Into the Breach - Thoughts

 

Into the Breach is a paradox. And no, not a time-travelling one; Subset Games' sophomore effort is a perfect experience that's dogged by its perfection. It sounds nonsensical, but hear me out: you know how there's some games you love but probably won't ever play again? Usually they require too much of a time investment (World of Warcraft) or offer the greatest value on your first experience (Undertale), but either way you're not compelled to return. To have this happen with a procedurally generated game—one that's designed for repeated playthroughs—typically forewarns of a broken system, lack of variety, or crushing length. Into the Breach has none of those, but is instead so beautifully balanced that finally figuring out how to play it eliminates your need to.

The premise for Into the Breach is phenomenal: ginormous bugs are attacking Earth, and the only way to stop them is by using equally ginormous robots (that uh, also travel through time). While it sounds like the perfect pitch for an EDF clone, Into the Breach plays closer to a game like chess, prioritizing positional advantages and impactful moves. Each battle opens by showing you how the bugs plan to attack, and you must counter them for four or five turns, whereupon the pests will retreat. The catch is that more bugs will emerge out of the ground every turn, so you must keenly balance offense with defense, eliminating major threats while finding ways to deny their reinforcements.

After a few runs you'll see that the chess comparison isn't just for show: turns are porcelain-delicate, with one wrong move sending you spiraling into defeat. Eventually, you'll shift your thinking from "how do I kill these bugs" to "how do I kill them as efficiently as possible", scouring the battlefield for a better move than the one you have. You'll learn to create two results from a single action, visualize the HP of your mechs as an expendable resource, and finally, reach the epiphany that your objective is simply to stop the bugs, not kill them. To help you on this journey are different mech squads that can be unlocked over time, expanding not only your toolkit, but also the way you approach problem solving. While there are a ton of intricate systems you'll have to adapt to, don't let that discourage you—you can succeed on your very first run so long as you use your brain.

This brings us to Into the Breach's biggest draw, as well as the Achilles' heel of its replayability: semi-perfect information. Most of the game's randomness is dealt with before and after a battle, when you're choosing assignments to take, opening time pods, and purchasing items from a shop. Though enemy reinforcements are somewhat unpredictable, you won't be overwhelmed with more than you can handle—and even if that does happen, it's usually because you made a dumb mistake somewhere (like foolishly going to the island with the spider boss). The only hard dice rolling the game does is actually in your favor, in the form of a "grid defense" that has a low (but appreciable) percent chance for buildings to avoid taking damage. Into the Breach is so meticulously balanced that any team you pick is guaranteed to net you a four-island victory on Hard, provided you know how to correctly react to the RNG you're given.

That might sound obvious to roguelite players, but Into the Breach isn't nearly as susceptible to faulty reactions or lethal saving throws; all pertinent information is given to you, so there's always a salvageable move somewhere. That's not to say you will never lose, but that your losses will make perfect sense in hindsight. Besides resignations from chasing achievements, I only had three serious defeats on Hard mode that I can recall: one for choosing poor weapons for the final fight, another for letting the spider boss grow out of control, and the last for picking a custom squad that lacked "push" potential. While it might be tempting to blame the "grid defense" for failing me, the truth is that I could've rectified all three runs had I made better choices along the journey.

And therein lies the rub; Into the Breach is a majestic Rubik's Cube of options, where fun is found in discerning a method by which to solve it, rather than physically completing the task. The game can still entertain in a meditative way, similar to daily chess and sudoku puzzles, but absent is the nail-biting thrill found in an FTL run, where you're anxiously scouring the sector map for a repair station. And sometimes, it's nice to play a game that's devoid of RNG-failure, where messy fights won't leave you bruised or bitter. Sure, frustration tends to play an element (my artillery got webbed AGAIN?!) but your quest to 100% the game will see you achieving a zen state, fear and doubt leaving the equation. You'll understand that every map is solvable, every pilot useful, and that you've won run before launching out of the hangar. In being so well-balanced, Into the Breach effectively solves itself, and then asks you whether or not you can replicate its solution.

However, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there is an absurdly difficult optional challenge: take no building damage over the entire run. While it is doable, it requires a level of transcendence that I probably won't be able to reach, demanding intimate knowledge of every weapon, map, and even the enemy AI. I've gotten somewhat close at times but I always make a mistake somewhere, given that 2+ hours is a long time to play a game flawlessly. And while I appreciate the existence of that challenge, it conversely creates disappointment; there's nothing to test your mettle between the extremes of "no damage taken" and "Hard mode." The closest thing I can think of is selecting a "Random Squad" as your team, which will hand you occasionally tricky combinations (three science vessels?!) Yet one or two store visits will usually round out your arsenal—if you haven't crashed and burned before getting to that point. I think more modes could go a long way towards spicing things up, but as it currently stands, knowing the game "well enough" works somewhat to its detriment.

I hope what I've written isn't misleading—I adore Into the Breach and would rate it at least a 9/10. But... I'm obviously bothered by my lack of need to return to it. Perhaps I'm just judging it too harshly. Most roguelites succumb to mastery eventually, where even difficult games like Nethack, Spelunky and Slay the Spire can yield double digit winstreaks. But personally, I still look at those games and see the ominous possibility of failure looming overhead, heavy as a headsman's ax. Into the Breach on the other hand carries a footnote of failure, one devoid of bad luck, poor response time, and unfair design. If humanity falls to the insect invasion, the most probable reason is that you were simply too impulsive. Into the Breach is a wonderful, enthralling experience while it lasts—but once you can read it like a book, I guess there's little else to do besides shut it and move on.