FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles
Game
Game2020
Broken Lines
Developer BirdIsland/PortaPlay
Broken Lines is a story-driven tactical RPG set in an alternate-history version of WWII. Lead a squad of soldiers and face the horrors of war. In the included expansion, 'The Dead and the Drunk', guide your troops through fights against both the living and the undead. From the Steam store page
185 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Mastodon) · newest Jun 29, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
129 positive · 52 negative
95% range 64–77%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 129 | 52 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
4 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
550 of 700 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 185 · most liked firstSometimes less is more... As I enjoy playing turn-based games from time to time, I naturally thought that I would like this title too. Oh, how wrong I was. Broken Lines remarkably promises that each playthrough, both story and gameplay-wise, is different due to the choices you make. While that is partially true, this eight-hour-long game feels like a weird mishmash of undeveloped ideas rather than a fully competent experience. That is honestly a shame because the initial idea behind this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not the first to say it, nor will I be the last: “Broken Lines” is pretty 'meh.' It's important to laud the inventiveness and commitment of both PortaPlay and SuperGG.com. “Broken Lines” is a clearly an attempt to offer a non-standard Turn-Based Tactical Game (TBTG) for those who want something a bit different. Thank you to both companies for recognizing that players enjoy seeing new things, and for staying the course to bring that new thing all the way to market. Yes, deviating from the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38553778-All-about-Strategy-Games/] Follow my Curator Page for more Strategy Games! Broken Lines is a turn-based strategy game with a pause-and-play mechanic in a WWII scenario. You control a squad of several units. You can give every one of them several orders which will be shown in a timeline then. Clicking on play will make them execute their orders. Enemies will move simultaneously. The game will pause automatically after some time which…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →tl;dr not very bad, just kinda bad. The tactical part is fine, and even feels good at times. The main problem I have is the none existent consequences of your choices. Through my first playthrough, I played as humanely as possible, not killing or even hitting a single civilian. After a few mission with 0 civilian casualty, I suddenly had a weird dialogue between the soldiers about how bad they felt from the civvies they killed. I just thought of it as a weird bug of some sort, but still…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →IN A WORD: WORTHWHILE IN A NUTSHELL: WHAT TO EXPECT: Strategy game. Story-driven. Alternate WWII setting. 12/21 mission campaign. Branched missions choices. Multiple endings. Turn-based planning. Real-time hands-off, auto-combat. COYA Random encounters. Elements of roleplaying. 3D isometric battlefields. Cover, elevation and L-O-S mechanics. Squad management. Lite-RP passive and active abilities. Mostly historic weapons and equipment. Limited strategic resources and equipment purchases.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7871885/]Follow our curator page, OCG-Curations, if you like and want to see more reviews like this one. The War Effort Inevitably, at some point in your gaming journey, you’re going to run into a WWII alternative history. It serves as the backdrop for many titles, particularly ones that feature gameplay of the real-time strategy or tactics variety. Broken Lines seeks to take both of those familiar genres within their equally familiar setting and mix…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game, and I gave it as much of a shot as I could, but I just found that I had too many issues with the gameplay and the story to give this a recommendation. Now, I'm a fan of tactical style combat games. This game does occasionally come through in that department, and those moments of gameplay where you can really get into a tactical WWII-inspired combat game are great. But in BL you program 8 seconds worth of actions, and with an ever-changing real-time playout of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A lot of people here are saying how much it pains them to leave a negative review, and I am one of them. The devs went for a wholly original concept, and this is something I applaud. Broken Lines neither plays nor feels like anything else out there. The closest I can come to describe it is as a hybrid between Shadow Tactics and X-Com. The problem is that for all of its originality, the vision never comes together. The storytelling for example is a cross between 3 different styles which are all…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Things I liked: - The tactics: Moving the squad about gave plenty of opportunity to try different tactics. - The characters: They all felt unique, and the between-mission stories gave them some ways to develop a character. - The mystery: Even though I found the story predictable, the game still managed to make you want some answers until the end. Things I did not like: - The UI: A bit unhandy, especially the wait order and soldier selection. - On the story: As mentioned above, as the player,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to give this game a thumbs up. I enjoyed playing it… I wish there was a way to provide a neutral review. I’m giving it a thumbs down to draw attention to the negative aspects