14 DAY TRIAL // The cards really don’t like me or this particular spaceship. I’ve been getting laser shots when I needed at least one shield to eliminate some incoming damage and special abilities when I actually needed to fire at least one missile. Maybe I should have been more aggressive with my selection back at the starbase.
Now, the vessel I’m facing is getting ready to activate an ability that will make its own flak guns more deadly and that means I’m about to take some big hits. And I only have one normal shield card, which will not negate all the hull damage that’s coming my way. Let’s hope I can get to a repair node soon.
My next draw is better, with one ability that gives my lasers increased damage. This makes to blow up my opponent using exactly two well-aimed shots. I get some money for my trouble and the ability to add another card to one of my active systems. Damage to my hull means I might not have enough to deal with the coming elite fight.
Breachway is developed by Edgeflow Studio, with publishing from Hooded Horse. I played a demo of it on the PC using Steam. The title mixes card mechanics with space battles and wraps everything up in a run-centered layer.
The story setup in the demo is very slight but the developers talk about player choices and how crew characteristics will affect events. The tutorial prompts do a good job of delivering information but the rest is functional and nothing more.
Players are in control of a ship, moving through solar systems from one encounter to another. Most of them are battles. Two ships face off, with players able to use cards to attack their opponent and protect their own vessel. It’s a simple idea but there’s a lot of complexity in the mechanics. Players will manage their ship’s reactor to create three types of resources to power the cards. Weapon types, ranging from lasers and flak to ion spears, affect systems in different ways.
Shields can mitigate damage but normally their value is halved from turn to turn. It’s important to disable certain enemy systems to stop them from attacking or leave them exposed for a big strike.
When a battle is won, players get a little cash and the ability to add a new card to one of their systems. Some solar system nodes feature starbases that sell extra equipment and others offer a new crew member to recruit. These familiar ideas are well implemented.
I like what the demo has to offer but the full experience needs to feature some innovative mechanics. Otherwise, the cool ship-to-ship card action might not be enough to keep players engaged.
Breachway’s presentation is good, with some nice science-fiction touches during battles and easy-to-read cards. But the rest is pretty standard for its genre and I’d love to see some more innovation before the full version arrives. The battle sound effects are decent but the soundtrack needs more personality.
Conclusion
The card-focused video game space is very crowded and just a science fiction spin is not enough to draw players in. I hope the developers will try to introduce new ideas when players are outside of combat. Breachway’s battles are fun and have tactical depth, which makes me optimistic that the rest of the experience will be similarly engaging.
A preview key was provided by the publisher
