Tactical Breach Wizards is a captivating turn-based strategy game where you command an elite team of spell-casting operatives on a mission to secure global peace. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

Tactical Breach Wizards Review Overview

What is Tactical Breach Wizards?

Tactical Breach Wizards is a tactical turn-based strategy game that puts you in command of an elite team of wizards, battling to save the world from impending doom. Set in a unique universe where magic and modern tactical gear have evolved side by side through the ages, this game masterfully blends the spell-slinging combat you'd expect from Dungeons & Dragons or Baldur’s Gate 3 with the precise, strategic maneuvers of real-world S.W.A.T. teams and special forces.

Tactical Breach Wizards features:
　⚫︎　Turn-based tactical military magic combat
　⚫︎　Visual novel-style storytelling mixed with tactical missions
　⚫︎　4 playable acts with a varied number of missions each
　⚫︎　5 playable characters with unique playstyles and kits
　⚫︎　6 unlockable outfits for every character
　⚫︎　Challenge and Survival stages

For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Tactical Breach Wizards's gameplay and story.

Digital Storefronts
Steam
$19.99

Tactical Breach Wizards Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Accessible Turn-based Tactics Doesn’t Drag On Genuinely Creative Character Abilities	Incredibly Short Play Time

Tactical Breach Wizards Overall Score - 90/100

Tactical Breach Wizards made a bold statement when it entered the scene. It showed that great visuals don't require ultra-detailed graphics or flawless animations. It demonstrated that tactical turn-based gameplay can be both fun and challenging without being unforgiving. Most importantly, it proved that when good ideas are executed with creativity and passion, the result is something truly exceptional. With all it's achieved, it's clear that Tactical Breach Wizards has little left to prove.

Tactical Breach Wizards Story - 10/10

Tactical Breach Wizards is a masterclass in creative storytelling and detailed world-building. The game immerses you in a meticulously crafted setting, where every detail is thoughtfully placed and nothing is wasted on unnecessary story beats. It strikes the perfect balance, precisely delivering its message, never overstaying its welcome or overplaying its ideas. All of this is wrapped up in razor-sharp comedic dialogue, delivered by what might be the snarkiest group of wizards you’ll ever encounter.

Tactical Breach Wizards Gameplay - 9/10

Tactical Breach Wizards’ gameplay had its tactical turn-based cake and ate it too with its accessible design and creative implementation. Not only is every character’s kit a truly creative set of abilities designed to complement their strengths, but every encounter is a carefully curated experience made to teach newbies and tug at tactical veterans’ brains in equal measure as well. And if the game ever gets the best of you, it provides the perfect safety net with features like rewinds and skips, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the strategic fun.

Tactical Breach Wizards Visuals - 9/10

Low-poly graphics and high visual appeal don't typically go hand in hand, but that's what makes Tactical Breach Wizards so remarkable. Despite each asset having a modest polygon count, the game's striking character and environment designs shine through, making it instantly recognizable even from afar. It’s a testament to how stunning visuals aren’t just about HD graphics anymore but about thoughtful design and execution. In this case, less is more!

Tactical Breach Wizards Audio - 8/10

Tactical Breach Wizards’ audio is competently made and creatively executed, providing another robust sensory foundation to build its gameplay and story on. The music is dark and brooding, but also enchanting and whimsical—exactly the combination you’d expect from wizards with guns.

Tactical Breach Wizards Value for Money - 9/10

Tactical turn-based games often boast immense replayability due to the countless permutations possible in each encounter, and while Tactical Breach Wizards offers a more curated experience than something like XCOM, it still delivers in spades. With its vast array of abilities, charming roster of characters, and hilariously engaging story, you'll find yourself eager to dive back in time and time again. And at just $20, it feels like an absolute steal.

Tactical Breach Wizards Review: XCOM-mendable, Explosive, and Exceptional!

With last year's turn-based tactical flop, The Lamplighters League, now relegated to abandonware, it's evident that turn-based tactical strategy games are harder to pull off than they might seem. Despite the game's creative ideas, intriguing mechanics, and strong character designs, it fell short of its potential. This failure highlights that new ideas and ambitious scope alone aren't enough—these games need genuine passion, creativity, and flawless execution to truly shine. XCOM mastered this formula, as did its sequel, XCOM 2, with its many expansions. But with a new era upon us, it's time for another game to take up the mantle.

