Breach & Clear
Turn-based tactical/Squad
Steam Link

aka X-Com: Less Brutal Edition, although let's face it, basically any turn-based tactical game that isn't X-Com or one of its spinoffs (like Xenonauts) is X-Com: Less Brutal Edition.

The game throws you into everything right away, letting you pick a squad...

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and then customize different guys in your squad...

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until you have four different guys with job classes and names of your choosing. (I just went with the default names they gave me but there is the potential here for glorious X-Com-esque customization.)

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This is a turn-based tactical game similar to, well, X-Com as well as Frozen Synapse and other things in that genre. You have one turn to position your guys and then tell them what direction to face - you get a white cone indicating everything in their field of vision, so you can see exactly what they are able shoot at. Things like cover do matter, and your guys have a small handful of special skills depending on their class. However, the game automates shooting for you, unlike certain other squad-based tactical games.

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All of your guys move on the same turn, which really gives me Frozen Synapse vibes more than everything. Once your guys are in position you hit the "breach" button to execute the turn. This gives you the ability to plan their actions as a group rather than individually.

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After a successful mission you get experience based on how successful you were (I've yet to determine the variables for that - I think the time you take has to do with it?) and you can distribute skill points among your guys.

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And that's the game. It's easier to learn than it sounds (or looks), and as the missions are short and quick it will probably infect you with One-More-Mission Syndrome. At least, it did for me.

It's certainly not the deepest thing in the world and you aren't going to find ~serious hardcore tactics~ here but if you want a grab and go squad based game that's based in the real world then it's worth a look. Save it for a sale, though - its full price is $14.99 and I wouldn't pay that much for it.

THE VERDICT:

  • If you like turn-based tactics/squad-based tactics games then this is a decent enough entry
  • It really doesn't do anything new but there's really nothing wrong with it, either
  • Pretty easy to learn
  • Good for picking up and playing for twenty minutes
  • Probably worth picking up on sale if you like this kind of game