for folks considering purchasing… Positives: The game is entertaining, that is the most important thing right? Gameplay is pretty good all things considered. Tactical interface and combat mechanics are interesting. It is similar to X-COM, but nowhere near as good. Game doesn’t take itself too…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6142328/]Like this Review? Follow The Cpt Froggy Club Curator Page for plenty more! Broken Lines: ~~~~~~~~~~ Two military airplanes carrying 11 British paratroopers each are flying in neutral territory over Eastern Europe on their way to a highly classified and dangerous mission, when the unexpected happens! The instruments start to malfunction and soon after, break down. But the worst of it is when all engines are shut down, and both planes are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Broken Lines, what is it about in short (well not that short but rather without spoiling too much)? Broken Lines plays its story in a World War 2 setting, where you, The Player are in charge of a squad of allied soldiers. These soldiers have several traits and skills that can be used throughout the entirety of the game. One thing you will need to focus upon is the fact that most of those traits and skills have limited uses or even cooldowns. Careful planning is especially critical when you're…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This would have been a neutral rating if Steam had such a feature. Broken Lines is a unique attempt at making a story-driven phase-based alternate-history WW2 game. It's a genuine attempt at building something special, but it doesn't quite all come together. The story is interesting but leaves a bit too much to the imagination, the visuals are okay at best, and the customization of your squad lacks depth overall. The phase-based combat is quite decent, but has some quirks. One of the more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was a bit surprised by the game-play at first, as I was not used to the notion of turn based planning an real-time execution, but once I got used to how it worked, I loved it! I wished more games were done this way! It allows a player time to think, while not overplaying the advantage of being able to "move first". And being able to react to new information - pausing when an enemy unit is revealed for the first time - loved that, too! The fact that different decisions completely change…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not worth $24.99. I got it on sale, and for the price, it could have been okay. Until the next to last chapter where I find that the story flags you as having done things you hadn't. The story and choices were part of the appeal, but if the game doesn't even track them properly? Pass or wait for a sale and be prepared for incongruity in the narrative in some instances.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really, really wanted to thumbs up this game. The base game is OK enough. Not great, but definitely satisfying at times, and different enough that I want to support developers trying new gameplay styles like this. It's about 10 hours long and is probably barely worth playing if you want some tactical WW2 action with some story choices and very light RPG elements. The actual gameplay loop of issuing commands to your troops in 8-second intervals and then watching the battle play out is kind of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game wasn't really bad by any means. The combat is fine and the story was neat. But with a total run of under four hours for the campaign and only a handful of rather short missions, the content in this game is extremely lacking. There are multiple endings but honestly I don't really feel like playing through it four more times to see them all. Did I like the game? Kinda. Would I recommend it? No. I got the game half off and I feel like that's the most I could justify paying for the game,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game starts strong, but loses its shine over time. It could have been so much better, had it had more character options / items / level and enemy variety. The game offers replayability, on second and third playthoughs 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. Still, it's not bad. It is fun,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish there was a neutral option but I guess it's more on the negative side if I had to choose. Wish it were more intuitive. Game is strangely but pleasantly realistic in their mechanics such as soldier stress, various gear with limited ammo, movement speed, etc. Soldiers land and have to get scrappy. Go and gather up what you can find to survive and get out. Maybe more. I like the real-time movement into turn-based shooting. My one major issue is that you know the weapons and gear you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The core mechanics are good and the game is also decently polished. But the random trait system is just dumb as a rock and a complete game breaker for me. With no loading and significantly long missions 1 or 2 random event checks can destroy 1 or 2 of you characters randomly for no reason... its not like you are punished for a mistake or wrong decision ... its just RNG. I was doing a hard run through and after 4 hours in I got an event option to give painkillers to pregnant woman ... I did and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I actually liked the game up to a point. The gameplay is alright, it's essentially a game where you give orders to your squad and they try to execute them to the best of their ability when you press 'go'. The problem is I've beaten this game twice in 10 hours. That's extremely short. So you can imagine the depth of the combat isn't that great either considering the shortness of the game. But the reason I can't recommend the game is because of the story. I actually liked the setup and played…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Seems interesting first, then just becomes meh... reading wall of text is not cool, the only voice talent is the narrator, who sounds like a Slavic porn star. Annoying. The gameplay is ok I guess, I could never really get into it. Too tedious, too clunky. Your suppressing fire will easily teamkill teammates without a warning (despite I did it from height) and the whole gameplay just lacks flow and too rough over the edges.