As I have mentioned here a few times, I don’t play a lot of games these days. The last game I completed was Skyrim. I didn’t write a post about that, but at least I mentioned here I was playing it. Actually, can you really complete Skyrim? So let me clarify: I completed the main quest and some side quests, and after a bit over 63 hours playing the game, I’m ready to move on. Since then I’ve tried Divinty: Original Sin, me alone and also co-op with one of my sons, but it didn’t stick. The game looks nice, the mechanics are OK, and there’s some story; but I didn’t connect. Then I bought Into the Breach for one of kids (because I knew is was a cool game he would love), and turns out I like it too. Oh, and it isn’t a big commitment: a succesful run in “normal” difficulty is a bit over one hour. My stats so far It only took me 13 runs, with around 9 hours of play spread in a few days. What is “Into the Breach”? In its core, it is a turn-based strategy game, but in my view is more a puzzle game. From the wikipedia: Into the Breach is set in the far future where humanity fights against an army of giant monsters collectively called the Vek. To combat them, the player controls pilots that operate giant mechs that can be equipped with a variety of weapons, armor, and other equipment. The game uses a turn-based combat system, allowing the player to coordinate the actions of their team in response to enemy moves and actions that serve to telegraph their attacks. So you play in a board and you need to survive for a number of turns, preventing the Vek from destroying vicilian structures, because that would weaken the power grid, resulting in game over if it gets to zero. And that survival is what makes the game so interesting: is not always about destroying the enemy but about pushing it out of the way with different moves, so they don’t damage the structures you need to protect. It is strategy, of course, but I see each turn as a puzzle that I need to solve, taking into account different factors: where my mechas are, the target of the Vek, the environment, fire damage (the Flame Behemoths are the best!), the order in which the enemies attack, etc. Sometimes you don’t have any other choice that take damage, or let a structure to be destroyed, but it is very satisfying when you get to the perfect sequence of moves that saves all the population. Now, the game is fun, so it doesn’t matter that I have completed it. There are other difficulty levels, other ways of finishing (for example: I completed 2 islands, but I could do up to 4), more squads to unlock, etc. So I think I have “Into the Breach” for quite some time. The other game that I have been playing recently is Life is Strange. I have finished two chapters, and I’m liking it so far. The game is far from perfect, but I’m intrigued to see where it is going. I may write about it here when I finish it, although I suspect it won’t be easy!