Take the ship-building of No Man’s Sky and Starfield, add in the tactical combat and roguelike structure of FTL, and supplement it with a card system reminiscent of Slay the Spire or the recently released Zet Zillions, and you have Breachway. One of my most-wanted indies of 2024, the space game has already shot up into the higher echelons of the Steam rankings with over 150,000 wishlists, but developer Edgeflow Studio and publisher Hooded Horse made the decision to push it back from its original launch date to ensure a strong debut. Now, it’s finally almost ready to go.
Breachway puts you in charge of a ship that’s crossing the galaxy in search of a mysterious signal called, well, The Signal. In similar fashion to FTL, you’ll have to plot a course between intergalactic landmarks and tackle various dangerous factions as you attempt to stay one step ahead of the competition. Taking its cue from some of the best roguelike games, Breachway works using a card-based system that tasks you with deciding how best to distribute your ship’s reactor power across offense, defense, and utility functions.
My time with the Breachway demo left me very eager to try out the full thing, and Edgeflow has a robust offering planned for the early access launch. There are four starting ships, each featuring unique layouts and optimal synergies. You’ll also unlock additional ship variants and bonuses between runs based on how you do.
On top of that come more than 200 cards, which determine the various attacks and abilities you’ll have access to in combat. Each of these are tied to the weapons and equipment you can strap to your craft, meaning that you’ll have to plan carefully to ensure that the cards you collect are suitable to the tools you have at your disposal. Again, more of these modules will become available the further you progress.
Beyond that, there’s a range of potential crewmates to hire, each of whom bring their own abilities to help you in dangerous situations. At launch, the map features two regions packed with various events, missions, space stations, enemy encounters, environmental hazards, and boss fights. If that’s got you curious to try it out, the good news is that there’s not too much longer to wait.
Breachway will launch in early access on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store on Friday August 30, 2024. If you’re eager to check it out ahead of time, you can add it to your Steam wishlist to keep track of development and receive a notification when it releases.
Can’t hold off until then? We’ve rounded up the best space games to satiate all your interstellar cravings, along with the best turn-based strategy games if that’s what gets you ticking.
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