You know that feeling when you've stared at a digital grid for twenty minutes, sweating over a single tile, only to realize that moving your tank three inches to the left will save a skyscraper and also somehow kick a giant bug into a volcano? That's the magic of Into the Breach. It isn't just a strategy game. It's a series of perfect, tiny puzzles where every mistake is your fault and every victory feels like you have a 200 IQ. Subset Games basically ruined the genre for everyone else by making it so tight and focused.
But eventually, you win with every squad. You've seen every pilot. You've saved the world from the Vek more times than you can count.
Finding games like Into the Breach is actually harder than it looks because most developers think "strategy" means "sprawling maps and three-hour battles." Into the Breach succeeded because it was minimalist. It gave you perfect information. You knew exactly how the enemy was going to ruin your day before they even did it. If you're looking for that specific hit of dopamine—the "perfect information" tactical puzzle—you have to look in some weird corners of the indie scene.
The Games That Get the "Perfect Information" Vibe Right
Most tactics games rely on a "hit chance." You've seen it in XCOM. You have a 99% chance to shoot an alien in the face, you click the button, and your soldier misses and shoots a fire hydrant instead. It’s infuriating. Into the Breach threw that out the window. If you want games like Into the Breach, you’re likely looking for that deterministic gameplay where the math is 100% transparent.
Tactical Breach Wizards
This is probably the closest spiritual successor in terms of raw "puzzliness." Created by Tom Francis (the guy behind Gunpoint), Tactical Breach Wizards is basically about a SWAT team of mages. Instead of flashbangs, you have lightning bolts that knock people through windows.
It shares that core Into the Breach DNA: the maps are small, and you can see exactly what the enemies are going to do on their turn. You spend your time rewinding turns—which is a built-in mechanic—trying to find the one sequence of moves that clears the room without anyone getting shot. It’s funny, too. The writing doesn't take itself seriously, which is a nice break from the bleak, post-apocalyptic vibe of giant bugs eating cities.
Cobalt Core
Don't let the cute animals in spaceships fool you. Cobalt Core is a deck-builder, but it plays more like a tactical grid game. You’re managing a ship on a horizontal axis. When an enemy fires a big laser, you don't just hope your shields hold; you move your ship two spaces to the left so the laser hits empty space.
It captures that specific "positioning matters more than raw power" feeling. You’re constantly shifting your ship's "axis" to line up your own shots while dodging incoming fire. It’s snappy. Rounds are fast. If you loved the loop of Into the Breach, this will eat your weekend.
Why Modern Strategy is Moving Away From RNG
For a long time, game designers thought randomness was the only way to create tension. They were wrong. Games like Into the Breach proved that if you give a player all the cards, the tension comes from their own inability to see the solution right in front of them. It’s the difference between a game of dice and a game of chess.
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Fights in Tight Spaces
This one takes the tactical grid and turns it into a James Bond-style bar fight. You play cards to punch, kick, and shove enemies into each other. Just like the Vek in Into the Breach, you can manipulate enemies so they hit each other instead of you.
There is something deeply satisfying about sidestepping a guy with a gun so that he accidentally shoots his boss. The game uses a minimalist aesthetic that keeps the board state clear. You never feel like the UI is fighting you. It's just you, a deck of cards, and a room full of bikers who are about to have a very bad day.
Invisible, Inc.
Klei Entertainment is known for Don't Starve, but Invisible, Inc. is their masterpiece of turn-based stealth. It’s a bit more complex than Into the Breach, but it hits the same notes of "information is power." You’re not trying to kill everyone; you’re trying to get in, steal data, and get out before the alarm level makes it impossible to survive.
The game is brutal. It’s a roguelike where a single miscalculation cascades into a total party wipe. But because you can "see" the sightlines of guards and the range of security cameras, every failure feels like a learning experience rather than a "bad roll."
Precision vs. Chaos: The Two Paths of Tactics
When searching for games like Into the Breach, you eventually have to choose. Do you want more "perfect puzzles," or are you okay with a little bit of chaos?
