Into the Breach (with Woody Ciskowski)

We did it listeners, we saved the city! This week we revisit Subset Games with their hit mecha-tactics bug-squisher puzzle-roguelike: Into the Breach. Time travel shenanigans are at a maximum this time, as we push our recording date back a couple days to get everyone in here. Woody joins us once more to talk about balancing the destruction of apartment buildings with making sure the train gets to its destination on time. Jump mechs, swap mechs, science vesseles, weapons to surpass Metal Gear, bugs that think!?!? Into the Breach is a timeless gem of intense noodle-scratching thought, so drop in from the sky and help us save the corporate islands! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 1:39 - game stats 3:00 - one sentence description 6:09 - Reactive turn-based combat system mechanics explanation 9:01 - Game rule consistency and fairness discussion 14:19 - Story setup: humanity defeated, time travel mechanics 19:07 - Criticism of story elements and time travel narrative 22:07 - Developer interview insights and content cutting decisions 27:04 - Squad variety and achievement system discussion 32:13 - Energy/reactor system and item acquisition complaints 38:22 - Item excitement and randomness in roguelike games 46:56 - Final boss absence and game completion discussion 54:56 - Game length and run time considerations 1:07:11 - Squad preferences and favorite team mechanics 1:15:49 - rankings and final thoughts 1:28:50 - similar games Next episode: Star of Providence Contact us at [email protected]! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: Stanley Turrentine - June Bug Outro music: Ben Prunty - Into the Breach