Inkulinati

Genre: Turn-Based Strategy-RPG / Roguelike

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local)

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Review:

(Note: Included in Daedalic Turn-Based Bundle along with Blackguards 2 and Capes.)

Inkulinati, released in 2024 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, is a game that’s an odd mix of genres, combining a side-scrolling Turn-Based Strategy-RPG like Steamworld Heist with Roguelike elements and some very interesting mechanics and an eclectic presentation, and even some elements of Trading Card Games like Magic: The Gathering. The premise behind the game is that players take the role of one of the titular Inkulinati, someone who can draw on parchment and make their creations come to life. Using this, they create armies of anthropomorphic animals to fight opposing animal enemies, as well as opposing Inkulinati, all while protecting their own “Mini” Inkulinati avatar from enemies, with the entire battle taking place on parchment.

The presentation here really runs with the look of Medieval scratchings of quill on parchment, using sparsely animated 2D visuals with a hand literally reaching up onto the screen to draw in characters as they appear. The look is somewhat reminiscent of what we saw in Pentiment (and Andreas from that game even appears as a playable character here), but it is more abstract and whimsical than that game.

I should make it a point to note that “whimsical” seems the fitting word more than “funny”. While this game does give the anthropomorphic animals silly attacks like Rabbits wiggling their butts at enemies to put them to sleep, farting donkeys, and similar absurdities, the game never really got a laugh out of me, though I did enjoy its light and irreverent tone juxtaposed against the classical look of the writing and art style.

More in keeping with this nice-looking art style than the irreverent tone, the game’s soundtrack uses orchestral themes to give the game a sense of medieval grandeur, something that certainly enhances the game even if it does no favors for the game’s humor. For an example of this game’s music, check out Draw Your Quills, the main menu theme.

While the premise and presentation here are both interesting, it’s the gameplay that’s the main draw. As players work their way through a Roguelike-style map, they’ll be getting into battles where their Mini will summon creatures from their pre-assigned loadout to do their bidding. There are different class types like swordsman, spearman, bowman, and bard, as well as animal types such as rabbit, dog, and fox. Each class and animal type has their specialty, with the two at times combining – for example, the dog’s species skill of targeting multiple enemies at once can combine with the archery class to shoot a volley of arrows, or with the spear to stab through two adjacent enemies instead of just one.

Your Mini’s summoning skill is limited by the amount of ink you have, which accumulates gradually each turn but you can also gain more by sending your troops to stand on spots dripping with ink. Your mini also has a selection of special abilities that can influence battle, such as by shoving yours and opponents’ creatures around. This focus on shoving and positioning can be vital, as any creature shoved off the edge of a platform instantly dies. Needless to say, jockeying for a good position can often make the difference between victory and defeat. However, in the end, you or your opponent only lose if your Mini is killed, meaning it may serve you to risk your troops if you can get in some good hits on your opponent.

Another clever element is that you’re given a strong incentive not to favor the same troops repeatedly in battle, as your Inkulinati will grow bored of drawing that creature the more you use it, making it cost more ink to summon. The result is that you’ll naturally have to shake up your roster of troops, learn to make good use of every one you have, and consider adding more to your army even though you can only ever have five in your loadout at a time – you will likely be swapping in and out troops after each battle to keep things fresh and keep summoning costs low.

All of this makes for some really interesting strategy and gameplay that’s largely unlike any other game out there, and Inkulinati even capitalizes on this by offering players a local 2-player competitive mode so you and a friend can test your strategies against one another, or you can opt to go up against an AI opponent. Either way, this addition is much appreciated.

When it comes to the downsides, my main complaint about this game is the controls, which are awkward, take some time to wrap your head around, and can easily make for mistakes in the commands you’re trying to give. In addition, this game isn’t great about conveying information to the player, with a lot of important information hidden behind a mode you activate by pressing in the left analog stick to bring up a cursor. It’s also too easy to misjudge how far characters are capable of moving and attacking, which can bite you in the rear when it causes your plans to fall apart.

Still, despite some control and interface frustrations, Inkulinati is a superb game, one that is highly original, and presents a refreshing take on Strategy-RPGs that is absolutely worth playing for any fan of that genre.

tl;dr – Inkulinati is a game that combines side-scrolling Turn-Based Strategy-RPG gameplay with Roguelike elements to create something pretty unique, that has players strategically moving anthropomorphic animals around on a battlefield while being mindful of resources. The controls are unnecessarily confusing, and the game does a poor job conveying information to the player, but despite these flaws this is a truly inspired Strategy-RPG that is absolutely worth playing.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best RPG, Best Strategy Game

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