Info about Tactical Breach Wizards: Official game description: What's in the Special Edition? ============================== In-game developer commentary, the WIZ-TAC outfits set, the full soundtrack, and an overly high-concept demo we never released! Full details: Developer commentary throughout the whole game ---------------------------------------------- With this enabled, you'll find tape recorders lying around the levels. Pick one up and listen to us discussing the thinking behind the level you're playing, the character your controlling, this moment in the story, or whatever else is relevant. See the trailer for a look at this in action. There are 52 of these recordings to find, totaling over 3 hours of commentary, spread across the game's 15 hour campaign. They're a mix of designer/writer Tom Francis talking through his own thinking, and interviewing each other member of the team about their work. We get into the reasoning behind design and story decisions, ideas we tried that didn't work out, the hardest challenges we had to solve, and get a little closer to understanding why this game took forever make. And when you're tired of listening to us, you can throw the tape recorder at an enemy to deal 1 knockback. Two notes to be aware of: * The commentary does contain spoilers, so it's not intended for a first playthrough - we can't really give full insight on the thinking behind something without referring to how it plays out later. * The commentary is audio only, no subtitles. Volume is independently adjustable. The WIZ-TAC Outfits ------------------- We made a little pack of cosmetic outfits to say thanks to folks who supported us most: either by buying the game in launch week, or getting this Special Edition. They look like this! They're not automatically granted to you at the start of the game - we think it feels kinda sleazy to have gifts heaped on your character in-game because of a purchasing decision you made out-of-game. Instead they're just added to the normal outfits menu, and unlocked the same way the rest of them are: by spending Confidence points. And just like all the other outfits, they're purely cosmetic. The full soundtrack ------------------- 2 hours and 10 minutes of original music over 47 tracks by composer Robert Arzola, in high quality mp3 format. This is integrated into Steam soundtrack system, as well as just being in a folder on disk. The Lost Demo ------------- Before we settled on the demo we eventually released, we tried an overly ambitious concept: after defeating the Traffic Warlock in the campaign, Jen and Zan would start glitching forwards in time, glimpsing future content. It culminates in a level where they get to decide both how much of their future they want to see, and also the difficulty of the encounter, by choosing when to seal doors that are spawning enemies and allies from deeper into the game. All while those characters announce their arrival by making meta commentaries on their role in the story or game design. Shockingly, this proved too complicated and weird for new players to grasp in the space of two levels, so we ended up building something much simpler. But we think the bespoke levels for the complex version might be fun to play once you do know the game, so we're including them here. About the Game ============== Tactical Breach Wizards is a turn-based tactics game in which you lead a team of renegade wizards in kevlar, as they unravel a modern conspiracy plot and/or find the most stylish way to punch a Traffic Warlock through a 4th story window. It's a story-driven campaign of about 14 hours, in which you... Combo spells for satisfying results ----------------------------------- Each of your wizards has a unique set of abilities, from a straightforward lightning bolt to transforming into a rabid dog. Experiment freely, rewind your mistakes --------------------------------------- When you hit a tricky situation, try every wild idea you have - you can always rewind if it didn't pan out. It could work beautifully, fail spectacularly, or screw up in a way that gives you new ideas. Either way, free rewinds mean you play it out in-game instead of scratching your head. Fight the (various) power(s) ---------------------------- Your team are a motley crew of misfits on the wrong side of the law, fighting against: * The Rushwater PD and their rising star: Steve Clark, the Traffic Warlock * An oppressive religious dictatorship who rule the streets with Riot Priests * A private military corporation meddling with magic to enhance their troops * And the most deadly operative the trade has ever seen: the Black Ops Chronomancer Upgrade your magical arsenal ---------------------------- Every ability for every wizard has a set of unique perks to unlock as they level up, tailoring their powers to your playstyle, and enabling ridiculous ways they can combo with each other. Get to know these loveable idiots --------------------------------- Travel the world, meet interesting wizards, and find out what's wrong with them. Each of your team has their own personal struggles, and between missions you can choose how much to dig into them, overcome them, and guide these oddballs to become friends. Unravel a conspiracy, stop a war -------------------------------- As the enemy plot thickens, key players and their relationships are added to your conspiracy map to keep track of the important bits. You can read more about anything you're fuzzy on, arrange them in a way that makes sense to you, and keep a visual overview of what's going on. Build confidence to wear fancier outfits ---------------------------------------- Each character already owns all their unlockable outfits - they just don't have the confidence to wear them. Characters earn confidence by accomplishing