This is so far my GOTY for 2024. It is not an exaggeration to say this game reinvents the tactical squad genre and it is simply sublime. The art style, characters, narrative, and dialogue are immensely charming and well-written. In terms of gameplay, it seriously plays somewhat like a puzzle game. Because the game gives you infinite re-dos per turn, it is able to make each encounter, on its face, incredibly difficult. As such, finding an optimal solution, combined with the optional objectives, provides the exact same "Aha!" moment you get when solving a puzzle in a dedicated puzzle game.

However, unlike a traditional puzzle game, as a tactical squad game, you have so many unique and interesting abilities, which improve and unlock new methods of attack, reposition, and general utility, that any one encounter has so many solutions. This only elevates that Eureka! moment, because you didn't find THE solution, you found YOUR solution, which is even more rewarding.

The game naturally progresses the complexity and difficulty in every encounter as the game goes on, but ALWAYS gives you more tools to conquer those challenges. The core gameplay loop literally never got stale, because right up until the very end of the game, I was STILL getting used to new abilities I had just gotten access to.

The UI and UX are basically perfect, I can't recall a moment where I was ever confused about something or had any issues with the interface. This is also helped, again, because if you dont understand how something works, you can just try it, without any risk whatsoever. I also dont recall encountering any bugs. The game is exceptionally polished.

I really cannot overstate how good of a game this is. I haven't felt as captured by a game since probably Portal 2. I caught myself staying up way, way, WAY too late because I just got engrossed in the game and couldnt put it down. Everyone should play this game. Full stop.

This is so far my GOTY for 2024. It is not an exaggeration to say this game reinvents the tactical squad genre and it is simply sublime. The art style, characters, narrative, and dialogue are immensely charming and well-written. In terms of gameplay, it seriously plays somewhat like a puzzle game. Because the game gives you infinite re-dos per turn, it is able to make each encounter, on its face, incredibly difficult. As such, finding an optimal solution, combined with the optional objectives, provides the exact same "Aha!" moment you get when solving a puzzle in a dedicated puzzle game. However, unlike a traditional puzzle game, as a tactical squad game, you have so many unique and interesting abilities, which improve and unlock new methods of attack, reposition, and general utility, that any one encounter has so many solutions. This only elevates that Eureka! moment, because you didn't find THE solution, you found YOUR solution, which is even more rewarding. The game naturally progresses the complexity and difficulty in every encounter as the game goes on, but ALWAYS gives you more tools to conquer those challenges. The core gameplay loop literally never got stale, because right up until the very end of the game, I was STILL getting used to new abilities I had just gotten access to. The UI and UX are basically perfect, I can't recall a moment where I was ever confused about something or had any issues with the interface. This is also helped, again, because if you dont understand how something works, you can just try it, without any risk whatsoever. I also dont recall encountering any bugs. The game is exceptionally polished. I really cannot overstate how good of a game this is. I haven't felt as captured by a game since probably Portal 2. I caught myself staying up way, way, WAY too late because I just got engrossed in the game and couldnt put it down. Everyone should play this game. Full stop.