Jeder Soldat besitzt eine eigene Persönlichkeit und hat eine eigene Meinung darüber, was als Nächstes getan werden sollte. Manche wollen herausfinden, wie es zu der Bruchlandung im Feindesland gekommen ist, während andere sich lieber verstecken und auf ihre Rettung warten wollen. Manche reden hinter vorgehaltener Hand sogar von Desertation.
Du bist die „unsichtbare Hand“, die den zusammengewürfelten Haufen in Sicherheit und zur möglichen Rettung führt. Ob es einfach nur darum geht, welche Richtung als Nächstes eingeschlagen wird oder um so etwas Schwerwiegendes wie den Kampf gegen ihre geheimnisvollen Feinde, jede deiner Entscheidungen hat weitreichende Folgen.
Broken Lines kombiniert taktisches Rollenspiel mit handlungsbasiertem Gameplay. Während deine Soldaten versuchen, mit der psychischen Belastung klarzukommen, musst du sie im Gefecht anführen – umgehen sie den Feind oder unternehmen sie einen Frontalangriff?
Gefechte laufen zwar weitgehend wie in einem rundenbasierten taktischen Rollenspiel ab, aber die Soldaten bewegen sich nur zu Beginn der Aktionsphase. Wenn allerdings neue Gegner oder Gefahren auftauchen, wird das Spiel pausiert, damit du auf die veränderten Umstände reagieren kannst. Wirst du weiter vorpreschen oder dich lieber zurückziehen und in Deckung gehen?
Deine Entscheidungen beeinflussen den Handlungsablauf nach deinen Wünschen und führen zu unterschiedlichen Enden. Überlege dir deine Entscheidungen gut, denn sie wirken sich nicht nur auf deine Soldaten aus, sondern auf die gesamte Region und all ihre Bewohner. Du darfst allerdings auch nie vergessen, dass deine Soldaten ihre eigene Meinung darüber haben, was für den Trupp am besten wäre. Daher musst du gleichzeitig dafür sorgen, dass sie deine Befehle befolgen und sie bei Laune halten.
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Ich hatte mir ja eine kleine Auszeit gegönnt, um es etwas sacken zu lassen, da es nicht nur unterhält, sondern auch eine bedrückende Stimmung auslöst, zumindest bei mir.
Von der Technik her, ist es gut, die Steuerung (der Soldaten (m/w)) ist erstmal gewöhnungsbedürftig, dürfte dann aber ok bis sehr gut sein! Die Grafik ist auch ok bis gut. Von daher , ja.
Im Grunde ist es eine Art Team-Spiel vergleichbar mit Jagged Alliance (inklusiver persönlicher Animositäten, der Chars untereinander oder XCOM: Enemy Unknown! Nur das hier die Auswahl vorgegeben, bzw. für die Missionen getroffen werden kann und muß. Da sollte dann eine gewisse Harmonie vorhanden sein, um den Einsatz nicht zu gefährden ! Auch die Auswahl der Waffen ist wichtig, sowie die Eigenschaften und Fähigkeiten der Leute! Echte Mängel habe ich nicht feststellen können.
Das Setting einer alternativen Zeitlinie (1945a) ist sehr interessant und auch spannend, da der Spieler wirklich nicht genau weiß, bzw. heraus finden muß, was eigentlich los ist, was in diesem Land passiert :) . Spannend (und teilweise gruselig) !
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Verfasst: 22.03.20 21:12
???? Broken Lines ????
Den ersten Versuch auf Steam Fuß zu fassen startet PortaPlay mit Broken Lines, einem rundenbasiertem Strategiespiel, nachdem sie schon diverse andere, weitaus kleinere Titel entwickelten und publizierten.
Gameplay
Wir steuern einen kleinen Trupp von Soldaten, welcher hinter feindlichen Linien eine Bruchlandung hingelegt hat. Jeder Soldat hat dabei individuelle Fähig- und Fertigkeiten und auch die soziale Interaktion untereinander spielt eine Rolle. Hinzu kommt natürlich auch die verschiedenste Bewaffnung, wobei sich die Modelle am zweiten Weltkrieg orientieren, da die Szenarien auch in dieser Zeit spielen. Von diesen gibt es insgesamt 21.
Dabei sind die Level natürlich repetitiv, denn in der Regel müssen wir uns durch das Gebiet kämpfen und zur anderen Seite gelangen oder an einen speziellen Ort zum Bergen und Retten. Nichts desto trotz kommt keine Langeweile auf, denn die Gegebenheiten jedes Levels unterscheiden sich und in den rundenbasierten Kämpfen gilt es taktisch vorzugehen. Das heißt Deckung sinnvoll zu nutzen, den Gegner ggf. zu flankieren und die Ausrüstung und Fähigkeiten sinnvoll einzusetzen, sodass man nach Möglichkeit keine eigenen Verluste hinnehmen muss.
Zwischen den jeweiligen Missionen können wir unseren Protagonisten auch Ausrüstung zuweisen und ebenso die Fertigkeiten auswählen, welche sie während der Missionen verwenden können. Ansonsten gibt es auch immer wieder Dialoge, welche den Verlauf der Kampagne beeinflussen. Sei es durch eine Veränderung der sozialen Interaktionen oder durch moralische Bewertungen. Ein interessantes Konzept.
Während der Kämpfe muss man allerdings höllisch aufpassen, da die K.I. nicht die intelligenteste ist. So passiert es dann auch, dass der Gegner inmitten des Squads läuft und dieser weiterhin schießt und sich so auch gegenseitig trifft. Denn einmal eine Aktion ausgewählt, wird diese ausgeführt und kann nicht mehr unterbrochen werden. Etwas doof.
Grafik & Sound
Der Top-Down-Blick auf die liebevoll gestalteten Landschaften ist manchmal hinderlich, wenn es um Höhenunterschiede geht. Ansonsten wirkt die 3D-Grafik zuweilen wie in einem Cartoon. Auch die Möglichkeit zu sehen, wie viel Deckung ein Hindernis bietet und wie hoch die Trefferwahrscheinlichkeiten sind, sind anschaulich dargestellt. Die Dialoge sind hier simpel gehalten, die Artworks schön anzuschauen.
Akustisch passt alles zusammen. Die Waffengeräusche authentisch, die Lieder den Szenen angepasst. Leider fehlt eine Synchronisation der Charaktere, dafür gibt es vor und nach den Missionen ein paar Worte zu hören. Alles in allem ziemlich gelungen und nicht störend oder nervend.
Fazit
Ein sehr ausgereiftes und gutes Spiel, das sich mit den Größen des Genres durchaus messen kann. Für den Preis von 25 Euro erhält man ein Spiel, das einen fordert, nicht langweilig wird und mit ausreichend Spielzeit daher kommt. Pro Mission kann man circa 45 - 60 Minuten veranschlagen, je nach Schwierigkeit auch. Daher eine klare Kaufempfehlung!
Review meiner Kollegin ????-Wolferatus-???? zu Broken Lines
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Review meines Kollegen Xeeran zu Broken Lines
Broken Lines
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2015090305&fileuploadsuccess=1
Das Dänische Entwickler Team PortaPlay wurde 2006 gegründet, ihr erstes auf Steam veröffentlichtes PC-Game erschien 2016 mit dem Namen „Tales from the Void“, auf ihrer Webseite haben sie noch einige andere kleinere Spiele entwickelt. Mit Broken Lines wollen die Entwickler ihren Durchbrich schaffen in der Gaming Branche, die ihnen der Publisher „Super!“ ermöglichen möchte.
