Inkbound

All the people review-bombing the game saying it was "abandoned by the devs" need to touch grass. The game offers a complete and enjoyable roguelike experience for something like 100-200 hours of gameplay depending on how much of a completionist you are.

Gameplay: 10/10

Graphics & Sound: 7/10

Narration: 8/10

Devs stopped working on the game. Was fun too. There just needs to be more content.

I don't really know where the negative reviews get off on the idea of "can't recommend game because devs have moved on" but that's frankly an incredibly terrible reason to poorly review such a phenomenal game.

There is nothing wrong with buying and enjoying a perfectly -finished- product that is complete with 8 fully fleshed out and extremely well balanced playable classes (four of which require unlocking through game-play and progression, NOT micro transactions), over 250 "relic" type items to augment builds, hundreds of which are unlocked through satisfying goal progressions and side quests, a FULLY VOICE ACTED CAST AND STORY, incredible music, a mind-breakingly satisfying combat system that feels genuinely fair and doesn't rely on RNG BS to stay interesting, and tons of other amazing gameplay elements.

ALSO the game has exceptional coop capabilities, an absolute blast to play both solo and with friends. Easy run-progression saving for both single player AND multiplayer runs, need to stop for a night? Just log out and mid battle and you and your friends can literally resume the run right there next time you're on.

AND the game's controller support has absolutely no business being as good as it is. I didn't even try it on controller for so long because I didn't think I could possibly work, but it does.

I have almost 100 hours on record, still enjoy playing this game, and am STILL unlocking stuff. I still don't even have the last character yet.

This game is a genuine gem, well worth $30, and is a breath of fresh air in a genre (rogue-lites) that is over-saturated with so much of the same-same content. This is a fantastic addition from the team that made Monster Train and if you came to this store page wondering if this has the same level of depth, replay ability, and hook as Monster Train (which I also have 170 hrs in) then take my review as a loud and resounding YES.

TLDR: The game is fantastic, one of the best rogue-lites I've played in years, absolutely worth it full price and if it's on sale you should snatch this game up like a gemstone laying in a river bed. Ignore the haters.

Inkbound is something special. I'll never buy another Shiny Shoe game after this though for just straight up abandoning a great game. Their shoe is on the wrong foot.

Devs cancled the game vefore any meaningfull update happened. It had alot of potential but as of right now playing multiple runs is just to repetitive

3 bosses, same enemies, same areas, and same game play loop. Good for 10 hours. Get it on sale. Dev's haven't released any content knowing the player base has dropped substantially.

Feels like a lot of content is still missing but the devs quit.

Was fun for the while that I played it but apparently the devs stopped development of this game so I wouldn't buy it.

Will change my review if they decide to actually come back and work on the game again.

Really good but short of great. Definitely worth the price of admission. Probably worth even more if you have a buddy to play it with. This game is no longer receiving updates and will not get any DLC. When compared to its predecessor, Monster Train, this game falls very short for me.

i really liked this game but it looks pretty dead now, i could probably recommend this to people since it's got a decent amount to do but really sucks it got abandoned so im not recommending it unless you're alright with that fact

Inkbound has been an absolute delight to play! This roguelike game is packed with content, featuring eight characters and a plethora of different items, skills, ascensions, and augments. This variety provides an enormous number of combinations, keeping every run fresh and exciting. While there are some minor flaws here and there, it’s disheartening to see the game being review-bombed simply because the developers are shifting their focus to create something new.

I loved this game, which is sad, because the devs stopped working on it DESPITE promising more content and throwing all promises and players' trust toward them away.

This has all the mechanics I'm looking for in a rogue-lite. The unique approach to turn-based combat is a lot of fun. I felt I should make a review since I'm seeing it get hammered by negative reviews. I can understand being disappointed there won't be further devleopment of the game, but what is there is really good already. I had a great time and don't regret the purchase at all.

Not worth the price. Devs dropped the game so no more new content.

Was pretty good with the promise of more stuff but that stuff is never coming it looks like.

This game is fun & dynamic, with reasonable variety (although as you get to higher difficulties, and/or playing solo there are less viable options) and I love the innovations they've brought to gameplay through the way they implement the simultaneous turn based combat.

Some particular combinations are potentially overpowered, but in general there is a lot of fun options to explore and you don't feel forced to do the same thing every run (especially when playing with friends) and the storyline through the quests is a cut above most games of this genre.

This feels like a 7/10 that could've reached the same heights as Monster Train, if not for the scattered focus (there is solo AND co-op) in resources, tone, and plot. When I got to rank 5, the game just stopped begin enjoyable and I eventually lowered it down to casual to grind out the last 15 hours of narrative-based quests. With a hook for a future expansion/DLC that goes nowhere and features an obviously malevolent character lampshading a future big bad, Inkbound is a messy game 2nd game from Shiny Shoe, but excited for what they do next.