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good tactical strategy game. The only problem I have is with the stress mechanic that cannot be turned off in the custom difficulty settings. The one thing I absolutely cannot stand in these kinds of games is soldiers disobeying orders and getting themselves killed because they didn't execute my plan, It really annoys me. I get that this is one of the themes of the game, as it's a bit of a Spec Ops The Line in strategy form. But you let me tweak difficulty to my liking in other areas, why not…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a huge fan of turn based tactical games. Xcom and Battle Brothers are possibly my favorite games ever and I try most things in the genre. But I could never get into Frozen Synapse and Door Kickers was meh. This is like the latter two and I thought maybe this 8 second thing would work for me, but it just wasn't fun. And the character progression seems pretty thin for what I prefer. I wish I hadn't played it for 3 1/2 hours to give it a chance because now I can't get a refund.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amateurish balance and outdated, basic engine that's topped by a somewhat odd UX for this genre. Main campaign is decent enough, worth it if under $10. There is an earnest creative effort here, seriously marred by the seeming lack of experience and coherent vision in balancing various systems, which is decidedly NOT fixed by adding more granular controls in the options menu (although that, in itself, is welcome, it is also not a solution). While I salute the devs addressing the most common…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: It's like XCOM mixed with BAC, without the good parts of either one. The art style of the cut scenes and characters is interesting. It's a mix between gritty and cartoony. But the 3D models look creepy and stiff but not in a stylized way. The story seems interesting from the 4 Missions I played. I would really like to get deeper into the story but the gameplay is terrible. Its a turn based "breach and clear" style game where everything is broken into 8 second intervals but the game is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Смысл игры вывести из окружения отряд из 8 человек, сначала 4, потом 3, потом еще одного спасаем. Итого 8. Чем-то напоминает DD, за счет мрачной атмосферы безысходности(похожа), по ходу прохождения возникают вопросы на тему Ктулху и другой мистики( Дедушка Нургл там), в игре есть 5 концовок(если правильно помню), но все их смысла получать нет, достаточно пройти пару раз игру и можно сразу понять как их все получить, игровой процесс не интересен, т.к. вся тактика заключается в том, что надо…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay is extremely repetitive. There are some fun story choices, but they are buried in hours and hours of grinding out missions eight seconds at a time. Also, the game auto-saves whenever something terrible happens because of the clunky interface and poor character behavior, and there is no manual save, so hours of unpleasant, repetitive gameplay can be ruined quite easily and loading the saved game doesn't effectively restore your position.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's alright. A bit on the rails until your done with the tutorial. Then, you can't cleanly restart a level just have to suffer loses or lose overall in the game. SO if you love a designer hating you and encouraging misery, this might be the real game for you.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I randomly stumbled across the dev-stream for the release of the free Expansion: The Dead and the Drunk. I did not know, what I really should expect from this game but I was looking for some "fresh air" pretty desperately so I thought to myself that this would be a suitable christmas present to myself, as a joke. Oh boy, I was so wrong. Let me be a "Negative Nancy" first: The graphics between missions are not great. Some of the weapons don't "fit" in the hands of the soldiers or hang somewhere…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game gave almost immediate flash-backs to the old IP Commandos. A lot of the functionality have similar feelings to it, but it is more focused on the RTS-progression game-play. Which is cool. It does it very well &feels really intense & engaging. The design is solid & there are a few new features that stand out from others in the genre. Small innovations on the mechanics & UI, that feel great. Love seeing these small improvements, to an older genre. So well done, Devs! The sound-design…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Story-wise, Broken Lines feels more like a ghost story than a realistic WWII game. However, as far as war ghost stories go it's a dang good one. Gave me Band of Brothers-meets-CoD Zombies-vibes. Weird combo, but I liked it. The characters are very likeable too; I ended up genuinely caring about them and doing my best to keep them all alive and sane throughout the campaign. The fact that your choices matter (really, they do) is also really neat. Gameplay-wise, Broken Lines sadly leaves some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Always keen to try new turn based tactical games so picked this up on sale. But struggled to like it or enjoy in any way. Not impressed by the graphics or art style. Really didn`t like the cutscenes or attempt at a plot. And quickly found actually gameplay to be boring and irrating. Not for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Highly recommend this game. Top scores in all categories, I have nothing bad to say about this game. It wont win GOTY, but it's a solid turn based shooter with some really interesting elements. Give it a shot if you like turn based games or even just WW2 shooters. A++
