Broken Lines Review (T_Judge)
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 completely at odds with each other - WWII drama, Sci-Fi, and animated cartoons, like wtaf. This results in a growing disconnect from the characters as the game progresses, in a type of game that relies heavily on feeling invested in the fate of your individual soldiers. 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. The presentation too grows tiresome over time as all the levels and enemies look the same.
I hope the developers keep experimenting, innovating and pursuing their own vision in the future. But I also hope their results are better than this.