Zurück ins WWII Zeitalter
Broken Lines ist ein taktisches Weltkriegs-RPG mit rundenbasierten Kampfsystem, bei dem wir eine Gruppe Soldaten führen, die auf dem Weg zu ihrer Mission abgestürzt sind und sich in ein unbekanntes, feindliches Gebiet begeben müssen. Die Missionen finden im Zeitalter des WWII und wurden dementsprechend natürlich auch Designt, so haben wir nicht nur ältere Waffen zur Verfügung, sondern auch die ganzen Gebiete sind geschmückt mit Karren, alten Autos und Häusern.
Vor jeder Mission können wir uns unsere Charaktere, mit denen wir Spielen möchten auswählen, die Gruppen sind je nach Mission unterschiedlich groß, so kann es sein, dass ihr nur zu zweit unterwegs seid oder auch mal zu fünft. Während der Kampagne müsst ihr Entscheidungen treffen, die sich positiv oder negativ auf das Geschehen und somit auf die Geschichte des Spiels ausüben können, dabei spielt auch die Moral der Gruppe eine wichtige Rolle, die ebenfalls Einfluss auf eure Entscheidung hat.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2015083344&fileuploadsuccess=1
Spannende Kämpfe trotz repetitiver Missionen
Das Spiel erzählt eine spannende Geschichte, als würde man einem Hörbuch zuhören und wird dabei mit atmosphärischer Musik begleitet. Die Missionen unterscheiden sich von Flüchten, Dokumente suchen, das Gebiet erforschen, Soldaten retten usw. dabei bleiben die rundenbasierten Kämpfe aber immer gleich. Wir müssen mit den Soldaten vorwärtslaufen und unser Ziel, das von einer Fahne markiert wird erreichen. Sobald uns Gegner entgegenkommen, stoppt das Spiel und wir müssen unsere Züge sorgfältig wählen, dabei sollte man aber immer beachten, dass die Gegner nicht stillstehen, sondern sich ebenfalls in der Zone bewegen und Deckung suchen.
Haben wir unsere Züge eingestellt, bestätigen wir mit einem „Play“-Button am unteren rechten Rand, dass das Spiel nun weiterlaufen kann, hier seht ihr dann einen gelblichen Balken der sich auflädt, dies ist die Zeit in der eure Soldaten eure Züge durchführen, danach stoppt es erneut und ihr müsst wieder die Züge planen. Sterben bzw. verletzt sich ein Gruppenmitglied müsst ihr ihm wieder aufhelfen. Habt ihr einen Sanitäter oder Soldaten mit Bandagen im Trupp könnt ihr euch auch wieder heilen und so von einem roten Balken zurück zum grünen gelangen. Eure Mitglieder können sich unterschiedlich verletzten, von kleinen bis sehr ernste Verletzungen, bei denen Sie dann an der nächsten Runde nicht teilnehmen können.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2015084342&fileuploadsuccess=1
Waffen, Upgrades und Nahrung
Im verlauf der Geschichte befreit ihr einen Gefangenen, der euch mit Waffen, Upgrades und Nahrung versorgt die ihr für euere Truppe benötigt. Die Upgrades können nur einmal angelegt werden, das heißt, dass nur ein Mitglied bspw. das Upgrade „schneller Schießen“ bekommen kann. Die Waffen die der Händler anbietet geben euch mehr Waffenkraft oder ein besseres Magazin, dort könnt ihr auch Granaten Upgrades bekommen und vieles mehr, dass ihr optional erwerben könnt. Das Geld erhaltet ihr von abgeschlossenen Missionen. Wählt aber dabei weise aus, denn das Geld ist knapp und könnte euch eventuell für was anderes nützlicher sein.
Fazit
Broken Lines ist ein erstaunlich gutes taktisches Weltkriegs-RPG Spiel mit rundenbasierten Kampfsystem à la „Pause und Play“, das nicht nur von der Erzählweise profitiert, sondern vor allem von dem atmosphärischen Soundtrack, der uns durch die ganze Story begleitet. Die Kämpfe sind spannend und teils herausfordernd, ab und an muss man auch strategisch vorgehen, denn einfach nur den Feind angreifen, ist nicht, der denkt nämlich hier sehr gut mit und geht sogar in Deckung, wo er schwerer zu treffen ist, dadurch wird das repetitive Gameplay recht gut kaschiert und wird nicht langweilig. Durch das sehr gut erklärte Tutorial findet auch jeder Spieler einen leichten Einstieg, dazu stehen einem ebenfalls drei Schwierigkeitsstufen zur Verfügung und drei Speicherplätze. Nach jeder Mission gibt es eine Spielwertung, die mit einem Gold, Silber oder Bronze Abzeichen versehen wird. Die Artworks und Sprüche sind gut gewählt, auch wenn die Charaktere nur über Text-Boxen kommunizieren und nicht vertont sind und hier und da mal ein kleiner Übersetzungsfehler auftaucht.
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Verfasst: 26.02.20 19:20
Broken Lines
Bei der von mir getesteten Fassung handelt es sich nur um eine Presseversion des Spieles, welche deutlich gekürtzt ist und aus nur 2 Missionen, dem Tutorial und einigen Events besteht. Folglich beziehe ich mich in der Review auch nur auf die Ausschnitte, die ich testen durfte und kann leider nicht sagen, wie der Rest des Spieles ist.
???? Story
Ihr steuert eine kleine Gruppe von Soldaten die in einem fiktiven 2. Weltkrieg hinter den feindlichen Linien abgestürtzt ist. Das ganze spielt dabei in einer alternativen Welt, etwa zur Zeit des 2. Weltkriegs.
Während der Kampagne müsst ihr immer wieder Entscheidungen treffen, welche den Verlauf der weiteren Geschichte verändern und auch einen Einfluss darauf haben, wie die verschiedenen Mitglieder eurer Truppe zueinander stehen.
???? Gameplay
So bewegen wir unsere Charaktere dann über die verschiedenen Gebiete.
Trifft man dabei auf Gegner pausiert das Spiel sofort und das rundenbasierte Kampfsystem greift. In diesem kann man seinen Leuten nicht nur sagen wohin sie sich bewegen sollen, sondern auch wie schnell sie laufen sollen. Auch Fähigkeiten wie Deckungsfeuer können genutzt und Gegenstände wie Granaten verwendet werden. Zudem gibt es auch verschiedene Waffen die sich in Reichweite, Treffgenauigkeit und so weiter voneinander unterscheiden.
Hat man jedem seiner Charaktere einen Befehl gegeben kann man die nächste Runde starten. In dieser werden alle Befehle umgesetzt, die man seinen Einheiten gegeben hat und auch der Gegner aggiert, so wie er es geplant hat. Die Einheiten ziehen in diesem Spiel also nicht nacheinander sondern alle gleichzeitig nach der Planung. Dies macht den Kampf deutlich anspruchsvoller weil man viel mehr überlegen muss wie der Gegner aggieren könnte.
Auf den Gegner feueren die Einheiten im übrigen auch während sie laufen, deshalb ist auch die Geschwindigkeit mit der sie sich bewegen sollen wichtig. Umso schneller die Soldaten unterwegs sind umso schlechter treffen sie den Gegner natürlich.
All das wird einem in einem recht ausführlichen Tutorial erklärt, welches genau die richtige Länge hat, damit man alles versteht, aber nicht so lang dass es nervig wird.
Hier ein kurzer Einblick anhand der letzten Tutorial Mission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IpGmQlluDo
Abseits der Schlachten könnt ihr noch die Fähigkeiten eurer Charaktere sowie die Ausrüstung managen. Zudem gibt es immer mal wieder Events die in Form von Textboxen daher kommen. In diesen müsst ihr meistens Entscheidungen treffen. Je nachdem was ihr tut könnt ihr Sachen erhalten, Charaktere können sich verletzen und wie schon erwähnt verändert sich auch die Beziehung die eure Soldaten zueinander haben.
