I'm still a little giddy about how much fun I had playing Tactical Breach Wizards, a puzzle game played at the top of the screen. So much so that I mentioned in my review that I was willing to start its fifteen-hour campaign again. I'd already played a few missions on hard mode. There are no starting mana points! It's a real headache…window.
Now I might have to start over, although going out of my way to retrieve the tapes added in its developer's commentary mode is going to be very tricky. Ah, but will being able to throw the recorders at my enemies for a knockback point later make up for that?
Watch on YouTube
There are 52 of these recordings to discover, totaling over 3 hours of commentary, spread across the game's 15-hour campaign. It's a mix of designer/writer Tom Francis talking about his own thinking and interviewing other members of the team about their work.
We cover the reasoning behind design and story decisions, the ideas we tried that didn't work, the toughest challenges we faced, and get a little closer to why this game took over 6 years to make.
And when you get tired of listening to us, you can throw the tape recorder at an enemy to inflict 1 knockback.
The optional mode is part of the game's Special Edition, which is currently about 50% more expensive than the standard edition. In addition to the militarized fact rectangles, it also includes the soundtrack and a preliminary building demo. I wouldn't normally write an article just for a Special Edition, but I asked around the Treehouse this morning, and we had a hard time finding such a creative implementation of a commentary feature.
I also have an ulterior motive here. Namely, it gives me the opportunity to do some whimsical mischief. I thought it would be fun to ask you to send me your custom TeeBeeDubs levels. If, say, at least three of you do, then I can write up my experience struggling to solve them for the site. In case you missed it, the game features a level editor that is apparently more or less identical to the one used in the game's creation. It's a surefire portal to unbridled mischief, and I'm more than willing to suffer for your amusement. Riddle me, folks.
Tom Francis of Suspicious Development wrote for RPS. No one tells me to say good things about his game, although if he releases a line of licensed caps I wouldn't say no.