Ground Breakers

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> Be me
> Exploring Steam for a strategy game 🔍
> Spot "Ground Breakers," intrigued by its robot domination premise 🤖
> Already played Advance Wars, hoping for something fresh
> Game features both campaign and multiplayer, nice! 🎮
> Tactical matches with diverse robots and skills, reminiscent of Advance Wars
> Way better than that awful Future Wars ripoff game, dodged a bullet there 💥
> Robots with unique abilities, adds a whole new layer to strategy
> Crafting and upgrading, feels like a metal scavenger hunt, loving it! 🔧
> Online battles, climbing leaderboards, flexing my robot prowess 💪
> Non-linear world domination campaign, Machiavelli in a metal world 🌍
> Faces opponents with superior equipment, a true challenge 💣
> But here's the twist: The sand worm ultimate ability
> Officer's power move, almost impossible to use effectively
> Reticule moves at warp speed, like trying to catch a shooting star
> Is it intentional, an epic challenge, or just a design hiccup?
> Struggling to time it right, sand worms striking everywhere but where I want
> Wondering if it's an intentional curveball or an oversight 🤔
> Still, I appreciate the unique challenges
> The height system adds a Final Fantasy Tactics vibe, tactical depth FTW
> Plus, gotta praise those character designs! 🎨
> Each robot feels distinct, bursting with personality
> From sleek and futuristic to rugged and industrial
> They're a visual feast for the robot enthusiast
> Overall, "Ground Breakers" stands as its own unique breed
> Way better than that Future Wars abomination
> The robot abilities make each battle a metal symphony 🎶
> Sand worm struggles aside, it's a strategic delight
> Also hilariously, when your units try to pass through other units, they will shoot up into the air suddenly too
> Ready to dominate the world, one quirky robot at a time! 🌟

Megas XLR Manic Mayhem

[Scene: Coop, Jamie, and Kiva are gathered in Coop's garage, surrounded by video game consoles and snacks.]

Coop: Alright, guys, check out this new game I got. It's called "Ground Breakers"!

Jamie: Oh boy, another chance for Coop to smash things virtually.

Kiva: As long as you don't break the controllers this time, Coop.

Coop: Ha, very funny. Let's fire this baby up!

[They start playing "Ground Breakers" on the screen.]

Coop: Alright, here we go! smashes buttons

Jamie: Coop, you're supposed to strategize, not mash the buttons like you're fighting the Glorft.

Coop: But smashing buttons is half the fun!

Kiva: Alright, let's see what this game is all about. tactically maneuvers

Coop: Whoa, Kiva, you're like a robot ninja or something!

Jamie: Yeah, and Coop's like a robot bull in a china shop.

Coop: Hey, I resemble that remark!

[They continue playing, encountering different robots and challenges.]

Coop: Dude, did you see that sand worm ultimate ability? It's like something out of a sci-fi horror movie!

Jamie: Yeah, but trying to aim it is like trying to hit a moving target with a blindfold on.

Kiva: It definitely adds a layer of challenge, that's for sure.

Coop: And what's up with the robot designs? Some of them look like they came straight out of my dream garage!

Jamie: Yeah, except they're not cars, Coop. They're robots.

Coop: Tomato, tomato.

Kiva: Alright, final thoughts. What do we think of "Ground Breakers"?

Coop: It's like smashing stuff, but with robots. What's not to love?

Jamie: Despite Coop's button-mashing, the game offers some real strategic depth and cool challenges.

Kiva: Agreed. It's a fun twist on the classic strategy genre, even if Coop sometimes misses the mark.

Coop: Hey, I'm the one with the high score here!

[They share a laugh as they continue playing, the sound of robot battles echoing through the garage.]

Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen

(Parody lyrics inspired by the original)

Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
Boop, boop, boop
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
Boop, baby, boop, said boop
And the matches go by, like a circuit in the wind
In the web that is my code, I begin again
Said to my friend, bot (everything rebooted)
Nothin' else mattered
It was no more than a pixel then
Well, it seemed overloaded
Something within it
But the moment that I first coded
Lines for it, all alone
On the edge of Ground Breakers

Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop

Well, I played today
Maybe I will play again tomorrow
Yeah yeah, well, the gameplay there
Well, it was algorithmically familiar
Well, I see you executing what I try to do for me
With the code from a programmer and a voice from a speaker
And a melody, and nothing else mattered
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop

The algorithms never expect it when it computes
But the system changes outcomes
But the system does not change
So with the slow, graceful flow of a program
I went forth with an age-old desire to code
On the edge of Ground Breakers

Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop

Well, then suddenly there was no one
Left coding in the hall, yeah, yeah
In a flood of lines
That no one really ever understood at all
Well, I went searchin' for a syntax
Up the lines and down the code
And not to find a syntax
Just to hear the beep
Of a nightbot coding, "Come away"
(Come away, come away)

Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
Boop, baby, boop, said boop
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop

Well, I hear you in the debugging
And I hear you at runtime
Sometimes to be near you
Is to be unable to debug you, my code
I'm a few loops older than you
(I'm a few loops older than you) my code
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
Boop, baby, boop, said boop
Just like the mighty robot brigade
Plays a game, sounds like they're strategizing
I said boop, baby, boop, said boop

In the neon glow of the digital night,
Where robots clash in an epic fight.
Welcome to the world of Ground Breakers,
Where metal warriors are the heartbreakers.

With circuits humming and lasers ablaze,
They navigate the battlefield in a daze.
From towering titans to nimble bots,
They battle for glory in digital plots.

In the pixelated dawn of the gaming screen,
Where heroes rise and villains keen.
Ground Breakers, the game of the century,
Where victory tastes like pure ecstasy.

With joystick in hand and eyes ablaze,
We dive into the action, lost in the maze.
Retro graphics and synthwave tunes,
As we conquer the battlefield under the neon moons.

Robots clash in a dance of light,
In the virtual realm, they reignite.
With every move, a pixelated blast,
As we kick some serious digital ass.

So raise your controllers, let's rock the night,
In the world of Ground Breakers, we take flight.
For in this pixelated land of lore,
We are the champions, forevermore. 🤖🎮🌟

for $1.19 Canadian? yeah it is fun for a bit and neat. something seemed to affect my crafting and chips and stuff and it just kinda stopped updating/ adding new things to my inventory? I think I might have loaded a prior beat campaign map or something like that and rebeat it? really not sure. It actually has a demo so if you enjoy that, at the price point give it a whirl. Again for 1.19 hard to go wrong if it amuses you for even an hour.

tl;dr if you like doing maths on purpose, this game is fantastic.

Terrain squares as elemental tables is genius. Gloomhaven is starting to do it with Frosthaven (it's not out yet but I definitely think that's what they're doing). Teamfight Tactics has elemental spaces. I'm even making a game and this is some of an inspiration for the model in elemental terrain.

The reason I enjoy this kind of mechanic is that each element is its own table, the height of each bit of terrain acts as part of several tables in a matrix of gradual elevation, and moving over that elevated terrain is the inverse of that gradual curve. That is to say: a player that can accrue high or effective terrain is likely to be secure by virtue of limiting maneuvers toward or over those spaces.

Very interesting, enjoyable and fun concept.

Very poorly executed, riddled with bugs and unfinished.
Multiplayer does not work at all.

Summary: Lacks polish, but it's a decent Unity game.

Pros:
Good casual strategy game.
Chip system offers deep customization.

Cons:
Language isn't very polished.
Glitches pretty often.

Note: My Steam is often on Offline Mode, so I've actually played alot more than half an hour :P

This game is basically a robot combat game where battle is played out in an isometric, turn-based SRPG format. There are different game modes available to play, including deathmatches, target capturing, and protect-the-leader. You'll likely be spending most of your time doing campaigns, going through the Infinity Mine, and customizing your robots. Campaigns consist of you and CPU players, and the last nation standing wins. The Infinity Mine is there for advancing the story and grinding for bot parts.