This is a great turn based roguelike, and it really shines if you play with one or more friends. Sessions can become quite strategic, in particular at the higher difficulty levels, where you'll have to carefully think about each items and upgrades you pick as you progress in the run, what items to exchange with your friends, etc.

One aspect I really like is that the game regularly lets you destroy some of your items (aka vestiges) in order to gain stat bonuses. It's always a crunchy choice to decide which item to destroy, as you basically exchange its ability for a stat boost. Typically the stat boost is linked to what the item does, too, so it makes the decision even harder (e.g. boost your poison damage by getting rid of your only item that does poison attacks, in the hope that you'll find better poison items in the next levels...)

Similarly to Hellcard, location of the enemies matter as some of your attacks are AoE. Some attacks let you move enemies so that your friends can then release an AoE more efficiently.

The multiplayer mode is really well done: it's easy to start a game with a friend, and if either one of you drops at some point, the game saves the state and lets your party come back to it very easily. Probably obvious, but many games have issues when it comes to saving in the middle of a run.

There is a huge amount of content/replayability thanks to the multiple classes and quests (which progressively unlock characters and content in the game). As a big fan of other multiplayer turn based roguelikes (across the obelisk, hellcard,...), this is one of my favorites.

This is an awesome game, honestly one of the greatest tactical games that really has you thinking in steps like chess. There's plenty of short term gratification and being able to unlock an insane amount of more ways of clearing runs keeps the game fresh for a good time.

Who cares if they're working on a different game, the game is amazing as it is and I'm looking forward to any new games the devs are working on.

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

tl;dr: If you're looking for a fun, (semi) turn based isometric co-op battler (that's a mouthful), I'd suggest you check out Stolen Realm or Wildermyth

++ Motivating roguelike loop: A combination of Items (Vestiges) and skill upgrades allow you to experiment with a new build for every single run
++ Few bugs: Very few technical issues, and I was able to simply rejoin my friend's run
++ Co-Op runs: Co-Op players determine the path of a run together (similarly to Stolen Realm)
++ Art style which reminds me of Bastion

-- Balancing: On lowest difficulty (or when playing alone), the game was way too easy. On regular (2nd) difficulty), we lost all the time (4 players).
-- Mechanics: After 24 hours, I still don't know how to improve my character in such a way that I actually stand a chance
-- Classes: Some classes felt totally underwhelming, others OP, but all essentially just repeat the same actions over and over for the entire run. Maybe I just didn't get how to play them correctly, but that would also imply that there is only one correct way to play them and it wasn't explained very well.
-- Story: More fluff than love. Too boring to even follow.
-- Leveling: Unlocks some run modifiers (buffs), new items, and cosmetics. No real progression for your class though (which could be argued is a core gameplay element for a roguelike, but especially frustrating if there's no real sense of progress)
-- UI: Too many colors and effects and the battlefield is not easy to read.
-- Battlefield: Many enemies have so much HP that you end up dying because the shrinking battlefield kills you.

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

Nice co-op roguelite with diverse mechanics

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

im kinda sad becuease i got this game recently as in like maby 2 weeks ago or so and ive been loving the hell out of it even got some friends to buy it to play with me its a very good game for what it offers now currently ive reached rank 13 of 20 of the scaling mode i guess? the slay the spire thing and i will say the balance gets very iffy of if i can do enough damage to even win some runs ive yet to complete to main story im near the end i believe and i love the story i think its very great but it is a very slow and long story taking me over 40 hours to complete did i get my moneys worth for the game i think i really really do but would i reccomand it now that ive heard the game sold poorly and they stopped dev for it before it was "finished?" according to reading discussions i would still recommand the game but with the hindset of the game isent guna change anymore which means some of the rougher edges will stay very rough am i VERY upset that they stopped deving the game? yes i am i had a lot of faith in this team from their previous game of monster train another game i love alot and this is disapointing i have no clue if i will try their next title or not but that is just my opinon on the matter i can say now that after a good 52 hours i have beaten the games story and i love it alot i can tell their was lots of room left open for the end that will never get fleshed out now which is a bit sad

If you bought this game for full price when development looked active, I can understand being disappointed that there won't be any more updates. If you snag this for $10 or less, though, I think you're getting a great deal. That's doubly true if you're looking for this kind of thing exactly: a tactical roguelike with online co-op, that lets you progress through the entire game with a friend. I mean, what other options are there? Looking forward to see what Shiny Shoe does next, hopefully with a doubled focus on gameplay/content.

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.