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Broken Lines

Throwing the notion of good intentions with potential bad outcomes into the mix of a war game results in a compelling game that is well worth the replay.
74%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
optimization, stability
78% User Score Based on 766 reviews
Critic Score 71%Based on 10 reviews

Platforms

PCPCXboxXboxXbox Series X|SXbox Series X|SPlaystation 5Playstation 5Playstation 4Playstation 4WindowsWindowsPlayStationPlayStationNintendo SwitchNintendo SwitchLinuxLinuxMac OSMac OSXbox OneXbox One
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About

"Broken Lines" is a single-player strategy game with a profound story, set in an alternate history Eastern Europe. Your squad has crash-landed behind enemy lines and it's up to you, as the unseen hand, to guide them back home. The game features a unique turn-based system and emphasizes teamwork and strategy, as well as managing the soldiers' mental health and personal disagreements, making every decision critical in this emotional and intriguing journey.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
Broken Lines screenshot
+21

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 776 reviews
story184 positive mentions
optimization7 negative mentions
  • Unique and engaging gameplay that combines real-time and turn-based mechanics, allowing for strategic planning and execution.
  • Strong character development and interactions, with choices that impact relationships and morale, enhancing the narrative experience.
  • Visually appealing with a captivating story set in an alternate WWII, providing a fresh take on the genre.
  • Short campaign length, with many players feeling it lacks depth and variety, leading to a repetitive experience.
  • Technical issues such as bugs and clunky controls that can disrupt gameplay and frustrate players.
  • The story can feel disjointed and lacks clarity in its moral choices, leaving players unsatisfied with the outcomes.
  • story
    794 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players finding it engaging and filled with meaningful choices, while others criticize it for being disjointed and lacking depth. Many reviews highlight the replayability due to branching paths and character interactions, but some feel that the narrative fails to deliver a coherent or compelling experience. Overall, while the story has its moments and can be intriguing, it often leaves players wanting more in terms of clarity and development.

    • “The story is gripping, and your choices really matter.”
    • “The story and choices were part of the appeal, but if the game doesn't even track them properly?”
    • “The amount of dialogue here seems to hit a sweet spot for me, it creates a tense story of survival, budding friendships, and deepening rivalries with particularly exceptional character development.”
    • “The campaign storyline is dumb and doesn’t make sense.”
    • “The story sadly is not only... I don't want to say pretentious, but I want to say ominous while at the same time leading to absolutely jack shit, but it's also quite short.”
    • “What I had read about the narrative was a non-trivial part of what drew me to the game, but all I saw was a generic war story set against the backdrop of WWII, with bad guys that were (probably?) not Nazis.”
  • gameplay
    363 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Broken Lines" is characterized by a unique blend of turn-based and real-time mechanics, particularly the innovative 8-second action planning system that keeps players engaged. While many reviewers appreciate the tactical depth and interesting mechanics, some criticize the lack of variety, depth, and polish, with issues like bugs and poorly explained mechanics detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the game shows promise but may require further refinement to fully realize its potential.

    • “The gameplay is a solid compromise between real-time and turn-based.”
    • “It's got a unique look and deep gameplay that keeps you hooked.”
    • “The gameplay is excellent with a ton of different weapon and utility options, as well as perks and traits your characters develop via choices during events as well as traits you can assign to them at your discretion.”
    • “Combined with the fact that players cannot pause gameplay during the 'pause' version of each turn, this made even attempting to use stealth or to set up finally coordinated attacks more trouble than it's worth.”
    • “The gameplay holds your attention at first (if only for how different it is), but rapidly reveals a distinct lack of depth, variety, and challenge.”
    • “I really wanted to like this game, and while it comes close, too many mistakes in the gameplay design means I can't recommend it as-is.”
  • graphics
    104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the art style and overall aesthetic, particularly in battlefields and character designs. While some players find the visuals impressive and well-rendered, others note issues such as minor glitches, repetitive elements, and a lack of polish in certain areas. Overall, the graphics are generally considered acceptable for an indie title, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere despite some criticisms.

