Into the Breach

Into the Breach is the second game from Subset Games, the two-person studio that made FTL. It is a turn-based tactics game about defending cities from giant bugs with a squad of three mechs, and its one defining idea is perfect information: you always see exactly what every enemy will do on its next turn. There is no dice roll to blame. Every loss is a positioning mistake you could have seen coming, which is what keeps you coming back.

The honest thing to know before you start, especially if you bought into the idea of playing it everywhere, is that the three versions do not share a save. It is on Steam, it is on Switch, and it is free on your phone if you have Netflix. Those are three separate islands. A campaign you start on one will not follow you to another.

Game overview

You command three mechs against the Vek, an endless swarm of monsters erupting from under the cities you are paid to protect. Each mission is a short, self-contained puzzle on a small grid: the Vek announce their attacks, and you have one turn to push, block, or kill your way out of the damage before it lands. Protecting the buildings matters more than killing the enemy, because the buildings are your power grid and your score.

Runs are short and built for repeated attempts. A full campaign is a handful of islands and takes a couple of hours, and you are meant to lose, learn the mech combinations, and come back with a different squad. The free Advanced Edition update from July 2022 added new squads, new pilots, new enemies, and a harder difficulty tier, and it shipped to every platform. Treat that as the complete version of the game.

There is no co-op and no multiplayer. Into the Breach is single-player on every platform.

Where you can play it

Three places, and the differences matter.

On PC it is on Steam and GOG. The Steam build is Steam Deck Verified and runs on a native Linux build, so it does not need Proton. It plays well at the Deck’s resolution with a gamepad.

On Switch it has been available since August 2018, in handheld, tabletop, or docked. The controller scheme is clean: move the cursor with the stick, select with A, and the small grid never feels cramped on a pad.

On mobile it is iOS and Android, but only through Netflix Games. You cannot buy it on its own from the App Store or Play Store. You need an active Netflix membership, you link your Netflix account, and then it is free with no ads and no in-app purchases. Offline play works once it is installed, which makes it a real travel option if you already pay for Netflix.

There are no PlayStation or Xbox versions.

Cross-saves and keeping your progress

This is the section that earns the honest flag, and it is the single most useful thing to know before you commit a campaign.

There is no cross-progression between the three ecosystems. Steam Cloud syncs your save between your own PCs and the Steam Deck, because they all run the same Steam build. The Netflix mobile version stores your progress on your Netflix profile and syncs it across your own phones and tablets on that account. The Switch version backs up through Nintendo Switch Online as a Switch-only backup. None of these three talk to each other.

Netflix is explicit about this. Its help pages state that Netflix games are separate from the versions other publishers release, and that progress cannot be transferred between them. So the appealing picture of starting a run on your Switch at home and finishing it on your phone at the airport does not work. You would be starting over.

The good news is that within any one island the saving is solid. The game autosaves between missions, runs are short, and the perfect-information design means a crash never costs you a clever plan you cannot rebuild. Pick the platform you play on most, and live there.

Features that matter on the move

• Pause-anywhere by design. Missions run a few minutes on a small grid, and because every enemy move is telegraphed you can stop mid-turn and resume cold without losing your read on the board. Few games survive a 90-second interruption this well.
• Steam Deck Verified on a native Linux build. No Proton, clean gamepad input, and the slow turn pace is gentle on battery.
• Free on the phone if you have Netflix. The mobile version costs nothing extra for Netflix subscribers and plays offline once installed, which is a strong flight setup.
• Single-player and offline. No online dependency anywhere. Once it is installed, no version needs a connection to play.
• Short runs suit short sessions. A commute is enough for a mission or two, and a dead run means you start a fresh, fast attempt.

Recommended setup

On PC or Steam Deck, the 8BitDo Pro 2 is the controller to pair with it if you want a pad rather than mouse-and-keyboard. The game plays fine either way: mouse is a touch faster for selecting a target in a busy grid, but the gamepad scheme is clean and supported.

If you play across devices, the thing to set up is your expectations, not your hardware. Decide which version is your main one before you sink hours into a campaign, because there is no way to move that progress later. For most people that means Steam or the Deck if you own the game, or the Netflix mobile version if you would rather not buy it and you already subscribe.

See our controllers guide for the full multi-device pad picks, the cross-saves guide for how Steam Cloud, NSO, and walled-garden mobile saves compare across the wider portable library, and the Steam Deck vs Switch 2 cornerstone for choosing which handheld to make your home for games like this.

Verdict

Into the Breach is close to a perfect portable game on its own terms: short, deep, pause-anywhere, and built around a design idea that rewards thinking over luck. It is Steam Deck Verified, it plays well on Switch, and it is free on your phone if you have Netflix. The only thing standing between it and a flawless play-anywhere story is the one thing nobody mentions at the store page: the three versions do not share a save. Choose your island, start your run there, and it is one of the best handfuls of hours in tactics. Try to span all three, and you will keep starting over.