Ludography
67/100
Players5 ratings
76/100
Metacritic16 critic reviews
More scores
Metacritic usersuser score
70/100
GameFAQsEasy/Just Right
2/5
Player reviews
76% positive605 reviews
Runs on
Windows, Mac, Linux
Price
US$24.99

Where to get it

Broken Lines cover

2020 · PortaPlay · Role-playing · Strategy

Broken Lines

Timed Nintendo exclusive

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.

Released
25 February 2020
Platforms
Xbox Series X/SPlayStation 4LinuxWindowsPlayStation 5macOSXbox OneNintendo Switch
Genres
Role-playingStrategyTurn-based strategyTactical
Developers
PortaPlay
Publishers
SUPERGG.COM
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
ActionHistoricalDramaWarfareMystery
Engine
Unity
Age ratings
ESRB MUSK 16GRAC 15+ACB MA 15+PEGI 18
Languages
Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish (Spain)
Features
Family SharingPartial controller supportSingle-playerSteam CloudSteam achievements
Time to beat
9.5hmain story10hcompletionist
›Story

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?

Players say

Media

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Nintendo Switch25 February 2020Worldwide
Linux25 February 2020Worldwide
Windows25 February 2020Worldwide
macOS25 February 2020Worldwide
Xbox One14 December 2022North America
Xbox Series X/S14 December 2022North America
PlayStation 414 December 2022Worldwide
PlayStation 514 December 2022Worldwide

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