The best PC games of 2018: Into the Breach

Every level of Into the Breach is like one of those ball bearing mazes that come in Christmas crackers. They’re a puzzle in miniature that, with enough patience and planning, can be solved in a single faultless run. Success in both comes paired with a sense of relief, as each move towards the end carries the risk of losing all the progress made so far. This comparison falls apart, however, in that I tend to snap the toy in two before Boxing Day, yet after months with Into the Breach I’m still in love with its challenge. I spend a lot of my time playing Into the Breach staring at the screen, trying to solve the mental Rubik’s cube that is each turn. The enemy aliens move into position, every one of them trying to attack either my time-travelling mech pilots, or the densely populated city blocks I’m trying to defend. Then it’s up to me to find a way to kill, block, or move the enemy before their attacks land. For instance, a well-placed mortar shell can shove a bug one square to the east, meaning their claws will swipe at thin air instead of a skyscraper. What I’ve come to appreciate most over the year I’ve now spent with Into the Breach is its spirit of reinvention. Yes, each time you play you’re diving into a new procedurally generated campaign, but I’m really referring to the squad system.