Skip to main content

‘FTL’ creators deliver strategic bug-squashing action with ‘Into the Breach’

Into The Breach - Announcement Trailer
The creators of the hit spacefaring, roguelike FTL: Faster Than Light revealed that a strategy-oriented follow-up that blends elements from Fire Emblem, Earth Defense Force, and Starship Troopers is in the works for PC platforms.

Into the Breach takes place amid a post-apocalyptic wasteland that has been ravaged by giant alien insects, and players must strategically organize their military assets in order to defend what remains of humanity.

Related Videos

Preliminary gameplay footage for Into the Breach reveals that the game adopts an isometric perspective, and features turn-based strategic gameplay in the vein of Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series. Players take control of an arsenal of military weaponry, vehicles, and mechs as they attempt to stop alien creatures from destroying nearby structures and resources, and each individual unit boasts its own set of strengths and weaknesses.

In a unique twist, starting a new game of Into the Breach represents a singular attempt to “save the world” that can end in success or failure, and players will encounter randomly generated challenges during each gameplay session.

“The remnants of human civilization are threatened by gigantic creatures breeding beneath the earth,” Subset Games explains. “You must control powerful mechs from the future to hold off this alien threat. Each attempt to save the world presents a new randomly generated challenge in this turn-based strategy game.”

Into the Breach also marks the return of FTL composer Ben Prunty, who will craft an original soundtrack alongside sound designers PowerUp Audio. Subset Games also revealed that Wasteland 2 and Fallout: New Vegas writer Chris Avellone “is lending his writing talents and world-building skills to the team as well.”

A release date for Into the Breach is not yet known. The game is currently set for release across Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs, though its creators warn that a simultaneous launch across all targeted platforms is unlikely.

Editors' Recommendations

The best Final Fantasy games, ranked from best to worst
Final Fantasy X

While the role-playing game (RPG) has become a catch-all genre, now encompassing an almost silly range of games that don't share much in common, there was one video game franchise in the 1980s that was the quintessential RPG. Yes, we're talking about Final Fantasy from Square Enix.

The fantasy Japanese RPGs debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987, but they became cultural touchstones in the '90s as Super Nintendo games. From there, the series made an incredibly successful jump to 3D on the PlayStation 1 before the mainline series started to take more risks, including the elimination of turn-based battles and massively multiplayer online game (MMO) entries, and the latest game, Final Fantasy XVI, becoming a full-on character-action game.

Read more
The best upcoming Xbox Series X games: 2023 and beyond
A spacecraft in Starfield.

The Xbox Series X and Series S have now been out for over two years, bringing better resolution, higher frame rates, and ray tracing to gamers around the world. The upcoming Xbox Series X games on this list promise to continue to show off all those bells and whistles in fun, new experiences.

If you're eager to find out what Microsoft has in store for the years ahead, we've rounded up every game confirmed so far, including new offerings, franchise installments, and ports of existing titles. We're looking beyond the first-party projects here to encompass all the great games coming to this powerful piece of gaming hardware.
2023

Read more
Don’t start the Resident Evil 4 remake before playing these 5 games
Saddler looms in front of amber in the Resident Evil 4 remake.

Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 remake is just a few days away and the anticipation couldn’t be higher. After a wave of glowing reviews, fans of the GameCube classic are ready to have their heads chainsawed off all over again. That wait will come to an end on Friday, March 24, but impatient players may find themselves looking for a way to kill the time until then.

If you’re in the boat, or simply want to properly prepare yourself for the remake, we’re here to help. Part of the Resident Evil 4 remake’s appeal is the way it engages with not just the original game or the series’ past, but the 20 years’ worth of gaming history that would follow it. With a game as important and influential as Resident Evil 4, you don’t need to go far to see how it impacted the action-adventure genre. The remake shines because it’s seemingly aware of that idea, examining the original through a modern lens.

Read more