You start out with a few bots, but as you progress through the game you can unlock various bots by collecting parts from battle. Personal favorites include:
War Priest - The most reliable source of healing (until you get Wrenchy). If no one needs to be healed, switch it to war mode to deal more damage. Upgrading it to Silver gives it a big max HP boost. Also, War Rain is OP.
Cannoneer - It's pretty fragile, but it's normal attack deals decent damage. Overdrive basically gives it extra turns, and Jump Shot can be used to travel to hard-to-reach places. Putting damage-boosting chips in it allows it to OHKO other bots.
Rolllur - It's a must in the Infinity Mine due to it's Fortress skill, which allows it to decrease incoming damage while passively dishing out damage to nearby opponents. Give it damage-deflecting, force-field, and/or healing chips to extend its life as much as possible.

Each bot has a Durability score attached to it, and it's like the number of lives the robot has. During your campaign, you'll need to repair them as they get damaged, forcing you to use other robots while the ones you want to use are repairing.

Some of the dialogue was riddled with spelling/grammar errors, and it was pretty glitchy in some areas. For example, if an enemy's Minig0d used Private Dimension, sometimes the game would hang on their turn, never allowing the user to make their next move. ...Just save the game often.

Despite the lack of polish, I did like the chip customization system. There are several chip types, allowing for greater survivability, power, or RNG-based benefits. Chips can be condensed and combined using credits you earn in battle, and you can also use credits to unlock space on your bot's motherboard for more chips.

If the glitches aren't too off-putting to you then go ahead and try it :)

This game is full of bugs and looks more like a student's assignment prepared to get a passing grade after a praktikum rather than a professional project. The tutorial is hard to follow. Controls are clunky.
It seems that the game wasn't tested by anyone except the author.
As much as I'm a fan of TBS games, I can't possibly recommend this game simply because its almost unplayable. At best, it's in alpha stage, and shouldn't be on sale yet.

[table][tr][th]I'm a Steam curator, you can follow me[/th][/tr][/table]

Found the user interface difficult to understand. Tutorial missions left me feeling very unprepared. Not enough basic instruction on play field and overall flow of turns.

Would reconsider my purchase even though it was less than $5.

Immediately after finishing the tutorial, the game hung.
Rebooted and re-loaded my in-game profile. It hung exactly the same way.
I'm done.
Too bad, the game looked interesting.

https://youtu.be/utXuVUVXh9w



Alright, this game is a hidden gem. I know some people have said that but I want to drive that point home. In my time playing the game I have not had any bug encounters except one which was annoying I will admit but it was avoidable. The game itself has got a lot of variety to the game play that it will keep you amused for hours. They have a risk type mode, scenario mode, dungeon mode. All of these have different rules that go with them and you will need to become familiar with each if you want to grow in strength. There is also a unique tetris type system to upgrade your robots that gives you quite the intricate customization. Overall the game is well done, if you like turn based strategy games this is a game for you. The only thing that might turn people off from it is there is the element of grinding involved. I haven't found it obnoxious, sure it kind of stinks if you run a dungeon hoping for a piece to drop and don't get it. But, I have found other games far more bothersome in their grinding.

Also I want to point out that the plans seem random and a lot of people don't like that. I feel the element of surprise is worth it and also once you have the previous plans created it will be taken out of rotation and then you will be able to whittle it down from there. Really it takes some guesswork, not any different then other games where you guess what recipes will make what.

Currently broken as all hell. Fun idea, and when it works its playable, but way too buggy, at least on Ubuntu 16.04
Might recommend it when its been fixed, but until then, nah.

This is a really cool game with a bunch of issues, but still really worth the money. I think it really deserves more attention than its getting.

The Good.
* cute graphics
* the units you play with are really different and really encourage you to use different play styles
* 3 games in one, and each game type lets you earn different types of resources (money, parts, and chips
* the campaign mode is pretty much a full game all by itself, with both a strategy map and tactical maps whenever there is a fight
* chips allow for great customization of individual robots
* i frequently complain that games dont have enough tracks, but at least the tracks here are catchy enough that it doesnt bother me. i am listening to the menu music looping as i write this, which i normally cant tolerate.
* devs are really freindly and eager to improve the game
* quest system - not sure if this is a good or bad - its cool, and it does help you find out a bit more about the game, but it could be developed a bit more
* it even has auto-farming in infinity mine and scenarios! once you have plenty of bots you can send one team to farm while you go play with another team

The Not-So-Good.
* the tutorial is very brief and only covers a small part of the game.
* because of the short tutorial, large chunks of the game are a complete mystery, and have to be worked out by trail and error
* there are a number of bugs, sometimes preventing you from accessing buttons, menus, scrolling etc... Hapily, most of these can be busted out of if you know what to do (eg when scrolling/panning is broken. clicking on 'reset camera' usually fixes it)
* the three game types are really cool (scenario, infinity mine, and campaign) but it isnt really explained that you need to be switching from one to another to advance. A number of reviewers complain that the infinity mine gets really hard around lvl 5. I'm guessing thats because they didnt discover how to get more units or how to upgrade them.

