Ignited Steel: Mech Tactics

Unfortunately the game appears to be abandoned by the dev and has game-breaking bugs that were present since release and are still not fixed. The music and character art are good and it's obviously a work of passion (character names/bios make it clear the dev is a mecha fan) but I cannot recommend it in its current state, and I do not see it changing in the future.

Turn limit is WAY too harsh. Its worse than XCOM2, and at least there you didn't have it even start until you were detected. Here you will get 7 turns, sometimes 8 to defeat a bunch of HP bricks. And I saw no way to get any better at the game, doesn't tell you what you get from challenges, and unlike other types of games like this I saw no currency you could use to spend post run to improve either. If the turn limit was totally removed I could see this being fun. And yes, I mean TOTALLY removed. It's got enough other things to make it difficult that it doesn't need it. Until then I have to give it a negative review.

game is good!

Battles are quick, but heat and positioning nuance keep the tactics sharp and satisfying.

A simple rogue-like that’s similar to Into the Breach but significantly more forgiving. I think I experienced all the game had to offer in about 50 hours. Some of the achievements seem to be bugged, so don’t expect to 100% this one. It won’t blow your mind, but it’ll make a long flight pass quickly. I’d recommend picking it up on sale.

I really wish there was a thunbs up, thumbs down, and a shoulder shrug. I'd give this the latter. I'll give it the thumbs up because it was well worth the sales price, but this is a poor man's "Into the Breach". If you are looking for more like that game, then this will be a decent affordable option. But if you want to try this type of game for the first time, there are better out there. I can't quite put my finger on what this is missing but I think partly it's a bit easy ( beat the final boss on my first try less than 6 hours into playing the game). And partly... I don't know... I've unlocked a number of starting mech packs and none of them seem all that cool. You just replace the weapon real quick and they lose their flavor. There isn't enough different between your units. It's a decent game and worth the price, though. I just don't think I'll put the hundreds of hours I put into FTL and Into the Breach into this one.