Inkbound

Let me be clear: the actual game is incredible. I love the concepts and the execution - runs are fun, builds are interesting and diverse, it has basically everything I want from a game like this.

Unfortunately, the devs have decided that making an absolutely incredible game isn't good because it didn't generate enough profit. So don't buy this game, or anything else by them, because they've explicitly chosen profit over games.

I was on the fence about this game back when I bought it - BUT I had some good fun and really started to appreciate the potential. I was actually excited to see what would come out next and joined the discord; my impression was the game was still unfinished. 3000+ 88% positive is super substantial & folks on YouTube have almost only good to say about it. Yet somehow with the decently chunky price and heavily available micro-transactions "it wasn't making enough money be to continued".

Cool - not buying anything from Shiny Shoe again I guess

great game but devs abonded game and only said on discord and not officaly

Its an amazing game, but it needs bug fixes and new content. Doing the same 3 bosses on the same couple of maps over and over again, no new cosmetic unlocks. I'm not done with the game yet but if it doesn't get updated soon or at least NEWS about something in the works. I wont be playing it anymore.
I really hope the devs don't let such an amazing game fall off to the wayside.

Ill change my review if I see the devs do anything with the game.

This was one of my favorite games to no brain launch, because every run was enjoyable and playing with friends was very fun. I was excited to see what they released, and ready to drop money on DLC, but unfortunately the devs quietly dropped development. I will not be supporting anything these devs do in the future regardless of what the game is.

Buy this game on a deep sale.

Note, I only played this single player, so all my feedback is playing offline.

Inkbound plays and feels a lot like a turn-based version of Hades. The way the story unfolds between runs particularly seems of the same style. I consider this a good thing. The one downside is that the stories themselves don't seem to end with a bang, but a whimper. It doesn't feel like there is any grand resolution to the questions laid out, though there are some fun reveals along the way. Maybe that's intentional, like you're just in the middle of a much larger story, but it is a bit unsatisfying. [EDIT] I belatedly realized I was only half way through the story, and hadn't triggered the second half. The story is no longer unsatisfying, and has a good conclusion.

That said, I've put over 50 hours into the game, and probably will put in a few more. The way I personally did it was to let the game organically increase its difficulty to its maximum, and after I got all those achievements, I dropped to Casual to keep exploring the story. I probably will go back to max difficulty runs to give myself a challenge again, but if you do want to unlock as much as possible, going to Casual to level and reveal items hidden behind stories is the easiest way to unlock everything.

For me, the biggest gameplay win is the positioning mechanic. Inkbound is very naturally set up to where you are on the board matters a ton, and even fractional changes can lead to major outcome differences in a turn. If you've ever played a turn-based tactical game on a grid, it's like that, but far more nuanced. It works well, and it's very engaging when you know to even just survive, you have to get your positioning just right.

A couple practical notes:
1. If the game loads without a texture on your main character, quit the game and reload. I had this happen to me about 25% of the time, but a reload would fix it. Some monsters become invisible with this texture bug, so don't try to play the game with the bug on.
2. The game kinda chugs on Stem Deck. It will work, but make sure to turn all settings down as low as possible. Text is also kinda small, so it's better if you already know the game and can tell what you're picking up by the picture. In my opinion, Inkbound could really use a round of polish to make it a great Deck game. But as it stands, it's still a good one.
3. Even on casual, one of the last levels you can unlock has enemies with lots of HP. They can grind you down. While almost every other level lets you get away with the silliest combos on casual, when you unlock the late level, make sure you have your damage combos working well, or they'll simply outlast you.

Games fun but devs said no more support which is very lame

I love the game but the devs pulled the plug less than a year of the games release. The game had a good foundation and needed content updates. At this point I would not get the game unless it is $5.

This game is really fun and really well done but the devs have announced that they are no longer updating the game, which is insane for a game not even a full year old imo.

unless the game goes down to like 5$ DO NOT PURCHASE IT OR ANY OTHER GAME BY THE DEVS, you never know when they will abandon the game and take your money.