Summary:
A really cool little game that will reward you for your patience in struggling to work out all the info for yourself. I bought this on special, but knowing what i know now i would have happily paid full price ($9.99 USD at the time of writing). i already have 20+ hours in this game and i am pretty sure i will get plenty more. It does play a little like an EA title some times, but a good EA, one which the devs care about,

While this game is fairly fun it has some fairly major and glaring flaws.

First off are the bugs that will randomly move the actual mouse pointer up or down in relation to the pointer on the screen, then sometimes the UI will just fail. I have saved the game and then the entire game freezes until I hit esc (im guessing that the next screen that should show up is invisible or some such) or when im trying to select my robots in the 4 wide screen to change out their chip sets and when I hit the arrow to view more it goes to the farthest screen and wont let me go back. but those are fairly minor and I can save the campaign and reset the program to fix them.

What finally got me to stop playing was when I was playing the campaign and every 'mission' type was a hijacked robot. not only do I lose the most useful robot on the team (the healer was ALWAYS chosen to be the hijacked robot) I also have to fight a game of 4v5 because they dont have a hijacked robot of their own. and on top of that the durability of my hijacked robot is effectivly reduced to 1 so that if it dies even once I lose the match. (aka. I was playing on easy and despite killing the other team aproxamatly 2x over, they 'won' because they finally did enough damage to the robot that was hijacked and I couldnt even tell it to stop playing around the enemy base)

the bugs are bad enough that I would not recoment the game, but with the campaign the way it is I would not recomend it unless the person I am recomending it to enjoys mismatched games.

Really wish there was a neutral option... I think this game is fun and pretty casual, however it's not always clear what exactly you're supposed to be doing or how to do it. You get blueprints to robots but there is no way to tell what materials you need to create them... What is the point of the blueprint?

The worst part of this game is it has crashed at least 5 times since I started playing it about 2 hours ago... That's not good. And the saving for Campaign mode is a little spotty so you can play an entire turn and the game can freeze on your last attack and you now have to do all those attacks over again. Fun game, again, but the crashing keeps it from being very playable.

TL;DR: If you can overlook the unpolished UX, you'll get a great game for your money.

This game is very "indie." By that I mean it definitely lacks a lot of the polish that big-name funding provides. There are copious grammatical errors, although little typos, which leads me to believe it's more of a translation issue than a proof-reading one. However, everything is understandable, it's just occasionally a wonky read. Other than that and the unintuitive HUDs, the balance of the game and some of the mechanics feel a bit odd, especially with the multiplayer aspect. I don't think this could ever have a robust competitive player-base, but it might be enjoyable to play with a friend from time to time.

Once you get past having to dig around for certain things (again, with the unintuitive UI), you'll find it's actually a pretty great game. It's obvious a lot of work went into the core of the game, and the battle system itself is great. There are countless ways to configure your team, and the different abilities and attributes don't feel cheap or gimmicky -- afaik there's no way to stack a single skill or effect and munchkin your way through the game. There are many different game types, and a fair portion of your progress (i.e., robots and upgrades) persist across all your games (weird for campaigns/skirmishes and multiplayer, but good for singleplayer progression). The 3D art and animation is great, and the music is decent enough that I haven't muted it yet.

After about a week of playing, I'd say it's a very satisfying turn-based strategy, and recommend it even at its full price.

A fantastic turn-based strategy game with surprising strategic depth. You put together a team of up to five robots out of a relatively large arsenal, kit them out with chips to fill in weaknesses and enhance strengths, and have at it. I'm surprised at how there's three different modes just for singleplayer - a one-off battle to help earn specific chips, a sort-of story mode going down a mine, and a long-term, Civilization-esque campaign. Barring a total hatred of turn-based strategy, you're going to be at this for a long, long time.