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You will probably breeze through this game in couple of hours so it is recommended to buy this on discount (unless you want to go through campaign multiple times to experience multiple endings). You dont control the soldiers entirely, just their movement and some abilities, they fire at enemies automatically once they get close enough. Still it is nice mechanic that brings something new to the table and gameplay is fun and enjoyable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is kinda game you either love or hate. I personally find it weird. I can appreciate bold creativity with mixing lot of ideas and genres, but downside of "reinventing the wheel" is - it not always work. My issue is a general feeling that all is bit accidental, random, not precise, uncertain. Unit placement seems completely free (grid is fake) in diverse terrain and there is often no telling if your position actually provides you cover (or partial cover or can be shoot through - unless you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Let me just say, I love the base mechanics of this game that pull a twist on the turn based format. I am a turn based game junkie but sometimes traditional turn taking can get stale. I very much appreciate the system in Broken Lines where you set up what your troops will do for the next eight seconds, then hit play! The great part of this is that your enemy is going to be reacting, moving, and shooting during those next eight seconds too, leading to some unexpected results. I also like the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →War real time TBT + challenging + funny dialogues = Strategy a few seconds at a time with great graphics. A treat for both strategy and war game fans. Hunker down for 2 campaigns of flying bullets. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35180752-3-point-play/] Follow our curator for similar games
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I highly recommend the game for anyone who likes turn based combat games and especially those who love a bit of a deeper storyline woven in. It’s not a bad price, but it is worth noting that single play through can be achieved in about 6 to 7 hours… so the main way you will get value here is in replaying to see what different story choices do to your outcome, but I’m pretty confident when you get to the end, you will feel compelled to jump back in and see if you can get a different ending.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ tactical game play with action planning + roguelite principle without save / load + the possibility of modifying the soldiers and their equipment + part of the ability and perks are formed according to the decision in the course - lower variability of enemies - short campaign - The mechanics of the game do not have significant depth - monotonous music Broken Lines is a tactical game where the player manages a group of paratroopers in World War II on an unspecified mission in an unknown…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Clunky feeling lack of anything that makes me feel any love or warmth for this game it just feels bland
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game sucks for mac catolina os. the controls are so clunky it becomes painful to play. you try and move the view around and the camera is all over the place, i cant play it until they get a patch to fix this
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game, interesting story, music is kinda mediocre, pretty hard on veteran mode. It can get pretty repetitive and boring however.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Going in without much research towards the game I ended up being quite satisfied with Broken Lines. My first goal was to try and see what this game could resemble. It was not a traditional turn based strategy game where you could overwatch and take a shot with a hit or miss ratio. But it was also not an action isometric game as well so it was a bit of a mix from different gameplay variants that ended up being a refreshing yet positive experience. The mood is dark and gritty during the entire…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love XCOM and was looking for a similar game. Hasn't quite got the polish of XCOM, and is a little less tactical, but really enjoyed the game and the story. Overall very fun, just lacked a little depth to the combat. 8/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After completing the first campaign, I greatly hesitated on my review, I was on the fence about it, and decided to neither give a good nor negative review. Note I did hit a major bug at the end of that first campaign, but finished it. The extension or second campaign (formerly a DLC) though prompted my negative review. The mission design does not reward tactics at all, on the contrary. Zombies and shooters spawn anywhere, no matter if you scouted your rear beforehand, no matter if you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The dialogs are way too corny, that connected with the grotesque portraits makes one feel like you kinda want your own characters to die, because of how annoyhing they are. Now in a game that is trying to be XCOMish but in WW2, but with concurent actions, sort of defeats the purpose. It doesn't really seem that fun in the end. Refunded.