Before I start I'll say that I am enjoying this game and for a certain kind of player this could be a good purchase for the right price. However, on balance the issues this game has leads me to not recommend it.

I have played mostly single player and for the most part this felt balanced but when I tried multiplayer the enemies turned into damage sponges and it wasn't fun.

One of my biggest issues with this game is how it is trying to be more than it is. It is trying to build this world with characters where you go through the world and do quests for them, much like Hades, however where Hades does this fantastically this game has a cast of forgettable and annoying characters and the quests just feel like a barrier to getting the fun items that I want to have for more runs. I believe this game would do MUCH better focusing on the pure gameplay and dropping all the lackluster story and character elements. Story should never get in the way of gameplay in a game like this and I feel like this is just annoying "busy-work" because the devs wanted to give us something to do to unlock the drip feed of content. It just doesn't work, you'll find yourself skipping through everything hoping to get to the gameplay.

Another big reason for not recommending this is the devs have stopped support for this game. They announced on discord that there will be no more updates for this game. So be aware that if you buy it then what you see is what you get.

If you really love this style of game then the gameplay of this is actually pretty fun for the most part if you can push through the cringey characters and annoying quests.

Kinda wild they abandoned it after so many people put money towards it... Not a very great business model for customer relations or retention... The coms are also at a 0 concerning the fact development ended way earlier than it was announced to the customer base... insane.

I loved the developers previous game Monster Train. I find it amazing that Inkbound is from the same developers because there is nothing that I like about it.

The developers have abandoned this game because it didn't sell well. Normally that wouldn't bother me if the game was finished but Inkbound feels like Early Access.

I normally don't care about graphics but the garish graphics in Inkbound are terrible. The interface is also terrible and almost nothing is explained. Monster Train was different from any other game, which is a positive, but only if I can figure out what is going on. In Inkbound I have no idea what is going on - some many strange terms, none of which is explained. I'm still not quite sure what the equivalent of gold is. And why are enemy attacks suddenly AOE with infinite range? It doesn't help that there aren't tooltips for a lot of game elements.

Don't buy this game for single player. I don't think I would like it in multi player either but it single player it is much worse. The developers didn't even bother to separate the single player from the multi player so many of the upgrades and rewards you will be offered as a single player are only for multi player.

I usually don't like giving a thumbs down of indie games but I have no hesitation with Inkbound. I can honestly say it is the most disappointing game I've played in the last few years.

Well balanced with interesting tactical combinations, synergies and styles. I would like information to be a little more readily available, but otherwise love this game.

Another amazing game from Shiny Shoe.
Great variety of builds, stellar voice acting, intense gameplay, beautiful music.
Yes, further development has been abandoned.
However, the story is complete, there's hundreds of hours of gameplay you can squeeze out of single player alone and the devs say they want to maintain the online servers as long as there's people playing.
Don't be silly, get this freaking gem.

Kinda good, but not fully finished, it gets pretty repetitive after a couple hours
AND it's abandoned by the company, so there won't be any updates anymore

actual game was super fun and visually fresh. unfortunately, this is abandoned software now.
Character classes are diverse but there isn't really that much build diversity once you're past the first 10-20 hours.
Shiny Shoe confirmed that this didn't hit their sales targets and stopped development on this game months before announcing it to their discord while in the same breath, announcing a soon to come early access game.

Definitely pick up on a sale and only on a sale with the understanding that new content will not come out. For now, servers are being maintained but it is unknown for how long that will last.

Every run is unique, and pulling off an OP build with unbelievable results is quite possible, with some strategy and luck. Highly recommend playing this with a friend. Beautiful visuals and music. The objectives/missions/unlocks give you something to work toward and they make each run feel like you accomplished something.

Devs have abandoned this game, again. Just like Monster Train. Game is very good, but it's just another "passive income" for the devs unfortunately.