optional extra objectives that reflect their strengths and values. Fine-tune the difficulty ------------------------ We want everyone to be able to finish the game, so as well as Easy, Medium & Hard modes, you can customise each variable individually for the kind of challenge you like. What is it not? --------------- As always, we don't want you to buy the game if it's not for you. Here are some things it isn't! * It's not a branching story. You do make choices in your conversations, but they don't cause major deviations in the course of the plot. They're more about deciding how you want this character to treat people, and how much you want to dig into or push back at what the other person is saying. * It's not a roguelike. Every now and then someone will call it that and we don't know why! Every level is handcrafted. * It's not XCOM. This is a much shorter, story-driven experience about a cast of unique characters. There's no base-building or equivalent. * It's not Into the Breach. This is more forgiving, but the ceiling on how many different things you can do in a turn is higher. What is it? ----------- Come on, we just went over this with gifs and everything. Release date: Aug 22, 2024 Categories: Turn-based Tactical, Character Customization, Story-driven Gameplay, Tactical Combat, Puzzle Solving, Character Progression, Dialogue-driven Gameplay, Single-player Feature scans: - MTX: score 10; verdict: Highly Positive; summary: The overall sentiment from users is highly positive, with a strong willingness to purchase additional DLC content and support the developers. Users find the gameplay satisfying and the characters engaging, leading to a desire for more content and a readiness to pay for it. - Wiki: score 10; verdict: Mixed Reviews with Technical Issues; summary: The game receives positive feedback for its character introductions, strategic gameplay, and soundtrack. However, there are notable issues with game performance, specifically related to crashing when alt-tabbing. - Steam Deck: score 40; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The Steam Deck experience for this game is generally positive, with many users reporting smooth performance and intuitive controls. However, there are notable issues such as the requirement to use Proton Experimental for optimal performance, significant battery drain, small text and UI elements, and occasional controller support issues. These factors can impact the overall user experience, requiring some tinkering and adjustments for the best gameplay experience. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Funny and engaging writing (weight 0.97): The game's writing is consistently praised for being witty, humorous, and engaging. Players appreciate the sharp, punchy dialogue and the unique, off-the-wall setting that keeps them entertained throughout the game. - Challenging and forgiving gameplay (weight 0.84): The game offers a mix of challenging puzzles and forgiving mechanics, allowing players to experiment and optimize their strategies without feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. - Engaging story and world-building (weight 0.63): The game's story is well-crafted, humorous, and touching, with a unique setting that blends magic and modern technology. Players appreciate the engaging narrative and the detailed, immersive world. - Tactical and puzzle-like gameplay (weight 0.61): The game combines tactical combat with puzzle-like scenarios, offering a unique and engaging gameplay experience. Players enjoy the strategic depth and the variety of ways to approach each level. - Unique and interesting abilities (weight 0.59): The game features a variety of unique and interesting character abilities that players can unlock and level up. These abilities add depth to the gameplay and encourage creative problem-solving. - High-quality presentation (weight 0.57): The game features a stylish visual design, great music, and excellent UI. The presentation is clean, visually appealing, and complements the game's tone and pacing. - Optional challenges and replayability (weight 0.56): The game offers optional challenges and objectives that add replay value and encourage players to find more optimal solutions. This, along with the ability to replay missions, enhances the game's longevity. - Well-developed characters (weight 0.44): Characters in the game are well-written, lovable, and have depth. Players appreciate the character development, unique abilities, and engaging interactions between characters. - Rewind and experimentation (weight 0.43): The rewind feature allows players to experiment with different strategies and combos without fear of failure. This enhances the fun and encourages creative thinking. Common complaints: - Language and localization issues (weight 0.17): The game lacks language support, particularly Chinese, which limits its accessibility. The absence of translations and voice acting is a significant drawback for non-English speakers. - Writing and dialogue criticized (weight 0.15): The writing and dialogue in the game have been widely criticized for being unremarkable, too quirky, and filled with millennial humor that often falls flat. Many players found the excessive banter and one-liners grating and not to their taste. - Lack of voice acting (weight 0.14): Many players wish the game had voice acting, as it would enhance the character interactions and overall immersion. - Story pacing and complexity (weight 0.05): The story is interesting but not particularly complex or special. The pacing can feel off, especially towards the end, and some character arcs may not make sense. - Map and camera controls (weight 0.04): Players have noted issues with map and camera controls, finding them unintuitive and sometimes