Realm of Ink

When I first saw the game, I was instantly attracted to the lovely inky artwork, which put me in mind of the Street Fighter V intro animations, and sure enough, the game fully embraces the storybook motif suggested by the artwork. Initially playing as a swordswoman named "Red", you discover that your life is just a story told in a book, and to truly be in control of her own destiny, she must break free of the storyteller's narrative.

It's a lovely bit of exposition which sets up the game world nicely, your narrator becoming frustrated by your rebellion, while your efforts are aided by the fox demon that grants you refuge within her inn. This becomes a hub of sorts, should you fail in your combat you'll regenerate here, utilising experience earned while in the field to upgrade your abilities, but starting with your base weaponry and abilities when re-entering the storybook arena. 

Combat is fast and fluid, augmented by some lovely inky visuals to accentuate the feeling of being a character in a book. You have an pet called MOMO that will help you take down your foes, the little critter evolving depending on your choice of ink gems, adding even more consideration to the path you take.

You'll choose a direction after each combat area is completed, usually choosing between cash and ink gem abilities. You can swap your abilities out and then deconstruct old ones for resources, but I found it best to stick to a couple fairly early so it can be upgraded when you reach the merchant hub on each map. You can use two at a time, and they'll affect each other in different ways. With around seventeen different varieties, that's a lot of potential combinations (136 if my math is correct) which should keep you busy as you find your favourite. The general fodder isn't too hard to out-maneuver, but the bosses require both a decent attack power and defensive strategy if you're going to take them down. 

Later stages of the game will allow you to take control of two other characters; Nightmare Hunter Wang Ding and Fox Judge Ning Ye. The playstyles for each are pleasingly distinct, though the act of combat, attack builds and hectic action remain the same. This is good because combat is where the game excels - it's endlessly re-playable, with your choice of battle gem combinations unlocking plenty of new strategies to test and fiddle with. There's even an "Endless" mode where you can keep upgrades and just fight waves of enemies. Endlessly.

Graphically, the game is never less than interesting - the Chinese flavour is definitely an asset, with lots of detail in the surroundings and very attractive character designs that change whenever you update your character's form. There's just so much variation through combination that the game is just a blast to play and never gets the chance to become stale.

The game isn't without some faults, though none detract from the gameplay and are relatively minor. The translation isn't fantastic, with some clumsy English and a few bizarre conversational choices that make old acquaintances sound like characters you've just met, but it doesn't break the atmosphere overmuch. It is a shame that you can't skip menus/conversations quickly without mashing the button to speed through text you've seen countless times.

The screen can get cluttered, but it's always possible to make out what's happening. That's less true of the upgrade system, which offers no ability to preview a build and see how it compares to your current load, it's very clunky in that respect, though it can be worked around and possibly fixed in a future update. At time of writing the game has received 4 updates which have included quality of life improvements, such as quitting and restarting from the first level, removing bugs and adding balance improvements. It's also important to remember that this is an early access build so feedback is being considered and acted on.

As a four-act, nine boss Hades-a-like, Realm of Ink stands on its own merits and arguably more attractive visuals to help sell it. If you enjoy a beautiful roguelite then Realm of Ink should be on your radar.