???? Grafik
Die 3D Grafik wirkt schon relativ realistisch, verfügt aber über einen Hauch von Cartoon. Die Landschaften sehen sehr schick und detailreich aus und sind auch teilweise zerstörbar. Auch die Figuren sind sehr detailiert und man sieht sogar den Portraits Verletzungen teilweise an. Die Animationen in den Gefechten wirken authentisch und sorgen so für viel Stimmung. Kurze Filmsequenzen runden ein gutes Gesamtbild ab.
???? Sound
Die Musik im Hintergrund passt zu den Szenen und deckt ein recht großes Spektrum ab. Die Soundeffekte, vor allem die der Waffen, klingen sehr stimmig. Schade ist eigentlich nur, dass die Charaktere nicht vertont sind. Dafür gibt es zu Beginn jeder Mission ein paar gesprochene Zeilen und teilweise auch in und nach ihnen.
❤︎ Fazit
Das was ich in der Testversion gesehen habe war gut, wie das Spiel darüber hianus ist kann ich aber leider nicht beurteilen. Wer rundenbasierte, taktische Spiele wie z.B. XCOM oder Troubleshooter mag wird hier sicherlich seine Freude dran haben.
Zitat:
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Das Spiel wurde der GGC für Reviewzwecke zur Verfügung gestellt.
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Verfasst: 25.02.20 18:26
Broken Lines ist echt mal wieder ein guter Release.
Keine Bugs gesehen, 6h gespielt und alles Reibungslos.
Grafik ist sehr ansprechend und die Kämpfe funktionieren perfekt.
Ich hatte viel Spaß und kann es nur empfehlen.
Das Spiel hab ich gratis erhalten zum Testen.
10/10
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Verfasst: 13.03.22 22:26
IN A WORD: WORTHWHILE
IN A NUTSHELL:
Zitat:
WHAT TO EXPECT: Strategy game. Story-driven. Alternate WWII setting. 12/21 mission campaign. Branched missions choices. Multiple endings. Turn-based planning. Real-time hands-off, auto-combat. COYA Random encounters. Elements of roleplaying. 3D isometric battlefields. Cover, elevation and L-O-S mechanics. Squad management. Lite-RP passive and active abilities. Mostly historic weapons and equipment. Limited strategic resources and equipment purchases. Static maps and enemy spawns. Mixed AI pathing. Partial & full perma-death. Designed to be replayed several times. Generates a British army ambience. Single-player only.
STEAM SUPPORT: Achievements, Partial controller support, Cloud saves
ACHIEVEMENTS: Mostly mission and tactical based. Designed for multiple playthroughs
STATUS: Released with additional free DLC content
FOR WHOM Fans of tactical planning, automated combat and permadeath
WHEN TO BUY: Worth it at full price. Been on sale @ 70%
More info below....
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2778592110
THE LOWDOWN:
For complete info see the
Full Review
THE GOOD:
+ CAMPAIGN:
+ ACCESSIBILITY:
+ BATTLEFIELDS:
+ VISUALS:
+ STORY TELLING:
+ SQUAD MGMT:
+ MINI INVENTORY:
+ COMBAT MECHANICS:
+ COMBAT ACTIONS:
+ FREE EXTRA CONTENT:
THE BAD:
- BATTLEFIELDS:
- CLIPPING:
- NO LOOT:
- AI BEHAVIOUR:
- LACK OF INTERRUPTS:
- BUGS:
- STABILITY ISSUES:
- LIMITED TRADER:
- QUESTIONABLE MECHANICS:
AND THE REST:
* RP INVENTORY & ABILITIES:
* ROLEPLAYING EVENTS:
* DIFFICULTIES:
* VOICE-OVERS:
* CONTROLS & GUI:
* FREE ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2778584528
ANALYSIS:
On a certain level BL proved reminiscent of Commandos but with an obvious stronger tactical element. As a big fan of all things WW2, its theme was a strong source of appeal, especially the British army aesthetic that was ably presented. Its visuals promised a polished looking product which it lived up to. Gameplay was certainly better than I had envisaged but there were a few problems that may put off some players. If unlike me they cannot work with them or look past them.
| ACCESSIBILITY | GOOD | [/tr]
| AMBIENCE & AESTHETICS | GREAT | [/tr]
| GAMEPLAY | FAIR | [/tr]
| MECHANICS | GOOD | [/tr]
| COMPLEXITY | FAIR | [/tr]
| REPLAYABILITY & LONGEVITY | GOOD | [/tr]
| LEVELS OF ENJOYMENT | FAIR | [/tr]
| QUALITY | POLISHED | [/tr]
| VALUE FOR MONEY | GOOD | [/tr]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2778582474
VERDICT:
Broken Lines proved to be better than envisaged in some respects and unexpectedly disappointing in others. Its strategic components did a good job of fleshing out an otherwise fun tactical aspect that failed to reach the potential I had hoped for.
Story telling and squad management were a great addition to a decent combat system that fell flat at times with frustrating behavioural AI. A replayable campaign structure was a boon but limited dynamic elements in missions and a better inventory system were needed.
Overall Broken Lines looks WORTHWHILE.
Zitat:
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Verfasst: 29.10.21 16:10
I'm also not even sure I like it when the game pauses for me to make my next move, it takes the fluidity out of the game.
5/10, could take it or leave it.
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Verfasst: 29.08.21 07:29
+ Fantastic gameplay full of novel ideas and challenges
+ Engaging difficulty curve that ramps up mostly to the end
+ Great use of time to provide a sense of urgency to achieve gold
+ Game could have been pause based but instead runs in 10 second intervals with pause separating each one
+ Great deal of weapon/utilities to mix up strategies
+ Phenomenal art direction both in engine and artwork with inspiring setting
+ Dark mature story & dialog fleshes out the world
+ Great fireplace chats and banter between characters
+ Variety of enemies provide require different approaches for the majority of levels
+ Very focused game with branching paths allowing for a different replay experience
+ Mistakes are severely punished but game provides plenty opportunities for recovery
+ Lack of manual saves provides a tense thrilling 'iron-man' ride
+ Small indie team of a few dozen created such a gorgeous, polished experience - many kudos
~ Most of character optional interactions are negative and cause loss (not entire sure if random)
~ Shotguns weak; endgame weapons tear through enemies like butter - re-balancing could improve experience
- Enemy AI a bit dumb and exploitable through lures and hugging level edges
- Walk/Run/Crawl mechanics poorly explained - couldn't figure out how to use them
Wonderful experience highly recommended
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Verfasst: 11.07.21 19:01
My only real gripe with this one is some of the style and writing choices. I'm completely cool with the alternate history take. That's groovy. But NONE of these characters talk like WW2 British squaddies. Not only are there some terribly anachronistic modern terms and military phrases that stick out like a sore thumb in the 1940s but the dialogue was clearly written by someone with no idea how people from the British isles speak. It really robs the game of a lot of the classic behind enemy lines spirit it's trying to instill. The same oddness goes for a lot of the graphical design choices which feel clunky or the choice of level music which feels incredibly out of place for the setting. A lot of the general sound effects and voices are also a bit suspect.
So is it a superb game? No, but it's pretty good and it's something fresh. I really think this game has potential as something to build on and would love to see a more fully developed sequel or remake using the plan and go mechanics. Especially if they get better writers and voice acting to flesh it out. As it is, this is a lovely if flawed little diversion to try out if you need a break from X-Com and its peers. Get it on sale.
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Verfasst: 21.05.21 23:46
Dislikes: A bit shorter than I'd like (However there is def replayability for alternate endings and different strategy potiental).
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Verfasst: 06.05.21 23:33
Did I like the game? Kinda. Would I recommend it? No. I got the game half off and I feel like that's the most I could justify paying for the game, it's simply not worth the full price of $25.
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https://youtu.be/OkMFO5nrhXg
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Verfasst: 08.04.21 17:10
Sometimes less is more...