Mushroom 11 or Baba Is You are technically different genres, but they appeal to the same part of the brain that enjoys Into the Breach. They require precise manipulation of a small set of rules to achieve a goal. On the other hand, something like Battle Brothers offers tactical depth but adds a massive layer of "the world hates you and your mercenaries will die of infection."
Most Breach fans prefer precision. They want the "Aha!" moment.
Slice & Dice
Honestly, this is one of the best "small scale" tactics games ever made. It’s a dice-based roguelike, which sounds like it would be too random, but it gives you so many ways to mitigate that luck. You’re controlling a party of five heroes, each represented by a die.
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You can re-roll, you can use items to change the faces of the dice, and most importantly, you see exactly what the monsters are going to do. If the monster is going to deal 5 damage to your healer, you have to figure out how to kill it, stun it, or shield your healer using the dice you’ve rolled. It’s incredibly addictive and runs perfectly on a phone, just like the mobile port of Into the Breach.
The "One More Turn" Factor in Indie Tactics
The genius of Subset Games lies in the "bite-sized" nature of their encounters. You can play a single mission in five minutes. This "snackable" design is becoming a hallmark of the best games like Into the Breach.
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate
Imagine chess, but the Black King is tired of losing and decides to pick up a shotgun. That’s the whole game. You move like a King (one square in any direction), and you blast pieces off the board.
But it’s tactical. You have to manage your ammo. You have to account for how the remaining white pieces move. It takes a familiar system—chess—and turns it into a rogue-lite tactical shooter. It’s absurd, but it works because the rules are rigid. You always know how a Knight is going to move. The challenge is navigating that "threat zone" while reloading your weapon.
Floppy Knights
This one is a bit more colorful and leans into card-game territory. You "summon" units by playing cards, and then you move them on a grid. It feels a bit like Advanced Wars mixed with Into the Breach.
The difficulty curve is gentler than some of the other games on this list, but the tactical depth is real. It’s a great "palate cleanser" if you’ve been banging your head against a particularly hard run in a different game.
Moving Beyond the Grid
Sometimes the "feeling" of Into the Breach isn't about the squares on the floor. It’s about the economy of movement.
- Slide: Animal Race (for a very weird, very niche experience).
- Minit: Even though it's an adventure game, the 60-second time limit forces the same kind of hyper-efficient decision-making.
- Crypt of the NecroDancer: It’s a rhythm game, but since enemies only move when you move, it functions as a high-speed tactical puzzle.
How to Choose Your Next Tactical Obsession
If you're staring at the Steam store or the eShop wondering which of these games like Into the Breach to buy, ask yourself what you actually liked about the original.
If you loved the environmental kills, go with Tactical Breach Wizards or Fights in Tight Spaces. Pushing people off ledges or into fire is their bread and butter.
If you loved the predictability and the "perfect info," Slice & Dice or Cobalt Core are your best bets. They remove the "guesswork" and leave you with pure logic.
If you loved the bleak atmosphere and the feeling of a desperate war, Invisible, Inc. is the gold standard.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Tactician
Start by checking out the free demos. Many of these indie titles, like Tactical Breach Wizards, have extensive demos because the developers know that once you "click" with the mechanics, you’re hooked.
Don't be afraid to drop the difficulty. Into the Breach is famous for being "hard but fair," but some of its clones can lean a bit too hard into the "hard" part. There's no shame in learning the systems on an easier setting before you try to save the timeline on Hard mode.
Finally, look into the "Deterministic" tag on Steam. This is the secret keyword for finding games that lack RNG. It’s the closest way to find that specific logic-puzzle-meets-war-game vibe that Subset Games mastered.
The genre is healthier than it’s ever been. You just have to look past the big-budget releases and find the small, weird grids where the real innovation is happening. Stop worrying about hit percentages and start worrying about where you're standing. That's where the real fun begins.