Inkbound Reviews

real good

This game is a sleeper.

Holy. Friggin'. Poop. This game sucks. This game is so stupid. Turn one of first combat, three enemies, all with purple lines meaning I can't avoid their attacks. There is no damage mitigation worth a crap. There is no healing worth a crap. You're just half dead...turn one... I have literally found ZERO fun in this game, and I have tried. It is honestly the worst game I've played this year, and I can't wait to never play it again.

Pretty damn good, I normally dislike turn-based combat but this one got me hooked for some reason. The freely moving pieces rather than a grid helps a lot in making combat feel fluid and fresh unlike most turn-based games I've seen. I will add though, even though this is a roguelike it is very repetitive, every 'class' (aspect) has only 2 or sometimes even 1 viable build in higher difficulties, in ranks 1-10 most anything will work as long as you stack either damage or shielding options but beyond that there's no room for creativity. Granted that is a very difficult order for any game, not just this one in particular. There will also be no further attempts at balancing or creating opportunity for more variety as the developers moved on to Monster Train 2, so just keep that in mind

I'm not technically writing this review with ink, but I feel bound to leave a good review. Great game would recommend.

Honestly, a pretty comfy and interesting game. Some lacks of balance here and there, some feeling of unpolish, but in general I had quite a lot of fun in my short play time, and don't see any reason why would I not recommend it. Didn't play too much since not a big fan of doing countless runs in roguelites, but the variety of builds and classes felt quite good from the time I've spent.

Allows creativity in a fun way. I had a really good surprise when I gave this game a try. Being turn based allows for some interesting teamwork - oh! There's that as well: You can (and should, it's fun!) play with others. Highly recommend - it's a fresh take on some of current industry standards that exhales passion and care by the developers.

Bought this thinking it was just another roguelike. Turns out it's actually a philosophical treatise on the nature of narrative wrapped in the most addictive turn-based combat system ever created. Also, the monsters are literally stealing the ink from books and somehow this makes perfect sense after hour 3. Nothing says "innovative gameplay" quite like playing chess with demons while your friend across the country judges your positioning skills in real-time. THE GOOD: Finally, a game where being a bookworm is literally the plot! The monsters are stealing stories and I'm taking this PERSONALLY. Turn-based combat that doesn't make me want to throw my keyboard through the window. I can actually think about my moves instead of panic-clicking everything. My co-op partner and I have developed a telepathic understanding of tactical positioning. We're basically a married couple now, but for roguelike strategies. The art style is so gorgeous I keep getting distracted mid-combat. "Oh look, a beautiful death animation!" proceeds to get flanked by ink demons THE BAD: Started referring to difficult real-life situations as "ink corruption events." My boss is concerned about my mental state. Tried to explain to my therapist why I have trust issues with libraries now. She suggested I "maybe read physical books for a while." Ma'am, the books are COMPROMISED. My friends ask me to play other games and I'm like "But can you play co-op turn-based strategy with perfect synchronous combat?" They don't understand true art. Google thinks I'm having an existential crisis based on my searches: "what happens when stories die" "can ink actually be evil" "turn-based relationship therapy" MEMORABLE MOMENTS: Spent 45 minutes planning the perfect four-person combo attack. Executed it flawlessly. We all high-fived through Discord. Peak human achievement unlocked. My character got so powerful I was one-shotting bosses. Then I realized I was playing on Story Mode. Switched to higher difficulty and got immediately humbled by a book with legs. Discovered there are like 20 different character builds and they all feel completely unique. I now have commitment issues but with statistical builds instead of romantic relationships. My friend joined mid-run and watched me solo a boss with the grace of a tactical ballet dancer. I think I peaked as a human being in that moment. CO-OP RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS: "Wait, don't move yet, I have the perfect setup!" "Why did you move THERE? We talked about flanking strategies!" "Okay but what if we tried the completely ridiculous combo we theorycrafted for 20 minutes?" Combo works perfectly "WE ARE TACTICAL GENIUSES!" ACTUAL GAMEPLAY BREAKDOWN: 25% carefully planning optimal moves 20% gasping at how pretty everything is 20% debating strategy with co-op partners like we're planning a military operation 15% getting way too emotionally invested in procedurally generated story fragments 10% trying new character builds 10% having existential thoughts about the nature of storytelling LIFE LESSONS LEARNED: Patience is not just a virtue, it's a tactical advantage The best strategies are the ones you plan together Sometimes the real treasure was the synchronized combat we achieved along the way Books are apparently way more dangerous than I previously thought Would I recommend this game? Absolutely, especially if you want to experience what it feels like to be a literary superhero with excellent time management skills. Is it better single player or co-op? Co-op turns it from a great game into a life-changing social experience where you discover who your friends really are under tactical pressure. Should you play if you hate turn-based games? This game might convert you. It's turn-based for people who thought they hated turn-based.

Super well put together game. Very fun with mates, and works just fine solo too. More like this, please.

Fantastic roguelike strategy game, every bit as good as Monster Train. Unfortunately feels somewhat unfinished in places (for example, the two conspicuous empty slots on the class selection screen); evidently the developers had more in mind for continued updates to this game that were put by the wayside in favor of Monster Train 2. I guess the game wasn't as successful as they had hoped? Either way this game is well worth playing.