The Realm of Ink demo is now live on Steam. If you are looking for a new action roguelike to sink some time into, download this demo today! The demo is only 40 minutes long, but you’re going to want more.
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Hook
Realm of Ink is a short story collection controlled by the Book Spirit. For the most part, characters within its pages live their lives as written. This changes when on a hunt for a cunning Fox Spirit, Red discovers that everything around her is a fabrication. After her awakening, Red makes her journey through this fictional world to find out the truth of the Book Spirit. What secrets will she learn along the way?
Gameplay
Thoughts
The full version of the game will give players access to different characters, spirits, and upgrades, but the demo is limited to one character, chapter, and a limited selection of upgrades and spirits. While I was left wanting more, the provides players with a solid grasp of the gameplay loop.
Real of Ink plays like your traditional Rogulike. Players start each round with a random spirit and earn random upgrades as they move through the levels. Champions have access to a light attack, a heavy attack, and two spirit abilities.
These types of games are repetitive by design, but there is enough RNG in this game to make each run feel different. I ran through the demo version a few times and never had the same build twice. Some builds are better than others, but that is the nature of RNG.
Red is a cool champion with three loadouts. Players start the demo with the single sword but can unlock a duel wield version for faster attacks and a ranged attack after you end your first run. Each loadout plays differently, which keeps the game feeling fresh. I preferred the ranged version of Red because I had a lot of fun kitting in this game.
Realm of Ink is beautiful, and I recommend you check it out to appreciate its art style. The demo also has fun flavor, and an amazing soundtrack. The gameplay was fun. Combat was great, leveling was fast and easy, RNG seemed fair, and the spirits gave fun abilities. I don’t like that you start the game with one spirit and have to find the second through RNG.
The only complaint I have is that in some runs, I only had access to one spirit ability. This felt like a disadvantage, especially when it came to the boss fight. I hope spirits are easier to collect on full release because it is the mechanic that gave the game its unique flavor.
The demo is short, but it was long enough to get me excited. I need a little more story and gameplay before I can form a full opinion. If you’re looking for something new to play, check out the Real of Ink demo. It’s free, it’s fun, and it isn’t a huge commitment.
We don’t have an official release date, but I will be trying to get my hands on a copy when it comes out. Stay tuned for that. If you enjoy my content, please leave a comment, like, follow, and share this with your friends!