Mech room for a stompy delight, and a trip to the Three Kingdoms

I was drawn to Caelyn's review of Phantom Brigade by a lovely bit of video game maths in the header: this is Into the Breach meets Frozen Synapse, apparently. What an intoxicating thought. The chess-puzzle precision of Into the Breach with the stark, time-bending shenanigans of Frozen Synapse. Surely this is a game for the ages?

And I think maybe it could have been, if not for a few rough elements. Listen: take huge stompy mechs into turn-based battles here, but, like Frozen Synapse, you plan your moves and then commit - and then you get to watch everything play out in all its stompy meched glory.

It's not all great, sadly. It sounds like the UI is a bit of a mess, and things get repetitive rather quickly, and show up an underlying lack of personality. Such a shame! But even so, a part of my heart always falls in love whenever I hear that a strategy or tactics game is really a set of puzzles waiting to be solved. Read Caelyn's lovely review to find out whether there is room in your life for this game. To me, it sounds like I'll be giving it a spin.