You only have a few days left to get the best mech-suit game ever for free
Pacific Rim and Edge of Tomorrow vibes with Final Fantasy Tactics gameplay.
PC gamers always have a free game waiting for them at the beginning of every week on the Epic Games Store, and right now the freebie is a game once described as a mix between Pacific Rim and Edge of Tomorrow that plays a bit like Final Fantasy Tactics. But you better act fast, because it'll be gone in just a few days.
The Epic Games Store has given members access to some of the best-known titles of this generation of gaming, like Grand Theft Auto V and Hitman. Every now and then, Epic throws in an indie title to keep things fresh and this weeks' freebie is a sci-fi themed strategy game that you'll be hooked on from your first (and probably failed) playthrough.
Into the Breach is free on the Epic Games Store until Thursday, September 10 at 11 a.m. Eastern. Anyone with an existing account (which is also free) can redeem a digital copy of this Pacific Rim-esque, turn-based strategy title, but don't wait too long. After the giveaway expires, Into The Breach will return to its full price of $15, which might not be much compared to the cost of modern AAA titles, but it'ss money you could have saved if you've been itching to try out the sci-fi strategy game.
Into the Breach was created by Subset Games, the same indie studio that developed FTL: Faster Than Light. The company's past title was nearly universally praised for its creative use of role-playing and real-time strategy elements.
Subset has clearly pulled from its past success with its 2018 release of Into the Breach. The title doesn't provide much of any storytelling, but it more than makes up for it with increasingly more difficult puzzles.
The game gives you control of a trio of three giant mechs that you'll need to maneuver across eight-by-eight playing boards that are packed with natural hazards like volcanos and ice, but even worse: They're infested with different species of kaiju-like beasts. Map terrain varies based on which of the game's four islands players choose to explore first: The Museum Island, Desert Island, Ice Island, or Factory Island.
An example of how a level could look like on the Ice Island. Each new board is a unique puzzle gamers have to solve with the hand they're dealt.
While the natural obstacles you'll face are consistent with the island you choose to explore, the monsters and bosses you'll face are completely randomized. That means each playthrough of Into the Breach is completely different from the last, and every board introduces a unique challenge that you'll need to overcome by expertly spreading your mech forces across the map based on the traits you've given them.
There are a total of 27 mechs, each with their distance characteristics. Players can customize them even further by choosing any of the game's 13 pilots to take control of. This opens up a wide variety of strategies you can use to surmount the challenges you'll encounter on each island. You'll quickly learn that sticking to one game plan won't take you very far.
Pick your team of mech pilots and dive 'Into the Breach.'
At the end of each island, you spend the points collected on a random assortment of upgrades. This forces players to adapted new strategies based on the hands they're dealt with instead of sticking with the same plan for every new challenge by mixing and matching new active skills and passive abilities. Into the Breach rewards careful planning and experimentation, so don't be afraid to completely scrap something that worked the first time in favor of a newfound and powerful skill.
So what are you waiting for? Organize your fleet of mechs and dive face-first ... Into the Breach.
Into the Breach is free for PC on The Epic Games Store until September 10 at 11 a.m. Eastern.
