Tactical Breach Wizards review – hilarious, quietly radical strategy game is the best since XCOM 2

PC; Suspicious Developments
Guide a mismatched team including a Navy Seer and a necro-medic through this smart, funny, and resolutely empathetic espionage thriller

As a game that relies heavily on glimpsing the future, the best place to start with Tactical Breach Wizards is slightly ahead of ourselves. So let's kick off with the fact that this magical mystery spec-ops tour is the most significant turn-based tactics game since the venerable XCOM 2. Its blend of ingeniously flexible puzzles and deliriously funny writing would be sufficient to clear it for active duty on anyone's gaming device. But what qualifies it for the Special Arcane Service is how boldly it stares down the murky morality of military-themed games.

Placing you in command of a ragtag team of witch detectives, necro-medics, time-manipulating wizards, and a druid hitman, Tactical Breach Wizards challenges you with using your squad's eclectic powers to overcome escalating tactical siege scenarios. A typical level will require you to breach and enter a room, disable a half-dozen enemies, barricade doors to keep out reinforcements, and reach the computer that unlocks the pathway to the next room.

Tactical Breach Wizards is out 22 August