    • “Its visuals promised a polished looking product which it lived up to.”
    • “The comic book style graphics are fabulous!”
    • “Great atmosphere and the graphics are very easy on the eye for an indie game of this type, great stuff.”
    • “The graphics are... not the best to be honest, but I bought it for gameplay purposes only, so if you can just accept this fact, then you will get used to it.”
    • “The same oddness goes for a lot of the graphical design choices which feel clunky or the choice of level music which feels incredibly out of place for the setting.”
    • “Graphics is disturbing (can't rotate view, zoom in/out is also limited etc.) to the point where it degrades the whole experience that otherwise could have been solid.”
  • replayability
    82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is generally viewed as high, with many players noting the presence of multiple story branches, endings, and mission choices that encourage multiple playthroughs. However, some critiques highlight that the linearity and lack of character customization can diminish the incentive to replay, despite the potential for varied experiences. Overall, while the campaign is short, it offers enough variety and decision-making opportunities to keep players engaged for several runs.

    • “Despite being small, the campaign has a high replay value, and it will take you three playthroughs to experience all levels and even more playthroughs to experience all endings.”
    • “The variety of mission choices each day, as well as the varied equipment and abilities, add to the replay value, and I can absolutely see myself picking this one up again in the future to try out some of the other options.”
    • “There are multiple story branches and endings which will provide some replay value if you like that sort of thing.”
    • “The game seems to be designed around replayability, but really it's just not fun enough to warrant multiple playthroughs in my opinion.”
    • “The game offers replayability, on second and third playthroughs you can choose different missions to tackle, and there are a few different endings, but since most missions play the same and there is very little character customization, there is not much incentive to do so, aside from the achievements.”
    • “Ending is pretty weak; they claim replayability because of the four other endings, but I watched them on YouTube and they are all equally short, boring, and meaningless.”
  • atmosphere
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, enhanced by striking audiovisuals, including comic-style cutscenes and a compelling soundtrack. Reviewers note a blend of dark, tense environments and strong narrative elements that contribute to a captivating experience, although some mention that the heavy atmosphere can be overwhelming over extended play sessions. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, effectively complementing its storyline and character development.

    • “I feel I could praise the audiovisuals a bit, as the atmosphere is spot on.”
    • “This game has enough atmosphere in a tightly bound package with beautiful graphics that a 10-hour playthrough feels sufficient.”
    • “To sum up the experience, you will find here an interesting plot that goes 'in crescendo', with a dark atmosphere, a tense ambiance, all put together with an awesome OST that makes you feel the troubles your soldiers are facing.”
    • “There’s a place for this, no doubt, but it creates a really heavy atmosphere that wears on me with play.”
    • “If you take a scalpel and begin to disassemble each element of both of these games separately: graphics, plot, tactics, character elaboration, general atmosphere, then there seems to be nothing extraordinary in them.”
    • “To sum up the experience, you will find here an interesting plot that goes 'in crescendo', with a dark atmosphere, a tense ambient, all put together with an awesome OST that makes you feel the troubles your soldiers are facing.”
  • music
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the soundtrack for enhancing tension and immersion, while others find it monotonous or out of place. Overall, the music is described as good and fitting for the game's atmosphere, contributing positively to the experience, especially in combat scenarios. However, there are also mentions of mediocre elements, indicating that while the music is appreciated, it may not reach AAA quality.

    • “The music is so good.”
    • “To sum up the experience, you will find here an interesting plot that goes 'in crescendo', with a dark atmosphere, a tense ambiance, all put together with an awesome OST that makes you feel the troubles your soldiers are facing.”
    • “The sounds and music are really good and help the immersion.”
    • “The same oddness goes for a lot of the graphical design choices which feel clunky or the choice of level music which feels incredibly out of place for the setting.”
    • “Monotonous music.”
    • “Good game, interesting story, music is kinda mediocre, pretty hard on veteran mode.”
  • optimization
    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is a significant drawback, with users reporting high resource consumption and poor performance compared to other titles on their machines. Many reviewers suggest that the game requires a substantial overhaul to improve its optimization and resource management before it can be recommended, even at a low price point. Overall, while the game offers an immersive experience, its optimization issues detract from the overall enjoyment.

