Into the Breach for PC; Image Credit: Subset Games
Into the Breach (2018)
Into the Breach is a roguelike tactical RPG, but if you prefer the jargon-free description try “chess with mechs.” You only get three pieces, but each comes with rules about movement, a handful of weapon options, and a special ability or two. You fight on an 8×8 grid (courting that chess vibe) against giant insects that burst out of the ground, with a rare emphasis on reducing casualties and protecting infrastructure. As you proceed you’ll upgrade your squad and choose whether to push your luck.
Each level is procedurally generated, but as with Subset’s previous game FTL, it often feels like the challenge is handcrafted to be just barely possible. Sometimes I would stare at the screen for ten minutes, certain there had to be a way out of the latest terrible situation. More often than not, there was!
As you get more comfortable with your squad, you can even go after special achievements which unlock new squads, each requiring you to radically adapt your play-style. Into the Breach will appeal to analytical minds that enjoy modern board games, but with an emphasis on creativity that’s often hard to achieve in heavily rule-based systems.
Score: 9 / 10
–Brian
Death Squared (2017)
There are some games that don’t really work as solo experiences, but when played with friends become funny, or bring out that competitive drive, or unite a team with complementary strengths. Death Squared is trying to tap into that, but falls a little short. Your 2 or 4-person squad controls robots in specially designed 3D chambers, where you need to hit switches, avoid traps, and not plummet to your death. The framing device is that these robots are being tested by a mismatched duo: a coldly meticulous no-nonsense AI and a bored slacker. Their banter is lightly comic, and a bit mean.
Kelley and I played together, started strong, but didn’t finish. It wasn’t that the game was too hard; we tended to cruise through the rooms at a brisk pace. The problem was the lack of progression. There’s 120 levels, but after the first dozen you’ve seen every mechanic and the dynamic of the narrators is solidly established. I wish there’d been an actual story or more to figure out, instead of just more to do. Death Squared relies too much on the cooperative dynamic to carry the game, and it should have been more ambitious.
Score: 5 / 10
–Brian
I completely agree – solid puzzles, but not enough variety to keep the game interesting for a sustained period. I did enjoy the aesthetics and the need for cooperation between players to prevent being burned up by lasers or falling into pits, but the game didn’t build and take itself to the next level in the way that I hoped it would. If you want a truly great cooperative puzzle platformer, pick up Ibb & Obb instead (the subject of a future review!).
Score: 7 / 10
–Kelley
Wizards Unite (2019)
I unapologetically love Harry Potter, so when I found out there was going to be an HP version of Pokemon Go, I was in. Fast-forward several years to summer 2019 when Wizards Unite launched. I was instantly hooked. Much like in Pokemon Go, you wander around and collect things – traces of magical creatures, artifacts, characters, and more – by clicking on icons that pop up and drawing a predetermined shape (“casting a spell”). Some traces, denoted by colored lights, are less common than others. Traces fall into ten different categories, from “Care of Magical Creatures” to “Mysterious Artefacts,” and each category is split into different themed pages, like “Hagrid’s Hut.” Using potions can help make traces easier to catch, appear more frequently, or increase the amount of XP received from capturing them.
The three types of buildings found in WU, inns, greenhouses, and fortresses, map back to real-world points-of-interest. Inns provide energy, which is necessary to cast spells; greenhouses give you potions ingredients; and fortresses let you fight a set of foes in a challenge either alone or with a group of friends. Also, much like the eggs in Go, WU has portkeys you can unlock by walking 2, 5, or 10 kilometers.
While there is technically a plot to Wizards Unite, I burnt through the story very quickly. That said, Niantic is good about regularly releasing special events, community days, and limited-time tasks to keep players engaged. Between these events, the unofficial goal is to fill and level up all of the pages of your Registry. WU may not be thought-provoking, but it is one of the apps I tend to open when I pick up my phone.
Score: 6 / 10
–Kelley
I played Kelley’s copy of Wizards Unite for 5 minutes while walking with her in the park. I zapped several gnomes. I admit to finding the appeal elusive, but I support anything that gets us out of the house.
–Brian
For more in this series see 2019 Trios.
Significant Gamers 