Happy Monday, folks! Wolfman Jew here with the Weekly Video Games Thread!

So last week, I decided to finally start Into the Breach. A couple days later I beat it and hit the credits—though of course, beating it once is just the beginning, as the game is full of bonus characters, mechs, and conditions as befitting an addictive roguelike. So it’s on the mind, you understand. I’d like to use it as the basis of a prompt. And while it’s got a lot of stuff we can talk about, from its high difficulty level to its stylish art direction, I’d like to focus on one of the best parts of the game: its maps, and what you do in them.

Into the Breach is a turn-based strategy game, like X-COM, Fire Emblem, or Mario + Rabbids. You have typically three giant robots and have to defend buildings from giant alien insects across various theaters of war. Each map is tiny, and designed to constrain your movement. The damage the buildings take is your equivalent of losing a health bar, meaning that every mistake you make will persist through each individual run. Additionally, the Vek insects will telegraph their exact intentions for the next turn, so you know what they’ll attack and how they’ll do it. And finally, attacks by your side don’t just do damage; they can physically move enemies around, causing secondary damage if they hit something.

What this means is that Into the Breach isn’t just about killing enemies as quickly as possible. In fact, that’s very difficult given how many spawn in per round. Instead, it’s about limiting and potentially nullifying their ability to do damage. For instance, if an enemy has an attack that hits whatever’s in front of them and goes in front of you, you can push it back so it’ll slash an empty space. You can potentially knock enemies into insta-kill deathtraps like an incoming lightning flash, or move them so that their comrade is a target. Or you could knock them (or stick your own unit) on top of a tile that’ll spawn an enemy next turn. In other words, you’re not just vying with these baddies, but the land itself, which is an antagonist and a sidekick and a constant presence—for instance, many optional missions involve defending specific buildings or attacking specific natural landmarks.

I have limited experience in this genre, but generally speaking, this is very new to me. My favorite game of 2019, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, doesn’t have this (though it does have stuff like unique tiles that alter or restrict your movement). But this isn’t just a question pertaining to tactical RPGs. Plenty of games use their terrain like this, and while this could be expanded to discuss open world games and survival horror, I’d like to focus on combat or multiplayer-themed spaces. Like building sentries in Team Fortress 2 or barricades in Rainbow Six Siege. Basically, for today’s prompt, what are the kinds of environmental puzzles, traps, constructs, or quirks you like to see in strategy or competitive games like this? This could encompass things like real time strategy, fighting games, or even stuff like Peggle. And you know what? Let’s add those wacky environmental titles in as important, too. I think those are cool.

And, of course, what did you play this weekend?