    • “Runs smoothly, has an immersive atmosphere.”
    • “One issue remains: the engine optimization is all kinds of messed up, resulting in high resource consumption.”
    • “These side stories not only alter how well characters work together on missions but also unlock powerful abilities that can be very useful or detrimental to that character’s performance.”
    • “The worst point of it all is optimization: this game uses more power when it's running than any other game on my machine.”
    • “Based on my experience here, those engine stressors are lurking large as a myriad of miscellaneous issues and poor performance.”
    • “One issue remains: the engine optimization is all kinds of messed up that my resource consumption was sky high.”
  • humor
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is characterized by interesting and often funny dialogues that enhance character engagement, though it lacks voice acting. While the initial levity provides a lighthearted touch, the humor can become inconsistent, shifting to a darker tone as the narrative progresses. Overall, players appreciate the blend of black humor and quirky moments, making the experience entertaining despite some tonal missteps.

    • “The game is filled with black humor; the fighters do not hesitate to fight each other, to say nothing of your poor enemies.”
    • “It is also filled with humorous dialogues which make the story pretty entertaining as well and help to develop some kind of interest in individual characters, which helps the player to get engaged in the game.”
    • “War real-time TBT + challenging + funny dialogues = strategy a few seconds at a time with great graphics.”
  • stability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and graphical glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players acknowledge that the developers are addressing these issues, many find the game too buggy to be enjoyable, especially during early missions. Overall, it appears that the game is experiencing typical growing pains associated with a new release.

    • “Unfortunately too buggy to be enjoyable.”
    • “Game crashes and randomly freezes during the 1st mission.”
    • “This game is so boring and buggy.”
  • character development
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the depth and emotional stakes created through dialogue and interactions, others find it lacking, feeling that it doesn't foster enough investment in the characters. Notably, the camp setting facilitates significant character growth through meaningful conversations, enhancing relationships and rivalries, which many reviewers praise as a highlight of the experience. Overall, the game offers a blend of strong narrative elements and limited character development that may resonate differently with players.

    • “Story and character development is amazing, great atmosphere, multiple endings and story choices.”
    • “The amount of dialogue here seems to hit a sweet spot for me, it creates a tense story of survival, budding friendships, and deepening rivalries with particularly exceptional character development.”
    • “Camp, in particular, leads to a significant amount of character development as your squad discusses the issue at hand as well as having side conversations between them that can deepen their bonds with one another or put them increasingly at each other’s throats.”
    • “There's a bit of character development, but not enough to be truly invested in anyone.”
    • “It's not XCOM with scenarios limiting freedom of movement, but a great little turn-based shooter with some limited character development.”
    • “A bit too random character development.”
  • grinding
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and clunky, leading to frustration and a lack of motivation to complete the campaign. While some appreciate the fluidity of tactical maneuvers, the overwhelming amount of repetitive missions detracts from the enjoyment of the story elements. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant drawback in the gameplay experience.

    • “That gets tedious pretty soon.”
    • “I didn't finish the campaign, and don't really feel up to it, as the missions are now too tedious.”
    • “There are some fun story choices, but they are buried in hours and hours of grinding out missions eight seconds at a time.”
  • emotional
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its portrayal of soldiers' journeys and the impact of long-term attrition on players, evoking a strong sense of connection and loss. However, some reviewers feel that the game falls short in content, leaving them wanting a deeper narrative experience. While it has moments that resonate emotionally, comparisons to more impactful titles suggest it may not fully satisfy those seeking a profound exploration of war's horrors.

    • “It seeks to tell the story of a group of soldiers in an alternate-history version of World War II, as well as impart a portion of the emotional journey of the soldiers under the player's command.”
    • “The squad development is great and the long-term attrition really gets to you emotionally as you progress through the game.”
    • “I loved this; it's been a while since a game made me feel.”

71%Critics’ scoreBased on 10 critic reviews

Buy Broken Lines

14h Median play time
15h Average play time
9-25h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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