As I enjoy playing turn-based games from time to time, I naturally thought that I would like this title too. Oh, how wrong I was. Broken Lines remarkably promises that each playthrough, both story and gameplay-wise, is different due to the choices you make. While that is partially true, this eight-hour-long game feels like a weird mishmash of undeveloped ideas rather than a fully competent experience. That is honestly a shame because the initial idea behind this project is not bad at all. It is pretty appealing to me, in fact. Yet, it does not work here.
Let us start with the plot first. To put it in context, it takes place in the alternative version of the Second World War. Even though that fact alone might sound intriguing, this title uses it as an excuse for its own scenario without fully committing to its period. There is no information whatsoever about the ongoing deadliest conflict of our history. How disappointing. You only follow the story of a small but brave group of British soldiers who happen to be behind the enemy lines. Once they regroup and start exploring these foreign lands, they stumble upon a strange toxic gas. Thus, they decide to find its source and stop it from spreading further.
However, the plot shifts its focus to the characters soon. You are supposed to witness the horrors of war through their eyes. To get to know them, to understand their behaviour, and see how their relationships change throughout the game. Yet, as this title bets on the replayability, it means that you will not experience this in one coherent storyline. Various random events are supposed to help you get to know them, but those might not occur at all. I only learned a bit of a background about three troopers out of eight. The others were just pawns with a unique name to me.
This design decision is tremendously atrocious. How am I supposed to care about my squad with this approach? When most of them do not even participate in conversations for days? I will not play the story several times to find out all about them. It also looks very dumb when one soldier has a mental breakdown due to random events while the other one does not even notice it, and then the game forces me to relate with the ones that barely interacted with others? Awful.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2450560689
Wait! Now I would actually want more!
Now, I could overlook this disappointing storyline, especially in this subgenre, if the gameplay would be great. Well, its foundations are honestly quite good. As it is a turn-based title, you naturally give various orders to your squad members, such as to move to a certain position or to throw a grenade. After you end the turn, both your and enemy soldiers will perform their actions in real-time. I had to get used to it at first, but it works finely. The problems lie with the actual tactical choice, or rather with the lack of variety of possibilities and obstacles you have to overcome. That is where Broken Lines starts feeling featureless, repetitive and dull.
Sure, the fact that you can choose between two or three missions sounds appealing at first, and at least the locations seem to be different each time. However, while each level might have a unique task revolving around rescuing poor farmers or raiding enemies’ base, they all play the same. There is no difference between them, as you always have to kill everyone who dares to stand in your way, and the mission ends once you reach a highlighted spot on the map. I felt bored and disappointed after a while. Why should I care about such a choice when it plays the same, and the story is a mess anyway?
The main issue is that the game is not designed for deeper tactical thinking because your soldiers will automatically open fire at enemies once they spot them. Thus, a stealthy approach or at least preparing ambushes are out of the window. If you do not wish for your troopers to start mindlessly shooting, then you can order them to move in a crouch, but they will get aggressive anyway once they stop moving. As you can see, the only viable strategy is to directly confront your foes. That gets tedious pretty soon.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2450560738
Well, I tried to stop being bitter about the gameplay and focused on enjoying its combat parts. It did not last for long. The maps’ design seems pretty nice at first, as there are various obstacles and buildings, and there are even two or three paths to your objective. That alone should make for a fine battlefield. However, none of it is defended well enough by enemies. Let us say you have to attack a base. There are no patrols or minefields, which would make your advance harder. You obliterate through the poor defence consisting of three or four soldiers. As alarms or sounds apparently do not exist in this alternative version of the war, you can freely galavant through the base without notice. To give credit where it is due, enemies are pretty tough once they are in combat, as they try to flank you or use various items too.
The last aspect that only adds to the overall simplicity of this title is the inventory system. You do not have to take care of ammunition, bandages, or grenades, as you will always have them prepared for the mission. Yet, Broken Lines tells me that I should search for resources on the maps, which I can use only for buying new weapons or abilities. However, I always had enough resources for that, even without exploring the map. Why would I even bother with that then?
Is there truly not an aspect which I would not criticize that much, though? I feel I could praise audiovisuals a bit, as the atmosphere is spot on. The comic book style makes it a bit more colourful yet pleasant for an eye. This style is also present during the dialogues, with characters’ caricatures. I even liked the soundtrack, as it brought a bit of tension to the combat at times.
Perhaps it would be better to get drunk?
There is also an additional free campaign called The Dead and The Drunk, which consists of six new levels. And it adds zombies. Yay. It lasts for three hours, yet it felt even more repetitive than the base campaign to me. Fighting with the undead hoards throws away any last bits of tactical part this game had. Well, you could say that I was bored to death. Luckily, there is a new mechanic! Your soldiers have to drink alcohol between each mission. They need a bit of courage, after all. I decided that as a true leader, I should lead by example. While I lost one or two troopers (I honestly do not really remember due to the amount of consumed rum), I still managed to be victorious in the end.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2450460101
I am not sure if I would want more of this anymore…
It honestly saddens me a bit to leave such a negative review in the end. It seems that Broken Lines wants to focus on every aspect without fully fleshing out any of them. The weird disjointed storyline, simplistic gameplay, and forcing myself to finish it is all I have in mind when thinking about this title. If at least one of its aspects would be somehow serviceable, then I might recommend it. That is not the case, though.
PC Specs and Performance
[quote]I played it with an i5 8300H, GTX 1060 6GB, and 16GB RAM, at highest settings, at 50-60 frames per second, at 1920x1080 resolution.[/quote]
Acknowledgement
[quote]This game was provided for review purposes for free by the developer through Reviewers’ Paradise. Thank you![/quote]
Curator link
[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37072886][quote]If you did not find this text to be full of boring lines, then visit our curator, Devils in the Detail!
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108 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.03.21 15:00
On Broken Lines’ main campaign, you play as a lost military squadron in an enemy country, after a plane accident. First, you will look for the other members. Then, you will investigate if there are other survivors or orders, and, without knowledge of the current situation, you will encounter stranger enemies. Also, you will meet some allies too.
On the second campaign, the most recent, The Dead and the Drunk, you play as your squadron in the same enemy country, but things start and develop differently. One of your local allies, Izkor, informs you that the dead comes to life as undead, and they are spreading along all the country. You decide to investigate it, with surprising and funny results.
Both campaigns are independent, and they have some unique mechanics, making them enjoyable to play. Static images and dialogues narrate the stories, with characters designed with comic style, and a good load of jokes, making their development enjoyable....
Broken Lines is a turn-based and time-based strategy game with a few RPG components, a cartoonish style and an important sense of humour, resulting in a solid and enjoyable experience. The battle system can be a little complicated because is not the standard one on a turn-based game, but you will probably like it. Recommendable
Pros
The sense of humour, always present, makes the game more enjoyable
Did you like the first campaign? Great, because you have another one to play...with zombies!
The game is open to a variety of strategies. You can choose how to complete a mission
Cons
The combat system is not for all the audiences, if you want a classic combat system, here it isn't
I miss more depth on the RPG component, but it's a good game
Read the full review on https://turnbasedlovers.com/review/broken-lines
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342 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.03.21 09:43
Recommendable
Full review: https://turnbasedlovers.com/review/broken-lines/
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Verfasst: 25.03.21 13:08
[/table]
[table]
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36 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 20.03.21 07:37
For the time being refunden, maybe I give it another try at a later time during a big sale, but there are so many games out there that are much more enjoyable to play.
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Verfasst: 27.02.21 16:28
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809 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.21 15:29
I think they laid a great base for combining their system with other CRPG style games. I could imagine playing DOS 2 in this style or POE.
What I don't like is how harsh the learning curve can be and for me, it makes it less fun. Having to restart the whole mission on a first playthrough while you are learning the game is a bit much IMO. I think that setting is great but for a game with progression of the squad maybe add that feature as an ironman feature, not a base game feature.
