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Realm of Ink is a Fantastic and Beautiful Roguelike

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I was sent a free copy of Realm of Ink to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.

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What is Realm of Ink?

Red is a talented swords woman who finds herself traversing through the pages of books in her search for the elusive Fox Demon. Her path is not an easy one. Creatures hunt her relentlessly, and although she has help from powerful spirits, it might not always be enough. Make your way through the worlds, collect new abilities, weapons, and characters, and unveil the truth about your existence. Do you have what it takes?

Gameplay

Red must fight her way through the different stages of a world to clear it. Players start each run with a random ink. Inks give Red special abilities to help her on her run. There are 22 inks that can be enhanced or swapped at random intervals of a run. In typical roguelike fashion, players will unlock random passive buffs. Runs in Realm of Ink are very RNG-reliant, but it seemed pretty fair for the most part.

Eventually, players will unlock new forms and weapons to swap between future runs. These forms and weapons are selected before a run, and each has a unique playstyle. These forms combined with the game’s RNG ensure that no two runs are ever the same, and give the game its replayability.

Does it work on the Steam Deck?

Realm of Ink has a fantastic Steam Deck port. I actually preferred the Steam Deck experience because of how good it felt to play on the couch. It doesn’t need any tinkering to get it to work, the game looks great at the aspect ratio, the words are easy to read, and the game is responsive. While playing Realm of Ink gives players a deeper appreciation for the art, they aren’t losing much playing on the Steam Deck. If you’re looking for a solid game to play on the go with good mechanics, a decent story, and fantastic flavor, check out Realm of Ink!

Review

I’ve been excited for Realm of Ink since I played the initial demo. I had my issues the first time around, but the developers have been hard at work to make it all better. The game has been so much fun, and I can tell there is work being put into it for future updates.

I was first drawn to this game because the art is phenomenal. The art only got better the deeper I got into the game. I love the game’s flavor and style. When it comes to the mechanics, the game is solid. The game is easy to learn, but there are enough nuances to keep things technical and interesting. While there were a few runs where the RNG wasn’t in my favor, it was relatively fair. What I liked most about Realm of Ink is that the grind doesn’t feel so bad. Most games in the genre have a grind that starts to feel repetitive and stale. Progression in those games feels slowed by a soul-crushing level grind. The progression in Realm of Ink felt like it was limited by my skill. The better I got at the combat mechanics, even with the less ideal inks, the less the grind became. Even when there was a grind, it didn’t feel bad because I was having fun.

The game is still in early access, and there will be some roughness, but not enough to discourage new players from jumping right in. The developers have been working tirelessly and listening actively to the community, I am sure Realm of Ink will only get better moving forward.

If you enjoy action roguelikes or are looking for a new game to sink some time into, check out Realm of Ink. It is a beautiful game with fun mechanics that is worth every cent at full price.

You can pick up your copy of Realm of Ink on Steam for only $16.99. There is a fantastic demo available if you don’t believe me.

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Check out the Realm of Ink Demo Today!

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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!