After spending a year in early access, the incredibly charming Inkulinati has finally launched, and it seems to mostly deliver. Not only are players in for an extremely unique art style that hearkens back to the Middle Ages, but they must also prepare themselves for a pretty complex strategy adventure that they might not expect. However, even though Inkulinati may offer a decent experience for fans of the genre, it is also held back by a few odd decisions and mechanics that may not be what some are looking for.
One of the main areas that Inkulinati shines is in its fantastically unique and colorful art style. The entire game is portrayed as doodles on the pages of old Middle Age texts, which makes the entire experience instantly stand out in a crowded turn-based market. Players may instantly fall in love with its many characters, style, and presentation as a whole, but even with all of that, the core gameplay loop may not be enough to keep them coming back for hours on end. And on top of that, those first few hours may push some interested players away before they jump into the real adventure.
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The reason players may be pushed away is that Inkulinati spends an extraordinarily long time teaching players how to play the game. Instead of simply letting them learn as they go, it pressures players into engaging in a long series of tutorial missions that teach them every single mechanic they might eventually use. If players attempt to skip that tutorial, they will still have to pass the final exam before they can begin the game. But if players choose to complete the tutorial, they may find themselves spending hours learning how to play.
While Inkulinati is an extremely complex game, those first few hours can sometimes feel like a slog. Many of the missions exist to teach players one mechanic before it sends them off to learn another one in a completely different mission. With dozens of different tutorial missions to complete, players might feel a bit overwhelmed once they are done with it. But once they complete the tutorial, the main Journey mode will end up reteaching those same mechanics at random points.
The Journey Mode is where Inkulinati shines, which makes sense as it seems to be the game’s main focus. In this mode, players select one of the many champions the game offers. They must then embark on a roguelite adventure that sees them take down opponents, gather new units, collect new abilities, and attempt to conquer death itself. They will grow in power as they go further, but so will their enemies. And every time they choose to embark on a brand-new journey, they will be in for a vastly different experience.
Through the Journey mode, players will participate in countless battles. The battles of Inkulinati may look relatively simple at first glance, but they are surprisingly complex. There are multiple types, with each one requiring a different strategy to complete. Untamed beast battles require players to wipe out the entire enemy army, Beast Lairs force players to focus their attacks on unit spawners, and Inkulinati Master fights will truly test players’ mettle. While some of these may be easy at first, they can quickly get out of control if players are not careful.
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Along with Journey mode, players can also mess around in 1v1 custom duels. This allows players to practice their strategies against AI, or they can take on one of their friends to see who is the best Inkulinati Master out there. This can be a lot of fun; however, it is also rather limited. Instead of being an online-based PvP system, it is entirely offline local play. Even though there is nothing wrong with including a hot-seat mode, having that be the only multiplayer option feels strange in 2024.
The battles themselves force players to think strategically if they want any chance at winning. In a standard Inkulinati fight, players will face off against another master. Both masters will take turns drawing soldiers, which take the form of anthropomorphic animals. Then, those soldiers will also take turns moving across the 2D map as they attempt to take living ink pools, which let players draw more units, or take out the enemy. Once every soldier and master has taken their turn, the chapter will end, and the next will begin, starting the whole loop over again.
With each chapter, various random things will occur on the battlefield. Hazards may spawn, ink might rain down from the sky, an infection could start spreading between units, or the game-ending apocalyptic fire event could begin. Additionally, each master tends to have special abilities that automatically activate at the end of a chapter. Those abilities can either help or hinder players, with some feeling like they could be truly game-changing.
Turn-based strategy fans should be mostly familiar with how the actual gameplay of Inkulinati works, as it does not do anything particularly unique with the concept. Each unit represents an iconic fantasy archetype, like archers, knights, or support units. They all have special abilities that they can use, and the Inkulinati Masters have their own set of extremely powerful moves that exist on a cooldown. And players’ goal with all of this is to take out the enemy or objective by any means necessary.
This tried-and-true gameplay loop coupled with Inkulinati‘s unique art style makes for a satisfying experience. However, the tutorial feels like a slog, and some players may also be put off by the rather juvenile humor within. For example, some of the special abilities are directly tied to flatulence or butt jokes. Abilities like rabbits showing their bare bottoms to disorientate their enemies and donkeys farting into trumpets are prevalent. It does not necessarily ruin the experience, yet it may not be what some are looking for.
Overall, Inkulinati can be a fun experience for anyone willing to give it a shot. The art style is incredibly charming, the gameplay is surprisingly deep, and its roguelite Journey Mode can be pretty engaging. However, the game also spends too much time telling players how to play it rather than letting them learn at their own pace. Additionally, the humor, lack of an online mode, and the fact it does not do anything truly groundbreaking with the concept may push some players away. But even with all of that, fans of the genre may still find something to love here.
Inkulinati
Reviewed on PC
Inkulinati is a turn-based strategy game that uses medieval manuscripts as its battlefield. Entering Early Access in January 2023, Yaza Games’ project can be played on PC and Xbox consoles. Once it is fully released, Inkulinati is also expected to launch on the Nintendo Switch.
- Incredibly unique art style
- The roguelite Journey Mode can be a lot of fun
- Deep and engaging combat mechanics
- First few hours are a slog
- Plenty of juvenile humor
- Nothing unique in turn-based gameplay
Inkulinati is available now for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this review.
