Tactical Breach Wizards review – black magic ops
Tactical Breach Wizards -sorcery warfare
One of 2024’s hidden gems is a turn-based tactics game where wizards are spec ops soldiers and the script is even better than the combat.
We didn’t have as much time as we hoped before Christmas; to go back and review interesting games we’d missed earlier in the year. Only a few were left out but since there’s nothing new of note out at the moment we wanted to cover a few more, before the year begins in earnest. Top of that list is Tactical Breach Wizards, which was on our to do list for most of 2024 for two main reasons: people kept recommending it to us and it’s got an awesome name.
For once we get to praise an indie game for having a memorable name, instead of one that actively puts you off wanting to try it, and we’re happy to report that Tactical Breach Wizards does exactly what it says on the tin. That is, you control a bunch of wizards who are really good at performing tactical breaches.
There’s a dry absurdity to the set-up, which works much like XCOM’s turn-based combat, only with no aliens and where the special forces soldiers are packing magic wands instead of sniper rifles. As wacky as that sounds the game is anything but a farce and the most surprising thing about Tactical Breach Wizards is its great storytelling and memorable characters.
In the reality of the game, magic is commonplace but otherwise things work pretty much as they do in the real world. Main character Jen is a witch but she’s also a private investigator, who gets recruited as the result of a conspiracy involving, amongst other things, the Druid Mafia.
The plot itself isn’t terribly interesting, but the game is very much in on the joke, with a charming sense of humour that still leaves plenty of space to establish the characters and make you care about them. Jen is the nominal lead but there’s also Zan, the past-his-best veteran; Banks the necromantic surgeon; Dall the rebel priest in riot gear; and more.
There are no voiceovers, and so consequently there can be a lot of text to wade through, but the mixture of camaraderie and comedy is a very welcome and unexpected pleasure.
The combat is very clearly inspired by XCOM and other turn-based strategy games but it’s not a clone. For a start, the action takes place on a much smaller map, often making it more reminiscent of Into The Breach. It doesn’t have that level of difficulty or puzzle-like complexity, but each character wields very unique spells and using them in tandem with other allies, to take out multiple enemies at once, is a key tactic.
Unlike XCOM, every attack hits its mark, with no need to worry about the percentage chances of missing. Not only that but you can see a prediction of the exact effect of your move before you commit to it, with the option to rewind the turn if you have second thoughts.
The game’s also reminiscent of the sorely underrated Mario + Rabbids titles, in that only specific characters have an overwatch ability, that allows you to attack during an enemy’s turn. Others are just as powerful in different ways though, such as Jen’s lighting attack, that can chain through multiple targets, or Banks’ ability to debuff enemies from a distance. Although the absolute best one is the ability to magic up a window, just to throw a bad guy through it (which counts as an instant kill).
If in doubt, rewind (Suspicious Developments)
New abilities are introduced as you progress and all of them can be upgraded through earned experience points. You’re wise to make sure everyone is optimised as much as possible, as you don’t get to choose who you take into a mission with you – so you can’t just rely on one character all the time.
Impressively, the enemy AI is quite competent and they’ll usually give as good as they get, making use of the ability to knock back opponents into each other and push them into explosive objects. When you’re doing this, you’re usually trying to get them to stumble into another character’s line of fire, such that it’s possible to wipe out most enemies in a single turn if you get creative enough.
As a result, Tactical Breach Wizards can seem rather easy at times, if you’re familiar with the genre, especially as you begin to recognise the different elements that maps and missions are patched together from. Add in the rewind feature, and the inability to miss, and this is not a game that’s going to be challenging any tactics veterans, or at least not outside the option challenge levels.
That does make it suitable for newcomers though, despite the long learning curve. Plus, apart from being able to rewind you can skip any mission that you find too troublesome, so you don’t have to worry about being stuck.
It’s five months since the game came out and sadly there’s still no sign of a console version. That’s not entirely surprising though, as the game has been designed solely for a mouse and keyboard and the joypad controls are pretty bad on PC – it doesn’t even work very well on Steam Deck.
Nevertheless, we’re very glad we finally got around to playing Tactical Breach Wizards, as it’s definitely one of the best tactics games of recent years. The combat is solid but it’s the characters and dialogue that are the most welcome surprises. That’s seldom a focus in strategy games but Tactical Breach Wizards proves that no idea is too silly, or genre too staid, that it can’t be improved by a good script.
Tactical Breach Wizards review summary
In Short: An absurd concept but an inspired turn-based tactics game that, quite unexpectedly, has one of the best scripts of the last 12 months.
Pros: Solid combat, with distinctive abilities and plenty of freedom to tackle levels however you want. Rewind option is useful for newcomers. Excellent script, with witty dialogue and endearing characters.
Cons: Quite easy for most of the time and ultimately fairly repetitive in terms of objectives and set pieces. Only really works with a keyboard and mouse.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PC
Price: £16.75
Publisher: Suspicious Developments
Developer: Suspicious Developments
Release Date: 22nd August 2024
Age Rating: N/A
The talks between levels can be the best bit (Suspicious Developments)
Tactical Breach Wizards review – black magic ops