Shame on the devs for abandoning this game. I was a big fan of Monster Train, so that's why I supported this Early Access game. You have lost a fan and I will no longer support any future projects.

Great Games, devs left it due to sales not meeting expectations. Lame Devs, good game. No more updates for said game i do not advise grabbing it.

Really loving this games it feels like combination of hades and slay the spire. plus it was develop by monster train developer so many high hope for it.

I would recommend this game because it is a lot of fun; However going forward i cannot advise people to spend money on it unless a deep sale comes around.
Today Shiny shoe announced via discord that they will no longer be putting their attention towards Inkbound, and that it will no longer be receiving any updates. as it stands for now there will be on going server support for multiplayer, but unclear how long that will last into the future.

This is a proper, well-balanced, and fun, turn-based rogue-like game. I enjoy the daily quests and challenges, since they change the run conditions enough for me to explore and try out new strategies that I never considered before. The co-op, multi-player is well executed and the best feature is that if disconnected or you need to quit, it allows you to resume right where you left off even in multi-player runs. I wish more games took this feature as seriously as this game. Thank you!

Great game foolishly abandoned by the devs. Unless there's a deep sale, don't waste anything on it.

At this time, the devs have officially stated they did not meet the sales they were expecting and apologized for not communicating with the community that they ceased development earlier in the year. Ooops, sorry guys! Forgot to tell you the game is dead haha. In the same breathe they stated that they were excited to show off their new EA game early next year .

The game has all the core components for being great. Classes are diverse, potential archetypes are numerous, everything is just lacking being fully filled out. The game is still very playable, and still a lot of fun, but once you get your feet wet you realize that there's not enough diversity and support for all the archetypes to truly make them playable.

The downvote is purely from a standpoint of immeasurable disappointment.

This is one of the better turn-based games I have every played and it is great for 2-player! The visual style is striking. The character modifiers are dynamic and engaging, and the game has great replay value. I waited way too long to get this game. It has also been fun to achievement hunt!

Before I get into the good, I just want to warn people - the game is not balanced for 4 players. The health factor increase for 4 players is BRUTAL. We went down to 3 players and won our second run. I would love for them to lower how much the enemies health increases when going from 3 to 4 players. Currently I only recommend playing this game 1 to 3 players (not 4).

That's my major complaint.

Other than that, I got this game on sale and I've been thoroughly pleased. I was expecting Slay the Spire/Hell Card style, and it sort of is BUT there is a twist. You have movement (limited) every round and the last hit on an enemy makes them target you - so theres a bit more strategy. There is also "set" like vestiges/trinkets that can give you boosts depending on how many you have which adds another layer to deck building.

There's just a lot going on in this game and it can be overwhelming at first, but it actually really makes the game great.

The game requires A LOT of focus early on if you're in a group. There is a bit of a learning curve compared to Slay The Spire and even Hell Card. Stick with it though - it's very rewarding.

Highly recommend picking up the game.

Fantastic roguelike that gives me a mix of Hades arena battles, with the more measure and turn-based nature of something like Slay the Spire. Really interesting possibilities can be achieved with the various ability mods and items you'll pick up, certainly enough to keep me very entertained for 90+ hours. Definitely recommended.

Genuinely brilliant and dynamic game system design with endless replay value. Easy to get into, but hard to master. Great for a real solo challenge or casual fun with up to 4 players. It's fairly expensive but well worth the price.

Only downsides are that the game has been left for dead by the devs (as of time of writing), and the game isn't particularly well balanced, as some builds (frostbite, non-poison bleed) are simply are not viable on the highest difficulty.

Devs have gone missing without a word and the community's pretty much dead at this point.

Otherwise it's a great game, but it's a shame to see it dead.

Fun and easy turn based roguelite game. Worth shot if you're into the genre

Awesome Roguelike. I appreciate how unique and inspired the classes feel. It took me about an hour or so to get into the groove of things but once the gears start clicking the game play is a joy.

