Into The Breach - Preview @RockPaperShotgun

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RockPaperShotgun preview Into the Breach and find it a fun tactical game with mechs.

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Any studio with a debut as strong as FTL might well be wary of that Difficult Second Album syndrome. How do you follow up a game so idiosyncratic and widely adored without risking disappointment? The answer, it turns out, is with a kaiju vs giant mech tactical masterclass.

We've been playing Into the Breach.

Adam: Cards on the table. Into the Breach is one of the best things I've played this year. It's not out yet and we're all having a big early look at an incomplete version, but it feels pretty much ready for release bar a few placeholder graphics and possible balance issues. The point is, this isn't a preview build as such - it's the full game, more or less, and I love it.

It's a game of tiny, one-screen tactical maps, and short battles. A handful of turns. And I can't stop playing it, over and over and over and over. We're all loving it, right?

Brendan: I like the plot. You're a bunch of time-travelling mech warriors who must defend the earth from gargantuan insects. It's basically Edge of Tomorrow meets Pacific Rim.

Graham: It's so smart, so good at creating tense little situations, at presenting you with every bit of information you need, at creating the sense that there's always a way out of whatever terrible situation you're in.

I feel like we should describe the mechanics. For starters: it's turn-based, but not straightforwardly. At the beginning of each round of turns, you're shown what the enemies are going to do on their turn. This giant beetle is going to charge this skyscraper; this [thing] is going to spew acid at this power plant; this giant squid is going to undulate strangely. You then have the opportunity to decide how you're going to move, and when you hit End Turn, your actions happen first. It becomes, therefore, a game about interruptions. Shove that giant beetle to the side so his attack misses the skyscraper and hits his squidmate, position your mech to block that acid attack and save the power plant, etc.

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