Tag: Subset Games »

If you ask just about anyone to name their absolute “must-buy” mobile games, FTL is bound to be on that list. With an awesome premise, tons of replayability, and a tough-as-nails roguelike sensibility, it’s a game you can fire up at any time just about anywhere and have a good time. With the release of Subset Games’s follow up title, Into The Breach, this week, a lot of people have been wondering if this game has the same potential to be a smash hit on mobile, and the answer is a resounding yes. Here’s why:

It’s great

The first thing you might want to know about Into The Breach is that—as a follow up to FTL—it pretty much completely lives up to the hype. It’s a tightly designed roguelike where you control a team of mecha as they try to defend humanity. For a quick comparison, it feels like someone took Pacific Rim and jammed it into a tiny tactical map that looks like Advance Wars but plays a bit more like Invisible Inc., where all of your hits will land, but you have to plan them out carefully to make sure you don’t die or inflict too many human casualties in the process.

On top of that, it has a ton of unlockables, bonus missions, upgrades, and the same great difficulty curve that keeps you on the edge of your seat constantly while playing. As long as a port job of Into The Breach brings the game to mobile more-or-less intact, there’s no need to worry about whether it’s worth a purchase.

It fits

As an experiment, I went ahead and tried a couple ways to shoehorn Into The Breach onto my iPad just to see what it would be like, and I wasn’t disappointed. Even without any port work to make Into The Breach’s controls work for touch, the game works surprisingly well. It's also a game that constantly saves your progress, which makes it easy to pick up and put down on a whim. Finally—and perhaps most importantly—Into The Breach’s bite-sized tactics maps fit amazingly well on a mobile screen. Don’t believe me? Check out the screenshot below of the game running on an iPad display. Even in this compromised, windowed mode, everything about the game's UI is clean and easy to read.

The App Store could use another essential release right about now

FTL came out on mobile about four years ago, and since then there have been a few games here and there that seem like they should stay permanently installed on your home screen, but not many, especially recently. Although there are no current plans for Into The Breach to come to mobile, it would be a huge hit, particularly if it struck during an App Store lull like the one we’re currently in.

Since its arrival on the App Store a few years ago, FTL has been entertaining mobile gamers with its irresistible style, regardless of the often absurd challenges it presents. Fans of that fine spaceship management sim will be pleased to learn that Subset Games has another sci-fi game in the works --Into the Breach.

In Into the Breach, the last vestiges of human civilization are hanging on despite a looming subterranean threat. The action plays out on an isometric grid, and you'll have to use your best turn-based strategy skills to win this fight. Massive insectoid monsters erupt from the earth, wreaking havoc. It's up to you, the player to stop them by commanding an army of mechs, all of which can be upgraded as you progress. The cities must be protected at all costs, as they are vital to powering your war efforts.

The game features more of the gorgeous pixel art that we saw in FTL, along with a soundtrack from FTL's composer, Ben Prunty. Subset Games says that Into the Breach will be available "when its ready". The game's only been confirmed for PC and Mac so far, but we expect we'll be seeing Into the Breach on mobile as well, if FTL is any indication.

If there’s one thing you need to know about FTL, it’s that it’s a fantastic game. A very close second thing you really need to know is that it’s about as unforgiving as that one extremely tough grade-school teacher that never gave anyone a break. Don’t play innocent, we’ve all had one.

So, while we here at 148Apps wholeheartedly endorse you rushing to the App Store to purchase FTL for your iPad immediately (seriously, go do it if you haven’t already), we also understand that you may have some trouble starting out. Or just in general. That’s why we’ve put together a list of tips, tricks, and strategies to hopefully keep your ship and your crew functioning that much longer. Due to the random nature of sector layouts, encounters, and shop inventories there’s no way to guarantee success, but we’re certainly going to do our best for you.