Summary

• Inkbound features incredibly deep and varied gameplay mechanics and upgrades.
• It offers clear explanations and customization, making runs memorable and rewarding.
• The cooperative gameplay in Inkbound adds twists, scales difficulty, and enhances the multiplayer experience.

exist within the same roguelike genre, and it appears that lessons learned from the previous game have colored what's available in Inkbound. What's here is a remarkable roguelike that successfully captures the "one more time" gameplay that characterizes the greats, all the while captivating with metaprogression that keeps things fresh enough to warrant deeper exploration.

Inkbound stars the Needless, a mute protagonist who emerges from a sea of ink into the Atheneum, a library-like sanctuary at the end of the world. A plague of monsters has descended upon this world and begun to steal the ink from the pages of stories, causing them to fade from existence. The Needless quickly proves that they're able to bond with a Kwill, allowing them to mimic the heroic aspects of fabled legends of the past. Using that power, they explore ink-filled stories in an attempt to make sense of a world that's not everything it seems at first glance.

Inkbound's Gameplay Is Incredibly Deep & Varied

Mechanics & Upgrades Are Fun

Inkbound functions a lot like any other roguelike when it begins a run, putting the Needless in front of a choice of three different worlds to choose from after selecting which boss they'd like to face if they're lucky enough to reach the end of their journey. The bosses all function differently and learning how they operate is often at the expense of losing a run, but they're also tied to story beats and progression unlocks, so there's incentive provided to experiment anyways. The worlds themselves feel different aesthetically, but enemies do blend together (with bosses as exceptions).

Once a run begins, the Needless progresses through a map by selecting potential pathways that yield treasure, combat, or opportunities to manipulate their loadout. Rather than, say, a deck of cards, the Needless' chosen Aspect provides a base set of three abilities that are then supplemented by another few that are selected during the run. It helps create a sense of consistency in the gameplay that lends itself well to producing a lot of interesting runs; there's a guarantee that each one will be functional, so there isn't a make-or-break need to catch the right side of variance to create something gamebreaking.

Inkbound's gameplay also contains other compounding elements that unlock across runs, like trinkets that can be used to influence builds even further. Some guarantee a secondary ability appears during a run, which lets players further prepare a loadout ahead of time to make sure they're not stuck without finding what they want. These abilities are synergistic and unique to the Aspects they're assigned to, and they scale in of difficulty. The Magmabreaker, for instance, is the most simplistic and accessible; the Weaver, on the other hand, takes significantly more time to get used to, and isn't nearly as beginner-friendly. Future Aspects unlocks are generally more complicated.

Once combat begins, the Needless can move around the battlefield to establish desirable positioning while also viewing previews of enemy attacks so that they can avoid them. Abilities can help the Needless dash around, prepare shielding, or establish debuff AoE attacks to shake up battles beyond just attacking and defending. In general, combat feels a little bit easier than the average roguelike to begin with, but metaprogression that increases difficulty for each run following a victory quickly ramps things up into more difficult space.

Through music and aesthetic, the world of Inkbound also gradually becomes more captivating.

Overall, combat in Inkbound is a memorable experience that offers a significant amount of variety. The game doesn't hide anything behind obscurity, with clear explanations of what abilities and other mechanics do. There's so much customization and even scrapping parts of a build can yield permanent bonuses to elements that then yield their own bonuses; it's an intricate web of complementary systems that makes figuring them out a delight. Across dozens of runs, it still feels like things are clicking about different build options, and that's before diving into co-op multiplayer.

Inkbound's cooperative gameplay is largely the same game, but with a few twists. Beyond the obvious nuance of other players affecting the battlefield, there are upgrade options that cater to co-op, providing buffs for allies. While the difficulty scales with the group size, enemies aren't always targeting the same Needless, so it feels a little bit easier to participate with friends. Otherwise, it functions pretty much the same, which is actually high praise since singleplayer is so well-crafted and honed.

Inkbound's World Drips With Details

Eschewing Standard Roguelike Obscurity

Atheneum is a wonderful hub to return to after a run. Inkbound's characters are strengths, even if some of them feel like they could use a bit more exploration earlier on. The game doesn't quite strike the balance of show-not-tell and gradual interest that Hades does, but it's a clear inspiration and one that's been used well. The few people who populate the library each have their own secrets and ideas about why the world is the way it is once the Needless shows up. As things start to unravel and ulterior motivations come to light, Inkbound's narrative fuels even more runs on curiosity alone.

There's also a refreshing lack of obscurity in Inkbound that's uncommon in roguelikes. There's the requisite amount of mystery that's only possible to bring to light after dying dozens of times, but the characters that populate its safe havens are quick to start talking about themselves and their concerns. Quests help expand their stories while also unlocking Aspects or other features, tying the universe of Inkbound with the mechanics it so eagerly wants to share.

Through music and aesthetic, the world of Inkbound also gradually becomes more captivating. Character designs are memorable and the sounds underscoring different areas and story beats evoke sensations of fading stories or glimmers of hope. It's all tied together with a highly customizable Needless that, regardless of cosmetic choices, looks like an outsider to these small tales. Bridging that gap is part of Inkbound, and it's an interesting conceit that helps spotlight the malleable nature of stories.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

4.5/5

Overall, Inkbound is a great roguelike with a wonderful combination of storytelling, gameplay, and small innovations that make it a standout in a very crowded genre. There's no shortage of combinations to make between Aspects, Vestiges, and the abilities unearthed during a run, and that kind of variety is supplemented by cosmetic items unlocked over the course of questing and run completion. Visual and audio greatness ties the whole package together.

What's here is a shining example of how a studio can find its niche and iterate on it without playing it safe. Shiny Shoe has really made something special here and with season leaderboards and multiplayer adding even more layers of potential competition and metaprogression, it really feels like Inkbound is a must-play for anyone who enjoys the roguelike genre.

Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purpose of this review.