Enter—more accurately, forcefully enter—Tactical Breach Wizards, a stylized turn-based tactical strategy game by indie developer Tom Francis, known for his previous works like Heat Signature and Gunpoint. If the title didn't already give it away, Tactical Breach Wizards—or TBW for short—combines the fast-paced, breaching action reminiscent of Rainbow Six: Siege and The Finals with the arcane whimsy of spellcasting straight out of Dungeons & Dragons. That description is as straightforward as it gets because, at its core, Tactical Breach Wizards really is just about bursting into rooms and casting spells until everything in your way stops moving.

Of course, there’s more strategy to it than that. The game’s forgiving tactical layer lets you approach each encounter with reckless abandon if you choose, without much in the way of consequences. But I’m getting ahead of myself—let’s break down TBW’s spellcasting components.

The turn-based tactics in TBW are a bit different from what you might expect because each turn belongs to both you and your enemies simultaneously. In a real-life firefight, people don’t get to take defined turns, and TBW mirrors that split-second burst of action. As you make your moves, so do your enemies, but with a magical twist—you can rewind time and change your approach based on how they react.

Here’s how it works: as you assign actions to your team, enemy reactions are updated in real-time, showing you who they’re targeting and what they plan to do. You can then press the "Foresee" button to let the enemies play out their moves and see the results. If you’re not happy with the outcome, you can rewind the turn back to the start, with "timestamps" marking each action you’ve taken. This gives you an incredible amount of freedom to experiment and get creative, as there’s no limit to how many times you can Rewind or Foresee. It essentially turns the game into a complex cause-and-effect simulator—or at least it would, if that were all there is to it.

What really makes TBW shine is the unique set of abilities each character brings to the table, opening up even more opportunities for experimentation and creative tactics. And it isn’t just about dishing out more damage or taking on more enemies—it’s about using some truly unique abilities with an unforgettable lineup of spellcasters. You’ll find yourself summoning portals to purgatory that instantly obliterate enemies, casting chained lightning strikes, tossing gale grenades, setting up shots that hit where targets would be, or even hopping onto a flying broom to breach in from anywhere. One character can even "heal" allies by killing them first and resurrecting them right after—easily the most hilarious in the game.

Speaking of hilarity, the dialogue in this game is some of the snarkiest—and yet somehow most endearing—I’ve ever come across. You might think constant snark would get old fast, but the writing is sharp, with each character, whether playable or not, having clear motivations, distinct personalities, and a real emotional core. This solid character work also enhances the game’s rich world-building, which effectively establishes the universe’s modern-arcana vibe without bogging things down with excessive details or filler.

Since I’ve already touched on the story, I want to dive into the game’s unique structure—because honestly, this game could have stood on its own even without such a rich narrative. But TBW isn’t content with just doing the bare minimum. Instead, it embraces a visual novel-style exposition, featuring character dialogue between each breach, mission, and act—of which there are four. This approach aligns perfectly with the developer’s vision for the game. While it shares some similarities with XCOM, TBW was always meant to offer a more curated experience, focusing on defined characters rather than being a traditional tactical strategy simulator with random, customizable soldiers.

In that sense, TBW is more akin to XCOM: Chimera Squad or, more recently, Capes. However, I’d argue that TBW pulls off the crack team of misfits dynamic even better than those titles. And it’s no surprise why—the character design is wildly imaginative, blending quirky personalization with creative combinations of classic magical implements and tactical gear. Paired with a sleek low-poly aesthetic, these designs really set TBW apart as a potential heavy hitter in the genre.

And that’s the final breaching charge for Tactical Breach Wizards. It’s an insanely fun and hilarious game that effortlessly merges XCOM-style tactics with the character-driven storytelling, world-building, and camaraderie you’d expect from visual novels and RPGs. It’s mind-blowing to think this was all crafted by an indie developer, but we’ve seen legends like Toby Fox and Team Cherry achieve similar feats.

While it might be a bit early to crown Tactical Breach Wizards as an indie classic, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest when it eventually earns its spot in the Indie Hall of Fame.

Pros of Tactical Breach Wizards

Things Tactical Breach Wizards Got Right
Accessible Turn-based Tactics Doesn’t Drag On Genuinely Creative Character Abilities

Accessible Turn-based Tactics

I’m all for a crushing difficulty curve in turn-based strategy games, but I’m also aware that such difficulty can turn away newcomers to the genre. Thankfully, TBW strikes a perfect balance, making the game accessible to beginners while still delivering the unforgiving brutality that veterans crave.