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought on sale and was pleasantly surprised. Excellent tactical combat with a cast of characters that really sell the setting and story. Played through multiple times for multiple endings. The zombie expansion didn't do it for me but the main game is enjoyable for peeps who like tactical combat. Once you get the basic and a few hours under your belt you really feel like a badass blowing the Faceless away with your squad. Give us a sequel, please!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Turn-based wartime strategy - now with a vastly entertaining zombie storyline! Making sure there is enough alcohol to keep your troops fighting, as you trick enemies into being attacked by the undead https://youtu.be/OkMFO5nrhXg
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 42 years old and have been playing strategy games since I was 17(Age of Empires, Starcraft, Command and Conquer, etc.). This has to be the worse strategy game I have ever played by far. Waste of money.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10 would warcrime on the enemy again Besides that, this is a gem in the rough dirt. I wish the studio took more risks like this. Even if people actually expected a realistic WW2 game. In a nutshell, you fight off soldiers with gas masks while faced with moral choices. Do you help the civillians, or do your mission? I did the first option but... it treats me like as if i killed innocent people even if i didn't. So, clearly crunch time was involved and this was most likely the developer's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →6.5/10. Ok story, and fun gameplay. Maybe not worth $30, but its alright.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OK. This is a qualified recommendation. If you are into turn based games, and don't mind micro-managing everything. This can be a fun game. Here are a few highlight items: It makes you learn how to use cover, mutual fire support, skills, traits, and more. It has a good story to it. Not believable, my son described it as "very dramatic." But, it is well written. Although the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked. It is re-playable, at least a few times, because there are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →9/10 - Fantastic TBT indie for all fans of the genre + Fantastic gameplay full of novel ideas and challenges + Engaging difficulty curve that ramps up mostly to the end + Great use of time to provide a sense of urgency to achieve gold + Game could have been pause based but instead runs in 10 second intervals with pause separating each one + Great deal of weapon/utilities to mix up strategies + Phenomenal art direction both in engine and artwork with inspiring setting + Dark mature story &…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →*Reviewed by Aiori on turnbasedlovers.com* On Broken Lines’ main campaign, you play as a lost military squadron in an enemy country, after a plane accident. First, you will look for the other members. Then, you will investigate if there are other survivors or orders, and, without knowledge of the current situation, you will encounter stranger enemies. Also, you will meet some allies too. On the second campaign, the most recent, The Dead and the Drunk, you play as your squadron in the same…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Scale Rating Very Satisfied Satisfied ---X--- Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Notes: A more casual and short game for this genre I think but enough depth in combat mechanics to scratch that turn-based strategy itch for a rewarding campaign completion. The game has a polished presentation and the XCOM-ish pause mechanic is dope. Enemies and friendlies all plan as well as move at the same time and its about 10 seconds in-between each action/movement phase.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recommend this game for its fresh feal to a game mechanic but wouldn't recommend it for its staying power and replayability. I think they laid a great base for combining their system with other CRPG style games. I could imagine playing DOS 2 in this style or POE. What I don't like is how harsh the learning curve can be and for me, it makes it less fun. Having to restart the whole mission on a first playthrough while you are learning the game is a bit much IMO. I think that setting is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ok so its a good game i love the art style but sadly what lets it down is the lack of content ive done the main game and the zombie game (very fun) in 21 hours and that is not just 1 play-through that is multiple play-through with all story options explored its a good little game bus heartbreakingly lacking in content id have loved the zombie story to have been longer or at lease a mission maker so i could make more myself but sadly no buy it but be aware there is more content coming so for…
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positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very unique story with a interesting set of game mechanics. It won't take an epic amount of time to get through the story, but it does have multiple branching paths throughout so your experience will change with each playthrough. Don't see a huge amount of games set during the WW1 time period so it's a refreshing take, and the tweaks to the commandos-esqe real time squad strategy style of gameplay make for some interesting moments where despite your planning while paused, things can turn…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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