I like difficult games but I would like to learn the game first rather than just get wrecked for a small mistake and then having to restart a 30-minute mission to figure out what went wrong.
I finished my first campaign on hard and it went okay nothing crazy lost 3 soldiers mind you.
I tried the first mission on the zombie campaign and ...well I lost 5 3 soldiers.
I think having zombies spawning on top of your units is a bit much since the AI can react faster than your soldiers at times.
Also wish there was a way to engage enemies better. Setting a trigger to open up on command rather than letting the units attack as soon as they see something insight. A lot of times I was able to spot the enemies without being spotted but couldn't set up a good ambush properly unless I timed it all perfectly for each individual soldier.
Good concept mediocre execution. was good enough to check them out for a future game through.
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871 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.01.21 14:12
I found the game very enjoyable to play. The combat system was easy to grip and interesting to use. The storyline was deep, well-written and properly acted out by characters. It had kind of silly retro feel to it from time to time - something I personally can enjoy. It has a couple of playthroughs in it, so you can experiment with the game a bit. All in all I recommend Broken Lines to anyone who's interested in the genre.
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889 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.01.21 09:08
Zitat:
Broken Lines:
~~~~~~~~~~
Two military airplanes carrying 11 British paratroopers each are flying in neutral territory over Eastern Europe on their way to a highly classified and dangerous mission, when the unexpected happens! The instruments start to malfunction and soon after, break down. But the worst of it is when all engines are shut down, and both planes are descending rapidly towards the ground. Within a short period of time, both have crashed into the earth, killing all except 8 soldiers. Scattered around both crash sites, the survivors must regroup and find their way back home. What are they going to encounter in this unknown territory? You’ll found out, in Broken Lines!
Broken Lines is a turn-based strategy game developed by PortaPlay and published by Super(dot)com on the 25th of February 2020 on the Steam platform.
What a really interesting and fun game Broken Lines is! As you might know, I am a very big fan of turn-based strategy games, especially those that have a close connection with World War II. Despite being set in an alternative World War II history, the British Army's uniform and most weapons of WWII are well reproduced in Broken Lines. What really struck me from the start is that instead of having a certain number of movements/action points per character in each turn, you have to plan each of your soldier’s orders; when you are ready, you can see them being executed over a period of 8 seconds. I must say that I was a bit confused early on, but I quickly figured it out. Your goal per mission is to reach the white flag icon (which is generally on the opposite side of the map) as fast as you can, and of course to make sure you are not losing any of your soldiers.
Your first mission will start close by the plane crash site, and you’ll be controlling only one character for a short time until you find a couple of other survivors. This mission is more or less a tutorial which you can switch on and off at your leisure, but I would recommend going through it.
From then on, you’ll be introduced to the campfire screen which will appear at the end of each mission, or at the end of each day and before starting a new mission the next day. In this section of the game, some of the characters will interact with each other; the story will unfold and you’ll be asked to choose who you prefer to follow within the discussion. Your choice will impact the relationship between the two characters either positively or negatively, as well as the composure of the entire group. However, when the next day starts, you’ll see a map on the bottom left corner of the campfire screen. By clicking on that map, you’ll be able to choose your next mission from between two or three available to you. You can also choose to visit Izkor shop, buy new weapons and activate random events. These random events can be good, and you might receive additional supplies you need to feed your group of eight soldiers every day, but you might also get one of your soldiers severely injured in the process. In terms of the shop, you need salvage points to purchase new weapons or utilities (grenades, bandages, etc.). You’ll earn salvage points at the end of each mission, depending on whether you managed to finish the mission under the time limit, how many enemy soldiers you’ve killed, and a couple of other things.
So far, I’ve managed to survive 8 days, and more than half of my soldiers are on the brink of death! Each day is more challenging than the previous one, and that is playing on the medium level of four difficulties: easy, medium, hard and custom.
Regarding your soldiers, there are only three types: the soldiers with a shotgun (who are extremely deadly at short range), the rifleman/woman (who inflicts powerful damage from a distance) and the machine gunner (who can shoot several rounds of bullets into medium-range enemies, suppress them, and inflict serious damage). Each soldier will have a primary weapon, two utility slots for other items, and can add up to 3 abilities and traits! You can change all of these options at the campfire screen.
Most levels I played were very well-designed, and in most of them, you can follow a couple of paths, which is good. The combination of open spaces, buildings and places to hide is well balanced and offers the gamer several options on how to lay out your strategy and orders. As I mentioned previously, I really like the 8-second execution phases, or progressive gameplay. As you start each of the missions, the first 2 or 3 execution phases will usually not produce an encounter with enemies. Still, if one of your soldiers sights for the first time an enemy within the 8 seconds frame of the execution phase, the time will stop. You can re-evaluate each of your soldier’s orders, and you can change them for the remaining execution phase if you need to. Also, make sure to spot the rectangle wooden crates within each level, as they will provide you with additional supplies when opened!
The comic book style graphics are fabulous! The story is well-written and entertaining. I also like the feel of the unknown atmosphere that Broken Lines portrays. The game runs well, and it has been translated into 7 languages. On top of that, PortaPlay released a free DLC “The Dead and the Drunk” before Xmas 2020!
Positives:
~~~~~~~
+ Fabulous graphics
+ Great storyline, narration and atmosphere
+ Good tutorial
+ Well-designed levels
+ 3 levels of difficulty and the possibility to customise your own level as well
+ Fun and addictive gameplay
+ Good replayability
+ Achievements
Negatives:
~~~~~~~~
- No trading cards as yet
Broken Lines: Plan and give your soldiers orders and see them being executed in an 8-second frame at a time! With a few choice matters elements and a fabulous storyline, this game is a must have!
9/10
Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!
Zitat:
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137 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.12.20 19:55
| Follow my Curator Page for more Strategy Games! | [/tr]
Broken Lines is a turn-based strategy game with a pause-and-play mechanic in a WWII scenario.
You control a squad of several units. You can give every one of them several orders which will be shown in a timeline then. Clicking on play will make them execute their orders. Enemies will move simultaneously. The game will pause automatically after some time which will let you rethink your current orders or give new ones. You can then act accordingly to what the enemy did.
There are different classes, each with a different weapon and different skills. With a machine gun, you can perform covering fire and with a sniper rifle, you can target a specific enemy to get a bonus on the accuracy, etc. Combining them is the key to win. The usual stuff (run, kneel, throwing grenades, flanking, etc.) is in the game, too.
Soldiers have a unique personality, stats, and relationships with one another. This is important because you have to make decisions like trusting someone or killing one of your soldiers. The story spices things up considering this is a strategy game.
Aside from that, the story is not deadly serious. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes just weird. Overall it seems interesting enough for this genre.
The new zombie mode is a free expansion build into the game. It's basically a second story mode with zombies in it and a few new mechanics (mostly camp things from what I can tell). This shows how much love they put into the game. Overall it seems polished and I did not encounter any bugs. The loading screens a bit long though.
Why is this a negative review then?
I just don't like the strategy part of the game. I LOVE turn-based strategy games. They tried something 'new' and I'll acknowledge that but in the end, I did not like it. There are other strategy games I like that experiment with a pause-and-play mechanic but in this case, I couldn't keep playing. It's just frustrating.
Every time I ordered my soldiers to move, enemies did something completely different. This ended up in my soldiers being in a bad situation. It feels like you can't predict anything that is going to happen. Every turn is completely random and you can't plan accordingly. The next turn you're going to react to what the enemy did, but since they move simultaneously it was all for nothing. It's just not fun. I couldn't keep playing.
I know that many people still have fun with it and I wouldn't call this a bad game at all. It's just not my kind of game. There are many things I like about the game and I was really on the fence about this review. I really wanted to like it but I just can't. If steam had the option to give a neutral review, that would be my way to go for this one. But in the end, that's just one review.
