Broken Lines

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Summary

Broken Lines is a war-game with a serious story, told from the perspective of the individual soldiers. A game for people who likes real-time tactics and strategy games, but are too slow to play them. Give orders to you men, while in pause - and total control. Then see the execution in real-time - sometimes resulting in catastrophic failure.

Play the campaign with randomized missions and non-linear stories. Select and equip your squad. Train them in unique combat skills and perks. Plan your turn in pause mode and see it play out in real-time. Use cover and flanking to overcome the opposition. Rewind the level to avoid casualties and achieve better loot. Manage resources and survive until you either find your way out of the valley or lose your way and your conscience in the process.

Storyline

Dusk. An army transport plane crosses the red evening sky. Motor humming. Plane cargo hold, only light is a lazy wall mounted bulb. A team of soldiers are fast asleep despite the bumpy ride. Heads bounce on their shoulders.
Suddenly the light turns off, everything is darkness. And then all motors give out. The plane silently drops. Soldiers, weapons, papers are thrown around in the cabin as everything turns vertical. The machine disappears behind treetops and a huge explosion follows.

The few surviving soldiers wake up in the scattered, burning wreckages. As the soldiers gather, it turns out all superior officers are dead, with the mission plans presumably destroyed in the fire.
Only eight soldiers have survived. Four rookies and four veterans. They argue over who should lead, who should eat, who are expendable and who should survive, but decide to stay together for now. The squad begins an uneasy trek towards a nearby village, but are soon hunted by the local enemy forces, who aggressively aim to terminate the intruders.
Fear creeps in as the squad slowly realizes they are stranded with no allies, no supplies, no clear orders, and no purpose. There are two main approaches the squad can decide to take. Try to continue the original mission - or save themselves.

The Rookies are convinced there is something sinister going on with the fog and the enemies in the valley. They want to solve the mystery, destroy the potential threat and go home as heroes. The veterans simply want to gather resources, to enable them to survive and escape - no matter the cost.

Broken lines It is a game about a group of soldiers being caught in a bad situation and about how they react to increasing pressure and stress. Some soldiers are more affected than others, creating a bigger rift within the squad. The soldiers’ lack of any clear leadership and plans make conflicts arise within the squad. The player decides which direction the soldiers should head. Do they try to find out what their mission is, or simply just survive and escape their situation. What is acceptable during war-time and which lines should never be broken, even if your life depends on it?


Broken Lines Activation Instructions

Broken Lines Reviews & Ratings

80
Review by KeenGamer
December 21, 2020

Broken Lines is a solid squad tactics game with an intriguing narrative and fair, yet punishing permanent consequences for your actions. While the soundscape is unimpressive and the animation doesn’t hold up under closer scrutiny, the varied, colorful locations add an enjoyable visual flair to the experience. The Dead and the Drunk is an engaging spin-off that goes well beyond being a throwaway mode, and offers an additional challenge for veterans. The fully customizable difficulty settings allow players of all skill levels and preferences to find a way to play that’s a perfect fit for them.

70
Review by BeggarSoldier [user]
October 26, 2020

Broken Lines is an alternative-timeline WW2 strategy game with a twist.Pros:- Great fighting mechanic- Squad management- There areBroken Lines is an alternative-timeline WW2 strategy game with a twist.Pros:- Great fighting mechanic- Squad management- There are certain points where you have to make certain decisions which impacts the game's ending so it is replayable multiple timesNeutral:- Cutscenes are meh- I don't know why but the depiction of the germans are really weird in this game- The story is mehCons:- Character models are weird looking- No voice in dialogues only humming7/10. It's a great experience. Can recommend it on a sale.

60
Review by LEVEL (Czech Republic)
July 22, 2020

A combination of RTS, turn-based strategy and rogue-like strategy works great. There are many enemies and little ammunition. Only the complex tactics are sometimes too complex.

50
Review by lord_raccoon [user]
July 15, 2020

This game is overhyped for real. It has rly average tactical gameplay, which become boring in hour-two. Control on the battlefield is awful.This game is overhyped for real. It has rly average tactical gameplay, which become boring in hour-two. Control on the battlefield is awful. Even though for 3 hours of gameplay i didnt lose any soldier, i always got confused about giving needed orders and to manage movements of my people.Management out of battle, which is about camp side, is so boring mechanic. What was the point to add it? To adjust the plot? Well, it didnt help. Characters are not interesting, and voice acting on the level "HMMM" was so annoying.I didnt make it to the end because i tired. Its not the game i expected when i read those reviews.

70
Review by ComandanteCobra [user]
June 15, 2020

Good indie Game. It's a light strategy game where you will command a 4 or 5 man sized squad (from 8 characters to choose from) . Game is basedGood indie Game. It's a light strategy game where you will command a 4 or 5 man sized squad (from 8 characters to choose from) . Game is based on 8 second real time auto paused sessions where you will give a sequences of orders to your troop (like run or use an ability). After a mission you will have to manage a few resources (food, buy and switch weapons, some special objects..not much else), and assign perks to yours soldiers. There are also some dialogues that alter morale, relations and skill of your squadThe good:1) Different missions to choose from that will exclude one- another ...so you will probably finish the game at least two times to see different paths.2) Moral and dramatic decisions that are often in the "gray area" so...there is no easy good-guy path3) A very pleasant aspect of the game is that there is NO option to save a game during missions or before a path choice...so you can't abuse save-spam to see an outcome beforehand..this will add tension and fun-mistery to the game4) Not too long to finish... you will need about 7 hours ..but you will probabily replay it to see other paths and endings. Missions are also short but in a good way so there isn't downtime5) Soldiers have their personality.6) Mystery (supernatural or sci-fi) and WW2 Mix WellThe bad:1) Combat is somewhat lackuster...very few options and basic A.I.2) Rpg and managemen are also basics.3) Most parts of the plot are not explained....this give some mystery...but also feel a little disappointed.4) Some late game repetitiveness...mostly because point 1 and 2.5) Cutscene are very basic...most of the story is narrated through text and still image..it could be better. Maybe buget restrictions.To sum up a good indie if you can find it at a good price.I liked it and I hope for a sequel but with a little more options and things to do.

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Game Information
Release Date February 25, 2020
Publisher PortaPlay, SUPER.COM
Content Rated M (Mature)
Game Modes Single player
Player Perspectives Bird view / Isometric
Genres Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Tactical
Themes Action, Historical, Drama, Warfare, Mystery
Platforms Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S