Would recommend 10/10
Would Ink Dive again.

This game is fun when doing solo runs, but the multiplayer is where it really shines, when you're working together you can feel downright unstoppable sometimes. definitely worth the buy, especially if you can lasso one or two friends to play it with you.

Absolutely charming co-op tactical roguelite.
Grab some friends and hit the books with Inkbound!

Pretty fun and strategic, especially with friends and different classes. One class can cover the weakness of the other and help each other.
Grab this game if you like some strategic + chill back with some friends

Slay the Spire + Hades + Monster Train but co-op multiplayer! And fine if you want to just play single player offline, too.

Great game to co-op. Not entirely sure what's going on with the story but the battles have been interesting and it's been fun piecing together various builds.

Fun, great story, amazing game-play, game for all skill levels

Great game that i didn't think would have this much fun with, the art style is very cool and even though i didn't like rogue likes before, this here opened my eyes. It's a great game to play at any time be it solo or with friends, it's very nice how you could try out many different ways of playing it and find new strategies to try out. Very fun can only recommend it

Fantastic combat style, this has to be one of the few combat games I would like to re-create myself as well.

Inkbound is an incredibly unique roguelike experience. The turn based combat is almost puzzle like and the build variety is rich and satisfying.

An amazing game by the amazing devs that also brought us Monster Train. Whether you like to play alone or with a team of up to 4 people, it's all great fun. There's also an amazing amount of original storyline content and fully voiced cutscenes.

If you find yourself struggling, be sure to check out my or other player's Youtube videos with several daily challenges and highest difficulty playthroughs for every class.

Very fun roguelike. Meta progression is limited and mostly sideways. Lots of builds possible.

One of the best coop games I've ever played. It's a little baffling for the first few runs, but once you figure out a few of the core mechanics like stacking icons for ability types and that group communication and planning is SO important, working together to force enemy positioning/facing as well as sharing damage around... then the true genius at the heart of the system becomes clear.

It's a true gem. No surprise really given these guys made Monster Train, another brilliant turn based game, but seeing them take the same level of design to a coop game--a TURN based coop game--Wow.

Monster Train II though, devs? ;D

Inkbound is a really good core game system, but it's weighed down by the initial structure having been as a live service game. You can feel the remnants of this old idea clinging to a lot of systems in it. The story is also really, really long and not all that compelling.

I sound not-very-enthused here, but I had a great time once I looked past the shortcomings and I think these devs are awesome. Looking forward to what they do next in any case.

Fun game, but takes a lot longer if you want to play optimally with friends.

Really good tactical roguelike with a neat system to deal with turns.
When enemies have their turn they all attack at the same time, and you can see where their attacks will go or who they are targetting beforehand. When its the players's turn, you can all go at the same time. Attacks happen whenever someone chooses to, so you dont need to wait for someone else if you just want to do your thing, but it also lets the group do any variety strategies. Combined with the many upgrades and items you get in a run, this adds quite a bit of depth in battle regarding buffs, debuffs, how to defend, who to target and how.
The game has a nice matchmaking system and it finds groups quite quickly, but the game is perfectly playable solo if you are not up to it or just want a quick easier run.

I really like the game, the story is messy for me since I've played the game since a very early version and I should maybe have restarted just to follow it. But I assume that if you start it now and go through it it's way easier to follow =)

I haven't tried the coop yet since I don't have anyone on my friendslist that has the game and I don't like joining randoms in gaming cause more often than not you end up meeting people that aren't like yourself at all in the way they communicte or play.

This was my first roguelite, I was never a fan of the genre but Inkbound managed to change that. If you're like me, I'd recommend getting it with a friend, as co-op is very fun and a huge part of why I like the game so much.

fun and interesting game play mechanics. Unique character abilities and fun story

• Good combat.
  
• Annoying quest objectives.
  
[*]Fun with friends and alone.