Into the Breach

Back when I didn't have money, I pirated this game and played the hell out of it, and it was one of my favorites to just boot up and do a turn every now and again in the background while I did other stuff.
Now that I actually do have the cash to spare, I made sure to get it officially to support the devs. But when I booted up the official version for the first time, it remembered all of my achievements and saves from my pirated copy, and gave them to me properly on steam. They really didn't have to do that, but they did, and I can't help but respect that whether intentional or not, they managed to make the swap to a legit copy as painless as possible. And they really didn't need to. So good on you.

Imagine playing chess against a computer. Now imagine the chess pieces are mechs vs aliens. Now imagine that your knight can push pawns out of the way and set them on fire. Now imagine your rook can shield itself and ram into other pieces to knock them down holes. Now imagine this is roguelite style and with each successive game you can upgrade your pieces to do new things - maybe now your knight can set smokescreens! Maybe now your rook can control their queen to attack their bishop!
That's essentially this game. S-tier roguelite for chess lovers, can be very hard at harder difficulties and easier at lower difficulties, very well balanced. Meta progression system is very fun - unlock new squads that do different stuff by getting achievements (which are often cool trick shots in a run). Low stress turn based that rewards thinking through the moves thoroughly. If you like chess and you like roguelites, then this game is the GOAT.

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.

Did you like FTL? If YES, this game is for you.
Do you want something you can pick up for 10 minutes whilst waiting for the oven to warm up? If YES, this game is for you.
Do you want something you can obsess over the actions and turns for hours at a time without noticing it is dark outside and you really should go to bed as you have work tomorrow but you really want to finish the timeline? If YES, this game is for you.
Do you want to be the next Fortnite Twitch Stream Superstar?
Get over yourself, and get this game instead.

I have spent hours looking at the screen trying to determine if multiple different moves actually achieve an optimal result... without ever making a single final action. It's like a game of chess if the opponent was aliens and you were defending 5 different kings. A masterpiece that I am still trying to master.

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.