Can I recommend it?
No. Not because this is a bad game but because I did not like the combat system overall. Still, give it a try if you have the chance to!
| If you like my review and strategy games, please consider following my curator page on Steam! | [/tr]
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Verfasst: 04.11.20 13:41
The design is solid & there are a few new features that stand out from others in the genre. Small innovations on the mechanics & UI, that feel great. Love seeing these small improvements, to an older genre. So well done, Devs!
The sound-design is pretty good too, but the Voice Acting (VA) is pretty rudimentary, bordering on silly at times. The story seems at times very simple & it didn't really engage my sense of immersion. The game-play was what I wanted. Even the in-between scenes felt a little boring & the soft mechanics for team-member-choices in the next missions, didn't feel important enough for me to engage with it.
Only a few instants I felt like diving deeper into the lore, but was not given enough opportunity, imo.
This game is definitely worth the time, if you like the genre of RTS. And you can also do at least 2-3 playthroughs & still have fun with it. Content-wise its not exactly a Horn of Plenty, but I imagine we will see DLCs to expand the game & the universe they started with it.
Good pricing & solid design from a good studio & hope to see more from them in the future.
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Verfasst: 01.09.20 13:19
+ roguelite principle without save / load
+ the possibility of modifying the soldiers and their equipment
+ part of the ability and perks are formed according to the decision in the course
- lower variability of enemies
- short campaign
- The mechanics of the game do not have significant depth
- monotonous music
Broken Lines is a tactical game where the player manages a group of paratroopers in World War II on an unspecified mission in an unknown state. With the help of event planning within 8 sec rounds, it goes through a short campaign, which is built on replayability, as it is not possible to complete all missions and explore all the choices within a single campaign.
Each soldier has his own equipment and the main weapon, which determines his focus in combat, he can have special equipment in the form of smoke, blind, assault grenades, or equipment for healing. He also has various abilities that can be assigned to him within the campaign and traits, which he acquires on the basis of various decisions within the campaign and interaction with other members of the unit. Everyone has their own personality and relationships with other team members.
In the mission itself, it is important to keep the unit together, to use every possibility of cover, a combination of tactics of cover fire and flank, differences in the range of the weapons.
The mission is attended by 4-5 members, the tasks are simple, usually it is just about arriving at a designated place. At the end of the mission, there is an evaluation according to expectations and progress and gaining supplies.
On the medium difficulty, that the authors recommend, the game is simple, one campaign is fast but the game offers replayability in the form of selecting other missions, decisions and leads to different endings.
Overall, the game is quite a fun game with good ideas, but really short, so I recommend buying for a discounted price.
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590 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.08.20 21:52
Gameplay-wise, Broken Lines sadly leaves some things to be desired. The combat system is pretty easy to learn, which is good. The bad however, is that proper strategy doesn't really work in this game: For example, you as the player are taught to always flank enemies whenever you can, which would normally be very sound strategy in any other wargame. In this game however, 9 out of 10 times there are even more enemies guarding these flanking routes than you would originally have fought if you tried to push through the dumb, straight-forward Rush B-way. I get that in a real combat situation no plan survives contact with the enemy, but it is pretty annoying that there is no real way to adapt and work around it in this game.
tl;dr: I really enjoyed the story, but the actual gameplay felt a bit meh to me. Still, it's definitely worth playing through for the story alone if you don't mind some weird infected/zombie-like stuff and artistic license in your WWII game.
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665 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 15.08.20 23:11
Broken Lines is a unique attempt at making a story-driven phase-based alternate-history WW2 game. It's a genuine attempt at building something special, but it doesn't quite all come together. The story is interesting but leaves a bit too much to the imagination, the visuals are okay at best, and the customization of your squad lacks depth overall. The phase-based combat is quite decent, but has some quirks. One of the more annoying aspects is that the game recommends you flank enemies, but trying to outmaneuver them often leads you into revealing extra units that then get pulled into the fight, which often then creates more chaos. Overall, a decent game but not great. If you interested in playing a game with phase-based combat, you might want to check this one out when it's on sale.
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505 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 15.08.20 17:30
Zitat:
The War Effort
Inevitably, at some point in your gaming journey, you’re going to run into a WWII alternative history. It serves as the backdrop for many titles, particularly ones that feature gameplay of the real-time strategy or tactics variety. Broken Lines seeks to take both of those familiar genres within their equally familiar setting and mix the cocktail. The results are equal parts a marvel of design and a disappointment of scope. It’s a game that is good, but with that common, disappointing caveat. That unmistakable qualifier we’ve all heard too often: “for what it is.” So, just for the record:
Broken Lines is good for what it is.
What is it, then?
When the first fight began, I was delighted with Broken Lines’ combat variety. Turn-based tactics mesh wonderfully with the unfolding real-time chaos. You’re charged with moving each unit to and from cover, while also monitoring the evolving percentages, or likelihood, you will score a hit on the enemy (or receive one) from the positions they’re directed toward. Once the choice to move your units is selected, the game unpauses, and the characters begin a dash across the map in real time. The percentages of hitting or being hit evolve, too, based on what the map uncovers while you venture across it.
And, unless in solid cover, the enemy isn’t likely to stand still. So you’re constantly under threats from multiple directions.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2197597423
It’s one of the few games of this variety where I was never, ever annoyed by the RNG. Not once. By its nature, the combat never comes down to one shot. Things are simply too dynamic and hectic for that to occur. And with the maps constantly evolving due to enemy movements and their own weapon (or threat) variety, quick thinking and solid tactics stand a much larger chance of winning out. Luck just doesn’t factor as much. And if it does, there’s simply too much happening on screen to notice.
It’s possible, I suppose, you could feel cheated because a path you take is, by design, full of tougher resistance than another option would have been. Well... c'est la vie. Besides, you’re given the option of shifting tactics on the fly, so you can usually remedy these situations if you’re quick enough.
Simply put, I never felt like I was missing a shot that had a 99% chance of hitting. There’s no RNG frustration dragging down the experience. The game just isn’t designed that way.
And in this sense, by genre, Broken Lines excels.
Narrative Hits. Narrative Misses.
Broken Lines wants to tell a good story, but fails. Kind of. Well...
The game’s battles are dynamic, and the threat of losing team members exists in every single firefight. This works wonders for combat, but also for any potential story beats because losing a character would, in theory, affect how the story plays out. The game chooses a choice-driven story over narrative linearity. This elevates the game’s agency while in combat, but loses something when it tries to make you feel things.
The creators give up too much narrative control to the player, and as a result, achieve no real pathos.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2197608423
It’s nice that the story keeps its characters talking to each other, but never for more than a few sentences at a time, and frequently without anything important to say. Nuance is lacking; you could simply copy what one character is saying and paste it onto another character. They would say it in their own way, of course, but it’s still pillars of sand.
While I was pleased that each squad member had their own distinct characterization, it’s still lacking because the game isn’t long enough for these people to grow. And there are eight of them. This style feels more conducive for 30 hours of a mostly linear story, rather than having that same 30 hours divided up over multiple playthroughs just for the sake of having those multiple playthroughs. We just don’t spend enough time with them to care. Giving the player choice isn’t a substitute for good storytelling either. Choices need narrative weight. Having good characters isn’t enough.
The story also judges the player for their narrative selections with an insanely condescending narrator whose voiceover exists without adding anything of value. She says things like, “The soldiers sulk back to camp.” Great. Thanks. What incredibly deft insight. And if it was limited just to these inconsequential beats I would have ignored it. But the voiceover begins to personify another way Broken Lines struggles so much with narrative choice:
Game: Pick one of these bad choices.
Me: Picks bad choice.
Game: Wow. Jeez. What a jerk. I can’t believe you picked that.
Now imagine your bad choice read aloud by a gleefully unhelpful and pretentious narrator.
