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Before The Ink Dries - An Inkbound First Look
3K View2023-02-08
Otherwise! Hey Folks, Arlyeon here! I've been hard at work, even in my absence- and I recently got the opportunity to take a long at Shiny Shoe Entertainments recent project- a rather interesting title which meshes turn-based strategy, with Roguelite & MMO Elements.
If you think that sounds weird, you're not alone- but you might be surprised to hear how -functional- it actually feels.
Admittedly, because this is based off of Alpha content, there is a -lot- in the air about this at the current moment, since the team seems to be listening closely to the community insofar as feedback, and making tweaks to make things harder, or more intuitive. That said, I put in enough time that I feel I can provide a decent window into things.
First off, while this -does- seem to have at least a few -references- to Monster Train in it, the world itself seems to be it's own seperate thing. And it is -weird-.
For instance, you take the role of a creature known as a 'Needless'- a living bipedal mass of ink which is essentially used as a gopher by the survivors of some unknown calamity. What's more, the titular Inkbound is -apparently- around and doing their best to try and save the day- so your own role in things is a lot hazier. If anything, the nature of your activities winds up being described almost like maintenance, as you're tasked with diving into an ink-drowned world in order to harvest elements from books.
God, this is so weird it's hard to describe. And currently, it's not like there's a Codex, or bestiary that I can toggle up to get more details from.
Instead, the best option you have is to immerse yourself into the gossip of characters in the games hub, and the scattered few in the various books you can dive into. Running errands for them will also help to advance the plot- although, given the busywork-ish nature of some of those goals, it can take a bit to make progress.
Which- gameplay. So- Essentially, you're asked to pick one of 5 classes when you play the game- (Okay, one of 3, since the other 2 aren't implemented yet). Each of them plays -quite- differently, as they have a trio of default active abilities, and a passive ability- all of which combine together to influence how they function.
Oh, and you can swap classes fairly freely when at the hub- so, really, you should explore, because they do play out quite differently. Because, while their skillset starts basic, they have a -lot- of customization options. See, as you delve further into dungeons, you'll reach certain shrines, which will provide you the option of acquiring modifiers to add onto each ability- making them stronger or giving them extra effects. Up to three can be stuck onto each ability, many of which can stack in nifty ways.
More importantly, you can also ascend each of your abilities once- which is where the real insanity begins, because an ascended ability changes -drastically- from it's base form. Changing the range of attacks, causing them to hit more or less people, inflicting status effects. You'll find yourself presented with a small array of options from a pool. Which can synergize quite well with other ascended abilities, with the upgrades placed in them- and even with another players skill set.
Lord knows that I had a lot of fun as the Mosscloak- who has an evolved dash option where an enemy he hits gets their poison stacks doubled. And yes, this works -exactly- like you think it would in Co-op.
Essentially, while you have a relatively narrow set of abilities to master- there's a surprising amount you can do with it- though you need to be fairly tactical about it. See, while this is turn based, it isn't simply you trading hits with an enemy.
Instead, you're given a set amount of energy to spend on moving around or using actions on your turn- and once you've spent it all, all of the enemies actions play out. Now, since you can see where an enemies planning to attack, this means you can maneuver yourself clear- or even gamble on your ability to kill an enemy in order to disrupt their attack. So, there's interesting options here.
(And interesting complications, like enemies who'll attack on your turn after a set number of actions are taken- or enemies who will turn to face the person who attacked them- making it a bad idea to spend your last energy point poking them).
Also- cowardice -isn't- an option, because while you can freely dodge enemies- the battlefield itself is slowly overtaken by ink round after round- effectively reducing the safe space you can sit on. Because if you take an action, or end your turn on ink- you'll take damage, forcing you into some pretty desperate circumstances in protracted fights.
And yes- Co-op -definitely- compounds all of the things I just mentioned. Though, even with the increase to enemy health- I also found it drastically improved the odds of success. A hefty chunk of that is because each player gets their own item pools- and they can freely trade with each other, which allows you to slowly acquire run-based relics, and better figure out optimal builds. The whole, co-ordinating ability thing also helps. As does- being able to ressurect an ally freely if they die, provided you finish the current fight.
It's honestly -surprisingly- forgiving, and does a decent job of keeping your friends in the fight.
Well. Okay, mostly forgiving. There -are- some complicating factors if you like difficulty- since there is a 'ranked runs'. These options are a bit more interesting, as they add slowly stacking modifiers as you clear more ranked runs and get into higher tiers, such as from bronze, to silver- with things like more enemy health, or nastier level modifiers.
Oh, and that's another ranked difference. Each book (of the three you need to pick during each run), will have a random modifier. Doing things like 'Providing all enemies a damage shield when you kill an enemy' or 'damaging you when you grab extra energy' - just, subtle but nasty ailments - all of which stack as you progress deeper into your current run.
Which can be a bit of a problem by the time you reach the end of run boss. Currently, there's only 1 (And an additional set of mini-bosses associated with each of the games biomes) - but, the current end game boss is a pretty nasty challenge, especially if you're not up to snuff.
I honestly had a fair bit of fun kicking his teeth in over the course of a number of runs. Though, I'll admit that I ultimately found myself more interesting in clearing the side quests I was getting in the hub to unlock more items to find, to learn more about the story- and just exploring about.
Really- I just had a lot of fun. That said, I did have a certain reservation- and that's the simple fact that the game indicated that there will be Seasons. While they seem to be specifically tied towards things like emotes and cosmetics in order to customize your character- there really isn't much known on this front, due to it not being fully implemented in the game. Just hints of a potential cash shop, and the pass.
I'm -hoping- that the mechanical and narrative elements will by fully divorced from this, but- my attempts at getting clear cut answers from the developers on this front went unanswered.
Anyways- that's the scoop for now, and if you folks enjoyed this- Let me know in the comments, and I might dive back in later.
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A first Look At Inkbound - A Turnbased Strategy Roguelite . . . MMO?
Hey folks- I'm back! And with a fun change of pace, since I got the opportunity to dive into the Alpha test of Shiny Shoes upcoming project, Inkbound. While some of you may know them as the developers of Monster Train- their recent title is even more interesting, as it provides a Turn-based-Strategy roguelite, albeit with MMO elements. Join me as I talk shop about the current content.
(Also I marked this as Monster Train, because there's no Inkbound tag)
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PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?
Play it, especially if you can get a few friends to join you. Inkbound delivers a robust and satisfying single-player experience, but this roguelike RPG is even more exciting when you can combine your abilities with the skills of other players. Every class feels distinct, and the turn-based combat system has tons of strategic depth. While the game is debuting as an early access title, it’s extremely polished, and it already feels like it’s a complete game.
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