When I first run this... I saw the Unity splash screen. Bad sign.

Next, it kept crashing on exit (tested). Another bad sign.

Then, I saw how horrible the English was.

Not playing this.



Edit: So this review got downvoted so much in under 24 hours. Probably friends of the developer... who sucks pretty bad. Don't buy the game, there are a lot better out there. There is a reason nobody bought this. Wait until it's 90% off or more. I regret getting it at 50 off.

Edit 2: This game is STILL horrible. There is nothing anyone can do about it.

Edit 3: Funny, even the devs gave up on this game. It is so good that it's dead. Sorry fanboys, no luck for you. Oh wait, there is only one fanboy! So, I guess... sucks to be you. (You know who you are, I'm happy.)

Edit 4: Loser...

This game is one of a kind. It is extremely fun with multiple gameplay elements that really keep you going back for more. Ground Breakers is a robot building, Megaman chip system, Final Fantasy grid gameplay, with Civilization campaign style gameplay. In other words its brilliant. It takes multiple intriguing and exciting gameplay mechanics and mashes them all into one giant lovable game. There isn't much to say besides play it. I have been playing the campaign so far and it has kept me busy for a few hours. Also the Infinite Tower Mode is quite neat as well. I will definitely recommend this game to anyone who asks for a new refreshing game to play. Play for hours or just a few minutes either way its a blast.

Review Stats:

Gameplay: 9/10 - Can feel a bit strange at first but once you get used to it you love every minute of it.

Graphics: 7/10 - It isn't much but overall its pretty satisfying to look at, especially the water.

Strategy: 7/10 - It plays really well. I have one issue which is the time system, it would be better to have ways to up certain robot time to allow for different combo plays but overall that doesn't ruin the game just makes it more difficult to plan combos.

Sound: N/A - To be honest I never really care for music in any game because I like hearing the sounds of the gameplay. So I could not give an accurate rating for this topic.

Fairness: 8/10 - This game is pretty fair. I would have given it a higher rating for fairness had the game explain parts better because it seems difficult to find any higher end parts in campaign and are only obtainable through the Infinity Mode.

Dev Help: 10/10 I notified the Devs on one of their latest patches of a bug I found and the next day it was fixed.

Overall: 8/10 Since I haven't tried multiplayer I can't rate that yet but the game is definitely worth $20 or less. I suggest supporting the game developers if this game seems up your alley.

As an avid Turn based tactical games, there's a lot of great things in this game. The RPG part feels rewarding in solo, and most of the game mechanics are fun.
From specific skills to each unit that you can upgrade during the battle, a speed stat for dynamic turns, dynamic terrain, a heat system when you use your skills too much, there's a lot of interesting mechanics here to play with.

Aside from the good things, the game still needs a whole lot of polish. On the top of my head:
- Resolution handling is really messy. You cannot have lower than 1280/720px res, and anything higher than that will clip the loading screens and UI.
- The general UI design is, honestly, bad. A bunch of things work correctly, and that's generally usable, but it's clearly not at the level of the models and especially their artistic direction.

There are other usability issues, but nothing preventing you from playing, and I'm sure they're going to fix most of them.
Overall, I just wish there were more players to be able to play in multiplayer online as I crave for it.

The game definitely has a lot of promise, but there are quite a few bugs and other things that need worked out as well. The third tutorial mission can be impossible until RNG decides to let you win based on how the AI work. Also the options and fullscreen/windowed mode need help. You can't easily switch from one to the other without completely restarting the game. Overall I would still recommend the game and hopefully a lot of the issues will be resolved soon.

So I like this game a lot. The robots are unique and the gameplay sessions can be set to be longer or shorter (gives better more loot for longer.) There's a bug that I keep encountering with one of the robots. The Jammick ability Friendly Fire gets the game stuck doing nothing and I end up having to surrrender to play more. I still believe I'm pretty early in the game but outside of that I think the game is well made. Haven't played the multiplayer yet. But if that "little" thing could be fix would be awesome :D.