Semper Why?
Broken Lines isn’t satisfied with just being a turn-based RTS. It also wades, or attempts to wade, into deep RPG territory. The player is given options for equipping their characters, along with micro-choices for how each squad member speaks, but in the form of simple, binary dialogue options.
The user has the choice of modifying each soldier’s equipment, as well as the opportunity to “shop” for new weapons, items, and utility resources. The game sacrifices a bit of its verisimilitude in doing this. It’s hard to rationalize why hardened veterans would waste time gathering currency and bartering with a local arms dealer when they could simply neutralize him and help themselves to his wares. It would be one thing if the game buffered this tactic with better anti-war messaging, but the story is too surface-level to get bogged down in that. It would rather the shop simply exist and hope that its function makes its ludicrousness forgivable. And, to be fair, it mostly is forgivable. It’s always entertaining to equip your characters with new stuff for use in future battles.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2197598391
But. Like a lot of Broken Lines’ systems—it’s there, and it’s fun, but it's not enough. Everything is limited, from player choice to player equipment. The limits of which are designed around that 8-hour sprint instead of that 30-hour campaign.
The issue is that a multitude of campaign runs could easily take you 30 hours. This makes for an uneven experience where the player is given a lot of variety in combat arenas and story situations when replaying, but a complete dearth of everything else. The upgrades you’ll have available for purchase are only good for 3 or 4 renewals. After that, you’ve seen them all. Whether you’re at the end of your first playthrough or you replay it five times, the character progression will always be the same, due to a lack of options. It’s just like the aforementioned dialogue choices. It’s nice that I can choose my own adventure for the few hours I’m campaigning, but it would have been more effective to have more options.
Not every game needs to be a marathon. But it’s disappointing that so many genres are on display in Broken Lines without ever having the time to be properly flushed out. Nothing, other than the combat, is given the total commitment from the developer.
Conclusion
Broken Lines wanted to be great at a lot of things. It’s great at nothing. Except what most players are likely to care the most about—the combat. The foundations of great role playing and storytelling are here, but that’s it. Foundations. And by existing and lacking any real depth, attention is drawn to things it never truly commits to.
It’s good for what it is. But what it is could have been so much more...
6/10 (fair)
Product received for free.
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502 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.08.20 01:52
Don't see a huge amount of games set during the WW1 time period so it's a refreshing take, and the tweaks to the commandos-esqe real time squad strategy style of gameplay make for some interesting moments where despite your planning while paused, things can turn around very quickly.
Overall if you're looking for a really well told story with well written characters, backed by decent strategic gameplay then i'd highly reccomend you check out Broken Lines.
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Verfasst: 30.06.20 22:56
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5 Reviews
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212 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.06.20 06:58
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32 Produkte im Account
8 Reviews
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1273 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.06.20 21:30
The game offers replayability, on second and third playthoughs you can choose different missions to tackle, and there are a few different endings, but since most missions play the same and there is very little character customization, there is not much incentive to do so, aside from the achievements.
Still, it's not bad. It is fun, challeging, and tactical. It just could have been so much more...
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508 Produkte im Account
41 Reviews
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504 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 21.05.20 13:16
It is a pleasure to play - the controls were nice and fluid, and you can't fault the UI. Via dialog, decision making, and some good storytelling, you get to know the characters and have some kind of affiliation with them. In no time, you'll be choosing your favourite soldiers more than the others and hoping they'll win all the arguments (Connor, oh you wicked sharpshooter you). The time based turn based element (akin to Frozen Synapse) was an absolute joy, and the pause time function when you come across new enemies is also super handy. Though note - this only kicks in when you encounter a new enemy. If you have already encountered a new enemy and another one appears, it won't pause again, which to me was a downside.
Chance to hit depending on cover and elevation too was also a clever system I liked to. The interface tells you what chances you have to hit and what chances they have to hit you as you move the cursor around looking for a position to go. I liked that a lot.
Then there is camp between missions, which reminded me somewhat of Darkest Dungeon. Here, you can interact with your characters, upgrade their skills and weapons and then choose which mission to embark on next.
Graphically it looks clean, colourful and smooth. Likewise with the sound, the soundtrack reminds me of This War of Mine at times, and the voice acting is passable.
One tactical issue I had found - one is, if you want a soldier to move in exactly the same spot as a soldier who is currently there, but will be moving away, this can't be done. You have to place the soldier next to the current soldiers spot, otherwise you'll end up clicking on him/her instead. Annoying when you're wanting to use the exact same cover as they are.
Overall, I recommend Broken Lines. It's not too in depth to put off casual players, and hardcore players of X-Com and such like may get a satisfying casual experience from it. At its sale price of £14.99 I feel I've got my monies worth, and I'm sure I'll return to it again for another blast.
Recommended.
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257 Produkte im Account
10 Reviews
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797 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 15.05.20 20:22
A ton of different mission options you can take along your journey, which adds interesting choices and consequences. There is a lot of choice, but it's hard to accurately determine how they all fit together to create the ending variant you get, and it's hard to steer your characters along the choices that might seem most reasonable to the player given your present circumstances.
Great art, but I did not like the yellow/orange filter on all the levels. I know it was supposed to represent the toxicity of the environment, but that could have been done more effectively by contrasting areas of more toxicity with clearer areas with less instead of just putting a blanket yellow filter on my screen.
The gameplay is excellent with a ton of different weapon and utility options, as well as perks and traits your characters develop via choices during events as well as traits you can assign to them at your discretion.
It's a good game and is worth its asking price, though I wish there was a bit of a clearer narrative and more obviously linked consequences to some of the choices you make along your journey.
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127 Produkte im Account
7 Reviews
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87 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.04.20 16:40
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97 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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481 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.04.20 08:15
Awesome story with multiple endings
Multiple ways to play the campaign
Kinda like XCOM but with a cool twist
10/10
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281 Produkte im Account
9 Reviews
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504 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.04.20 08:51
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145 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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804 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.04.20 02:05
This game has enough atmosphere in a tightly bound packaging with beautiful graphics that a 10 hour play-through feels sufficient. However, the game almost demands you play again for the alternate endings.
Really a great game. Effective, challenging, and gripping. Well done.
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341 Produkte im Account
27 Reviews
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2008 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.04.20 08:39
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178 Produkte im Account
29 Reviews
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375 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.04.20 06:06
I liked the art style but that's about the only redeeming factor it has going for it.
The voice over is extremely annoying, especially that lady-voice between missions. I guess they were trying to go for sentimental but funny but also deeply-sad... Failed in all of them.
There is very little depth to the tactical gameplay and comparing it to X-Com is really uninformed. I do like some elements of the cover system and which speed to run in but, ultimately, the game lacks depth in that point.
The worst point of it all is optimization: This game uses more power when it's running than any other game on my machine. At first I noticed my computer heating up and then my 1A power-protection module overloaded. That doesn't even happen in huge games like Read Dead Redemption 2 or any other game so far.
In short, for the amount of actual fun it has, I'd only buy this game if it were at $4 and even then, only after it has received a massive overhaul to address its performance optimization and resource management.
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154 Produkte im Account
16 Reviews
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516 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 21.04.20 18:01
It is ironman mode only,
Which is too bad, because it is otherwise a great game. Mis-clicks happen, but repeating hours of a game because of a mis-click, isn't going to happen.
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700 Produkte im Account
8 Reviews
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239 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.04.20 03:53
Broken Lines is about a group of soliders which get lost in enemy territory after surviving a plane crash. Look for survivors, any kind of hints on your location, ways to rescue your remaining squad members and deal with enemies which can approach you any time when you don't except them during your operations.
The game is split in a linear path of missions that advance the story and it also features various choices that the player has to pick in many situations which will impact the outcome of the campaign and offer a nice replay incentive (the game has 3 save files). It is also filled with humorous dialogues which make the story pretty entertaining aswell and help to develop some kind of interest in individual characters which helps the player to get engaged into the game.
