To understand the allure of Inkbound, you have to understand a bit about the developer making it.
That’s not an easy genre to stand out in, but it did.
And whisper it, but I believe Shiny Shoe has done it again.
Inkbound review
Slay the Spire isn’t the dominant influence this time; Hades is.
Heck, the game’s whole tone doesn’t feel that far removed.
Later on, you might transform the entire Binding itself.
There are a few tiers, and the rarer ones are reserved for tougher battles.
With this in mind, the game will offer you harder encounters alongside standard ones, to tempt you.
So far, so Hades - the big difference revolves around combat.
Whatever it is, you better look at it all and figure out what to do.
Or, more to the point, where to move to to get to get safe.
The skill of combat, then, is in doing damage but also avoiding it.
The magic of Inkbound is in how this all comes together.
The game is so well tuned.
Within a few minutes, you’re in a run and battling - there’s never any hanging around.
Nor is there ever any padding, really.
This supercharges your growth and provides you with challenging battles each time.
There’s always a sense of momentum in the game too - everything feels like it’s pushing forward.
More depth, more character, more finesse.
What do you do?
It’s always looking for a new way to spin something, to add a mechanic, to tinker.
I do have some gripes: I’ve never particularly enjoyed the art style of Inkbound.
It’s a long way from the delicate charms of something like Hades.
Inkbound accessibility options
Screen shake on/off, remappable mouse and keyboard bindings, basic controller support.
Multiplayer is a new area to me, too.
Partnered for a mission, the experience is different too.
The game seems to scale the challenge and provides multiple Will pick-ups depending on the size of your party.
Also, it might just be teething problems, but I encountered noticeable lag while playing with other people.
But these are footnotes for what is otherwise a showcase of joyous expertise on the part of Shiny Shoe.
A copy of Inkbound was provided for review by Shiny Shoe.
