Episode 14
Into the Breach
1h 56m
Listen to this episode
A Podcast Review of Into the Breach: This week we add the 2018 foundational tactics game Into the Breach to the tier list. Is it a puzzle or a tactics game? Does that matter at all since the game slaps?
On this episode we talk through the legendary developers Subset Games. Particularly legendary in that they've only released this one and FTL, but that's enough! The same way that Slay the Spire laid the foundation for all roguelite deckbuilders, Into the Breach set the standard for all roguelite tactics games. It remains to this day maybe the best tactic roguelite out there, though 2026's Mewgenics might have some words.
We attempt to explain the enemy generation algorithm and discuss how impressive it is that, with a relatively limited set of rules, the developers were able to implement difficulty that pushes the edges of "hard" without crossing into "unsolvable". We also discuss the unique metagame system of allowing players to end a run earlier or later and just how good the game feels. Lots of discussion about whether the game belongs in S or A tier, either way it's a banger.
Link to the referenced doc from the developers about the enemy AI: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OPRNzAVQNgPtP35HzhV2ZzEqE1eCdXbWA7lEZXDdMHQ/edit?tab=t.0
Into the Breach is in A tier on our roguelite tier list.