A key reason for this is the game’s rewind feature, which allows newbies to experiment with every possible move in an encounter if they wish. What really gives newcomers a leg up is the option to skip entire levels with minimal consequences—just the loss of cosmetic items. But here’s the beauty of it: all these features are optional. If you’re after a tough, hard-earned victory, you can simply ignore these features and tackle the game the old-school way (or the "right" way, depending on who you ask).

Doesn’t Drag On

Another strength of Tactical Breach Wizards is its succinctness. As a tightly curated experience with a focused narrative, TBW delivers an artisanal touch to a genre that typically leans more toward sandbox-style storytelling. Every mission serves a purpose, driving the story forward without any filler. The game weaves an efficient and well-knit narrative that keeps things engaging without overstaying its welcome—a quality I wish Capes had managed. This goes to show that good writing isn’t about cramming in endless details or matching Tolkien’s word count; it’s about delivering a story with precision and impact.

Genuinely Creative Character Abilities

One thing I can’t stop praising about Tactical Breach Wizards is its incredible variety of abilities and skills. The game does a great job selling each team member with their starting kits, but it’s the unlockable abilities that really push the envelope. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you’re hit with something twice as outlandish as what you’d expect from wizards with guns. Take “False Prophet,” for instance—an ability that summons an illusory decoy for enemies to waste their shots on. Or how about an ability that makes allies immune to damage while turning that damage back on their attackers?

What makes these abilities even better is how they evolve with upgrades. Each ability has 3 to 4 upgrade paths, with some simply boosting damage or knockback, while others completely change how the ability functions. It’s easy to see why the Rewind feature is so crucial—you’d be lost in the sheer chaos without it!

Cons of Tactical Breach Wizards

Things That Tactical Breach Wizards Can Improve
Incredibly Short Play Time

Incredibly Short Play Time

Tactical Breach Wizards is one of those rare games where the only real downside is that you’ll wish there was more of it. With a playtime of around 8 hours—or 12 if you're chasing 100% completion—some players might find themselves longing for more after they’ve finished. But that’s part of its charm. This game is like fine dining: it’s all about quality over quantity, delivering a meticulously crafted experience rather than a sprawling buffet of content. TBW is definitely worth a replay anyway, as it has just enough randomness to prevent things from going stale immediately.

Is Tactical Breach Wizards Worth It?

Go Get This Game Already!

Tactical Breach Wizards is priced just under $20, which might seem steep for an indie game, but the value it offers is undeniable. With its rich replayability, engaging story, and tactical gameplay, it’s a fantastic buy. The wizards you’ll meet are some of the most endearing spellcasters you’ll encounter, and their adventures are well worth the price. For fans of XCOM or anyone curious about the turn-based strategy genre, this game is a must-have. Trust me, you won’t regret this choice—you’ll only wish you’d discovered it sooner.

Digital Storefronts
Steam
$19.99

Tactical Breach Wizards FAQ

How Do I Unlock New Characters in Tactical Breach Wizards?

New playable characters in Tactical Breach Wizards can be unlocked by progressing the game’s story missions and finishing the appropriate level where they are present.

How Do I Unlock New Outfits in Tactical Breach Wizards?

New outfits in Tactical Breach Wizards give each team member a new look but offer no mechanical benefits. Each can be unlocked by spending a certain amount of "Confidence", which can be gained by completing side objectives present in every mission.

How Do I Gain Perk Upgrade Points in Tactical Breach Wizards

Perk Upgrade Points are used to upgrade each team member’s arsenal of abilities and can only be gained whenever that character gains enough experience points to level up.

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Tactical Breach Wizards Product Information

Title	TACTICAL BREACH WIZARDS
Release Date	August 22, 2024
Developer	Suspicious Developments Inc
Publisher	Suspicious Developments Inc
Supported Platforms	PC (Steam)
Genre	Action, Shooting, Strategy
Number of Players	1
Rating	RP
Official Website	Tactical Breach Wizards Official Website

Aaron Bruce Albert..

A massive fan of roguelikes, turn-based RPGs, and open world adventure games. His gold standard games include The Binding of Isaac, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker.