''Breach'' was an

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

developed by American studio QC Games, a former studio of ex- BioWare and EA Games developers. The game was released on Steam Early Access on January 17, 2018, but its development was cancelled entirely on April 3, 2019, along with the closure of the studio itself. The game received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

The story of ''Breach'' involves a group of "modern-day mages" who attempt to prevent a magical apocalypse when monsters of legend emerge from portals known as "breaches".

Gameplay

The gameplay of ''Breach'' is "a hybrid of

dungeon crawl A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...

ing and ''

Devil May Cry is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists o ...

''" with an " MMO-lite structure". The game is 4v1

asymmetrical multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

in which four players attempt to get through a dungeon while a fifth controls a "Veil Demon" that can possess enemies, traps and boss monsters inside the dungeon. It had 18 playable classes.

Development

The concept for ''Breach'' initially came from '' Shadow Realms'', a planned BioWare Austin game that was unveiled in 2014 but cancelled by EA due to a "change in strategy" away from free-to-play games. ''Breach'' initially had an upfront cost, but was planned to eventually be free-to-play, though the game's designer stated that it would not be "pay to win". QC Games announced it was closing on April 3, 2019, ostensibly due to lack of funding, though they did not cite a specific reason for the shutdown.

Reception

Breach garnered mixed reviews on Steam, with detractors citing crashes and framerate problems that resulted in the game being a "laggy mess", as well as the game's

microtransaction Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransact ...

system.

References

{{Reflist 2018 video games Early access video games Action role-playing video games Windows games Windows-only games Asymmetrical multiplayer video games Inactive multiplayer online games Cancelled Windows games Indie video games Video games developed in the United States