. I would love to play the next evolution of this game.
If you've read this far, and you're still somehow on the fence about buying this game -- please do it. You won't regret it.

One of the best turn based tactics games I've ever played.
Doesn't hide anything from you, tells you exactly what is going to happen and in what order so you can plan the best possible turn. No RNG to mess up your attacks. Still manages to be challenging despite that.
Lots of unlockables with different equipment to modify your runs.
Great game for steam deck aswell.

In the roughly 40 years of video gaming experience, Into The Breach has been one of my favourite 'lunch break' games. It's easy to get into, game sessions are about 20-30 minutes each, and there are lots of in-game challenges to meet.
Basically, it's a turn-based strategy game with puzzle-like elements. You control squads of 3 mechs, each with different abilities. As you gain 'gold', you get to unlock more squads. Each mech can be upgraded with energy cores, which in turn power different passive, reactive, and active abilities that can be slotted as you gain the gear. The maps are all about the same, with some variations on what you need to do. However, be aware there are mods out there that can change the look and feel of the game content.
Yes, it can get a bit repetitive, but as I mentioned, this is a coffee/lunch break type of game. It's not Civ VI, or WH40k Space Wolves, or C&C Generals. It's not meant to be played for hours. It's meant to be played every now and then while you munch on your sandwich and sip some tea.
Overall, I give this game a solid "A" for fun factor and replayability. On a side note, my hours here don't really reflect how much I've played this, as I originally own a copy of it on Nintendo Switch and have played that for at least three dozen hours over five years, before finding it here on Steam.
Updated 20241005: there is a negative review, where the player stated power cores are obscenely rare. Talk about not knowing how to play the game without saying they don't know how to play the game! If you are not awarded power cores throughout an island level, you can buy them by spending reputation after one island is completed. I can buy 2-4 power cores per island, on top of the 1-3 I get from time pods. They are at worst, uncommon.

things i love about this game

-you feel like a genius when you realize that a turn you thought was impossible to pull off actually has a solution
-every peice of information presented to you as a player matters, and needs to be considered, every mechanic is impactful, every choice matters, unlike other tactics games there is no bean counting or ribbon features here.
-its fast quick to pick up and put down, i turned off turn based strategy games like divinity original sin because every combat felt like to big a investement of time and brainpower. but here combats are perfect little bites of gameplay.

I played this game a while a go, i really dont have time for reviews but!! the depth of this game is ..out of this world. After i read about some updates , i replayed it. And i think it deservers my review.
You start with a group of mechs, familiarize and learn and discover (very important here) the synergies of them versus any possible setup and position of enemies. At some point you are so op and you have learnt to use the advantages and even the disadvantages of your 3 mechs at 100%. You see those first 3 as gods that can solve everything! Then you clear the game and ...
you choose another group of mechs. You see them as lame, non-intuitive for quite few fights, you believe your other 3 were so amazing and good...until your brain (literally) learns and discovers the synergies of these 3 new mechs to solve and counter all possible setups and positions of enemies.
It is an amazing game that really trains you and retrains you to the group of mechs and how to get the 100% of them. Your only enemy is really your brain where you get so accustomed with a group of mechs that in order to learn the new ones , you have to unwind and learn the game from a new perspective.
Only really few games have this replayability and the people behind the mech composition , skills and synergies deserve our mental/iq respect . Seriously amazing work :)