Gameplay wise it really offers some well executed content. Every character can have a different weapon type (shotguns, rifles and so on) and also different skills like healing abilities, grenades or other supportive moves.
It functions like a normal turn-based tactics game but whenever new enemies get revealed, the game gets paused so the player can react, adapt and cancel/edit actions of his soliders if needed.
Aside from that the game has cool visuals and a good narrative voice wish tells the story and really helps with a good atmosphere in general. Voice acting and character lines and well done too.
Overall I struggle to find negatives of this game aside from a mentionable 24.99€ price tag but then again I need to admit that I barely had any other experience with turn-based tactics games. What I can definitely say is that this game gave me a good first
impression of this genre and I will finish this game after writing the review because the story got me hooked + I wonder if the late game levels will make me struggle.
If you are looking for a turn-based tactics game that offers difficulty settings, a tutorial and a cool story for beginners but also a hard more for veterans of this genre and you like the fictional World War II setting then this game is definitely worth looking into!
If you are a game developer and would like to get your game reviewed, feel free to email contact@dnbmedia.co
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130 Produkte im Account
2 Reviews
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197 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.04.20 05:51
There are way too many times when my people are getting killed because of bad line of sight checks being made by the AI. In a SHOOTING game, line of sight checks are CRITICAL to making good decisions about unit placement. There are also times when a unit is just standing there with an enemy right in front of them, with a full magazine of ammo ready to be used and nothing happens.
I'm not going to recommend this game to anyone until this is fixed. Thank goodness there isn't any permadeath.
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552 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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301 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.03.20 19:49
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87 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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750 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 28.03.20 05:55
There are few different ending which I have not tried, but I am planning to finish all of them after a break.
Gameplay is interesting but quite short due to its story which I dont complain much. Story is quite beautiful. I just wish it can be longer.
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391 Produkte im Account
23 Reviews
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3077 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 23.03.20 00:49
Overall highly recommend it.
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32 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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446 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 19.03.20 00:20
* the game has potential, but its too fast.
* it has NOTHING to do with X-COM (trust me, I play x-com since the first one, enemy unknown)
* it IS NOT an RPG. The only decision making capabilities you have outside combat is your equipment, few skills and which mission to choose.
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11 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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1710 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.03.20 14:53
Short version:
Pros:
- Unique and well made phase-based combat system
- The stress/suppressive fire system in particular is innovative and fun to play with
- Good pacing and map variety, no filler whatsoever
- Some clever reactivity, worth doing at least two playthroughs to see the difference and try different maps
Cons:
- Game is very short, about 15-20 hours of content, less than 30 even if you do everything
- Strategy layer/squad management is too basic, and there's little weapon variety
Recommended if you value quality over quantity, and if you're a fan of turn-based tactics.
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279 Produkte im Account
9 Reviews
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76 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 28.02.20 04:50
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457 Reviews
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434 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 27.02.20 22:14
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258 Produkte im Account
20 Reviews
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1105 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 27.02.20 13:56
The only problem I'm having so far is that my team members don't recover their healthy even after sleeping one o two nights or going on a mission without getting hurt. They appear with the red skull all the time in the camp no matter how much they rest or sussed.
8.5/10 Game so far in my humble opinion.
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38 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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238 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 27.02.20 12:44
Amidst the deteriorating supplies, the composure and sanity slowly chipping away, and the choices you make as soon as you get closer to the mission objective behind enemy lines. And even then, will you ever survive?
Broken Lines explores this topic in the middle of a Weird World War 2 and boy does it deliver. The WEGO system, the RNG and the interactions between the stranded soldiers make for a damned fun and nail biting experience.
Proof that you need no AAA level to bring good games.
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603 Produkte im Account
33 Reviews
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533 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.02.20 15:32
My boner for dwindling resource management aside, Broken Lines is a far more solid game than I thought it would be when I first picked it up off of the Steam store. The blend between realtime action and turn based planning works really well. The missions aren't too hard, even on hard difficulty, but if you mess up even once, things can take a turn for the worse real fast. Coupled with the permanent injuries I told you about in the previous paragraph, this can make a campaign go from doable to butt-clenchingly hard in a single stroke of bad decisions. And that's a really good thing, if you ask me.
Weapon balance, I find a bit tilted in favor of submachineguns over shotguns, to the point where I don't ever use the latter, but that's nothing that can't be fixed in a later patch. Heck, maybe my opinion will sway more towards shotguns as I progress through game! For now, it feels that 2-3 SMGs + 2 rifles can tackle just about anything thrown at them, especially coupled with a few explosives and plenty of heals. The short range on shotguns puts characters in too much risk to make them worth it.
Overall, Broken Lines isn't the best game I've ever played, but it's pretty darn decent in its own right. A pleasant surprise! Maybe not a diamond in the rough, but a solid nugget of gold that could one day form a shiny piece of jewelry, if given a tiny bit more polish.
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527 Produkte im Account
9 Reviews
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95 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.20 21:44
Right out of the gate, Broken Lines has a fix for that. It's an odd little hybrid of turn-based planning (well, maybe WEGO would be more accurate) which leads into fixed 8-second action phases where all hell breaks loose at once where your soldiers' actions all process. And, of course, the enemy's.
So things can become massively chaotic quite quickly as both parties, say, lob grenades at each other at once, leaving both frontlines exposed after they go off, or snipers race against the clock to get their aimed killshots off first, or quick thinking on someone's part means that a suppressive volley tears up the dirt you've left behind rather than your face.
Fortunately, the game has a very clear timeline down at the bottom that tells you how long actions take, so you can judge how your plans are shaping up over the 8 second pulse - or any subsequent ones. Like, say, making your shotgunner wait for a few seconds so someone else can lob a smoke grenade, and time his charge forward *after* the smoke cloud goes off.
The one exception to this, mind, is that the action phase instantly stops if you see an enemy unit (or if they see your troopers) and you go back to a planning stage. This takes a lot of the dumb XCOM issue I mentioned first out by giving you a chance to plan and react, while still punishing being too gung-ho (as enemy troops that spot you first will still be ready to shoot in the next 8-second turn while you're running for cover...)
Thematically? Not gotten too far in yet, but I'm intrigued. Something shaky's going on in Not-World-War-Two, and 1944 in this timeline has brought a long-range sabotage mission that ... well, goes horribly wrong before it even starts. (Not a spoiler if you've seen the trailer!) The atmosphere so far is on point, and while I've not worked out much about the masked mystery men you're facing, it's certainly pretty clear that this job has brought you somewhere you REALLY shouldn't be.
In terms of the systems; graphics are mostly good, particularly the buildings and towns (bar some meh faces), the UI is clear, and the systems are pretty easy to get a handle on after the tutorials (though I do recommend doing these before you start the campaign). Only obvious downside? Very iffy VA. I've played for less than 2 hours and I'm already not keen on a few of the regular barks you hear every few actions, and I don't see that improving with time.
Still, can heartily recommend so far, particularly if you either a) like WW2 games, b) like XCOM and/or Darkest Dungeon, and c) you like to approach tactical games slow and methodically.
P.S. Friendly fire isn't. Don't learn that the hard way. I did!
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178 Produkte im Account
15 Reviews
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117 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.20 19:00
Some gameplay and the option menus available:
https://youtu.be/xFA7G7-nvPk
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624 Produkte im Account
50 Reviews
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295 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.20 15:51
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278 Reviews
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16 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.20 15:45
Youtube Game Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGTLjgljXSo
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481 Produkte im Account
90 Reviews
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140 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.20 14:28
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389 Produkte im Account
2 Reviews
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186 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.20 12:07
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230 Produkte im Account
27 Reviews
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72 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.02.20 11:52
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