confusing. The small map sizes and stiff camera controls can detract from the gameplay experience. - Comparison to XCOM (weight 0.03): The game is often compared to XCOM and found lacking in replayability and tactical depth. It does not offer the same level of challenge or sandbox campaign experience as XCOM. - Upgrade and challenge variety (weight 0.02): The variety of upgrades and challenges could be improved. Some challenges require specific upgrades, which can limit player choices and encounter variety. - Tutorial and objective clarity (weight 0.02): The tutorial is frustrating and the game's objectives can be unclear. Some players have experienced issues with the tutorial hanging and unclear dialogue options. - Final boss and ending (weight 0.01): The final boss fight and ending choices have been criticized as confusing and unsatisfying. Some players felt the ending choices did not make sense for the characters. - Investigation board felt pointless (weight 0.01): The detective-style or investigation board in the game felt pointless and did not add much value to the gameplay experience. - Tactical wizards theme (weight 0.01): The tactical wizards theme was not initially a favorite among players and felt tacked on rather than fully integrated into the game. Gameplay feedback: - Well-designed difficulty and levels (weight 0.08): The game offers a range of difficulty options and well-designed levels that encourage players to solve them in the best way possible. The difficulty steadily increases, and new characters, enemies, and abilities are introduced to keep the gameplay fresh and challenging. - Optional challenges and objectives (weight 0.04): Levels often include optional challenges and objectives that encourage creative and strategic gameplay. These additional goals can add a layer of complexity and replayability to the missions. - Comparison to other games (weight 0.04): The game is frequently compared to other tactical and puzzle games like Into the Breach and XCOM. Players note that while it shares similarities with these games, it also offers unique mechanics and abilities that set it apart. - Character customization and interactions (weight 0.03): The game encourages players to experiment with different character interactions and upgrades. The character upgrade systems and interactions are designed to allow players to break the game in creative ways. - Balanced gameplay loop (weight 0.03): The game features a solid and enjoyable gameplay loop with well-handled progression. The mechanics remain fun throughout, and the balance between challenge and forgiveness is well-maintained. - Multiple solutions to scenarios (weight 0.02): The game is designed to allow multiple solutions to each scenario, encouraging players to experiment with different strategies and approaches. This openness adds to the game's replayability and challenge. - Knockback system (weight 0.01): The game introduces a unique knockback system that is central to its mechanics. This system is praised for adding a fresh and strategic element to the gameplay. - Wide range of abilities and upgrades (weight 0.01): The game offers a wide array of team members, abilities, and perk upgrades. This variety allows players to customize their characters and experiment with different playstyles. - Combination of weapons and magic (weight 0.01): The game features a combination of weapons and magic, providing players with a diverse set of tools to tackle the challenges. This blend adds depth and variety to the gameplay. Performance notes: - Positive Linux and Deck Performance (weight 0.03): The game runs smoothly on Linux distributions such as Manjaro and on the Steam Deck, with no reported bugs and performs as expected. - Initial Launch Issues (weight 0.01): Some users experience failures during the first launch of the game. Additionally, there are occasional long loading times. - Tutorial Hang (weight 0.01): The game may hang or freeze during the tutorial, causing potential frustration for new players. - High Memory Usage (weight 0.01): The game utilizes the maximum memory capacity on an RTX 3060ti, which could impact performance on systems with similar specifications. Recommendations: - Highly recommended for various gamers (weight 0.24): The game is highly recommended for a wide range of players, including puzzle game lovers, strategy game enthusiasts, and fans of tactics games like XCOM and Into the Breach. It is praised for its engaging gameplay, clever puzzles, and fun characters. - Worth the price (weight 0.21): Many reviews mention that the game is worth its price, whether purchased at full price or on sale. Players feel that the gameplay and overall experience justify the cost. - High replay value (weight 0.21): The game offers high replay value, with players expressing interest in additional content such as DLC, sequels, or fan-made missions. This suggests a complete package that keeps players engaged. - Positive overall sentiment (weight 0.19): Players express minimal regrets and generally positive sentiments about the game. Reviews often describe the game as good and enjoyable without going into extensive detail. - Start on high difficulty (weight 0.01): Some players suggest starting the game on high difficulty for a more challenging and rewarding experience. This indicates that the game offers varying levels of difficulty to cater to different player preferences. Other player notes: - Part of Jingle Jam (weight 0.02): Many players received the game as part of the Jingle Jam 2025 event, indicating it was included in a bundle or promotion. - Chinese language support (weight 0.01): There were requests for Chinese language support, indicating a desire for localization to reach a broader audience. - Commentary DLC available (weight 0.01): Players mentioned a commentary DLC, suggesting additional content or insights available for purchase. - GDC talk on joke writing (weight 0.01): Players recommended watching the designer's GDC talk on building 15 hours of jokes, indicating interest in the game's development process. - Learning English vocabulary (weight 0.01): Some players mentioned using the game as a tool for learning English words, suggesting educational value. - Enjoyable buddy cop show (weight 0.01): Some players found the game's premise enjoyable enough to suggest it could be adapted into a buddy cop show. Emotions: - Joy (weight 0.2): Players experience joy primarily due to the game's engaging and humorous dialogue, along with its unique characters and storyline. The combination of funny writing, enjoyable gameplay mechanics, and high production values creates a consistently entertaining and light-hearted experience. - Enjoyment (weight 0.15): Enjoyment stems from the game's fun and challenging gameplay, complemented by its unique characters and solid writing. Players appreciate the well-thought-out combat, enjoyable puzzles, and the overall engaging experience provided by the story, characters, and mechanics. - Appreciation (weight 0.05): Players appreciate the game's thoughtful design, engaging narrative, and high level of detail. The creativity and passion put into the game, along with its unique mechanics and high-quality dialogue writing, contribute to a sense of appreciation. - Happy (weight 0.05): Happiness is derived from the game's fun and challenging gameplay, along with its cute and enjoyable elements. Players express their happiness through positive feedback and enjoyment of the game's various aspects. - Satisfaction (weight 0.05): Satisfaction comes from the game's well-designed missions, rewarding gameplay, and the sense of achievement from figuring out puzzles and completing objectives. The forgiving combat system and the fun abilities add to the overall satisfying experience. - Surprise (weight 0.04): Players are pleasantly surprised by the game's quality, including its story, writing, and unique gameplay mechanics. The game's ability to consistently deliver good writing and unexpected plot twists adds to the sense of surprise. - Love (weight 0.04): Love for the game is driven by its fun designs, hilarious and hard-hitting dialogue, and memorable characters. The overall game experience, including the humor and thoughtfulness in the gaming experience, fosters a deep affection among players. - Disappointment (weight 0.03): Disappointment arises from issues with the writing style, puzzle design, and camera controls. Some players feel that certain aspects of the game, such as the ending choices and the game not meeting expectations, contribute to their disappointment. - Excitement (weight 0.03): Excitement is generated by the game's unique puzzle gameplay, well-written plot, and enjoyable combat. The engaging story and unique character abilities, along with the anticipation of future projects from the developers, add to the excitement. - Impressed (weight 0.03): Players are impressed by the game's revolutionary difficulty settings, expansive combat interactions, and great writing. The nuanced characters, fantastic gameplay, and exceptional design contribute to a sense of admiration and impressiveness. - Amusement (weight 0.03): Amusement is derived from the game's funny and humorous dialogue, along with its charming and witty writing. The blend of classic fantasy with modern warfare themes, along with the humorous lines, keeps players amused. - Frustration (weight 0.03): Frustration stems from issues such as annoying objectives, limited map sizes, and encounter variety. Some players find the game too easy in places and are frustrated by certain bugs and gameplay mechanics. - Excited (weight 0.03): Players are excited about the game's excellent replay value, beloved characters, and the anticipation of future projects from the developers. The overall quality and enjoyment of the game contribute to this excitement. - Engagement (weight 0.03): Engagement is driven by the game's engaging gameplay, great story arcs, and well-written story. The tactical and puzzle-like nature of the game, along with its engaging and witty gameplay, keeps players deeply involved. - Engaged (weight 0.03): Players feel engaged due to the game's engaging puzzles, character development, and solid mechanics. The well-put-together dialogue and story beats, along with the fun tactics and distinct characters, contribute to a high level of engagement. - Fun (weight 0.02): Fun is derived from the game's clever gameplay, high production value, and the sheer number of choices and possibilities. The enjoyable and well-designed nature of the game makes it a fun experience for players. - Amused (weight 0.02): Players are amused by the game's funny dialogue, humorous writing, and thematically blending elements. The hilariously dry humor and the overall amusing nature of the game keep players entertained. - Satisfaction (weight 0.02): Players feel satisfied due to the game's achievement system, realistic character interactions, and the ability to retreat and predict enemy attacks. The diverse exploration combinations also contribute to a sense of fulfillment. - Admiration (weight 0.02): Admiration comes from the game's deliberate craft, hand-crafted levels, and well-designed puzzle aspects. The lean, inventive, and challenging nature of the game, along with its high-quality writing, fosters a sense of admiration. - Pleasure (weight 0.01): Players feel happy due to the game's humorous dialogue and story. The amusing and light-hearted nature of the game's conversations and plot contribute to a pleasant and enjoyable experience.}