Inkshade

A pretty straightforward tactics Inscryption-like, without the awful act 2. Drags on a bit too long, has some unclear puzzles, but oozes heart and passion, and has a pretty cool worldbuilding. Enormous shoutout to the end credits track that is unbelievably good.

Pretty good game for the most part. Beautiful music and visuals. I liked the ending a lot even if I wish there was more to it. I will say my biggest complaints is the narrator talks WWAAAAAYYYY too much and there's no quick way to bypass it, even after you've heard a segment for the 10th time. Also, triple clicking to "pass" a units turn is a terrible way to do that. I keep locking out my units because I'm unsure if I've selected them. Perhaps allow someone to make the unit active again if it passed it's turn without moving or attacking. I've more than once just ended a run because I accidentally passed a unit and that's a terrible feeling.

An amazingly atmospheric game that's addictive in all the right ways. The battles are deliberately too hard starting out, but you quickly rack up the currency needed to upgrade your units and make the battles more manageable. Even by the end of the game, though, there are enough factors left to chance that the battles remain challenging. The meta-narrative is strangely compelling, and the clues that build up to the reveal at the end are perfect. I won't say too much more about this aspect because it would quickly move into spoiler territory. The only thing I'd say this game lacks is robust accessibility//quality of life options. Particularly in the meta narrative, interactable objects (e.g., coins) can appear painfully small on the screen, and at other times, the dramatic light/dark contrast can also make it difficult to identify interactive elements.

Pretty solid game; it takes very heavily from inscription and many others in the genre, but ultimately I thought it was pretty fun – but I was expecting a bit more. The game's progression can be fairly repetitive, and unfortunately the game is not very well optimized so even my fairly powerful system took a toll on some of the maps, leaving me a little dissatisfied. In comparison to Inscryption it has its own spin and does have its own thing going. The problem is the story falls short by a fair margin. The character connections are void, and the ending in my opinion was pretty unfulfilling. Ultimately though, it wasn’t terrible. I say this because I don't have any recommendation as to how the story should have gone. If I ever do I will revisit this review. I guess one redeeming addition to this game would be a kaycee’s mod equivalent. I think some more material into a backstory or some type extension into the play, or even a community extension to self build maps for other players to try could be fun. The game is fun; if you haven’t played Inscryption I would recommend that first. I give credit to the game mechanics that were original and fun; ultimately I would just like to see some more tweaks to what could be a very impressive game, but then again the genre is pretty hard to beat.

I don't think it's possible for me to dislike a Fire Emblem and Inscryption crossover set in a really cool world

Really enjoyable game. Just completed my second playthrough and it has a really nice feel to it. General feel is a dark Lovecraftian-esque. The main gameplay mechanic of a chess like combat between 2-3 parties is fun as it relies on being strategic to keep you pieces alive. If you lose any they are gone for the rest of your run. The world is very mysterious with the only information coming from an unreliable narrator or through context clues as you explore your surroundings, such as ink stains coating the floor near empty sets of armour. The music and sound design is fantastic. The music has a pressure to it even though it isn't overbearing, and every time you attack, or kill, or pick up money or anything has a really satisfying sound. The game is super well made and I definitely look forward to the next game from the developer

There is currently no way to decouple the camera from mouse movement or switch to a manual camera toggle during exploration. The WASD/mouse combination, particularly the "always on" camera movement", makes me incredibly motion sick and so I cannot play the game.

It is not trying to be Insryption. It is amazing as its own game. What you see is what you get. Maybe play with friends with each controlling their own piece, it is pretty fun. I enjoyed it as someone who enjoys puzzles, strategy, and a fun/cool concept for the story.

Easily one of the best games I've ever played. Part Enscryption, part chess. Oh how I wish this game would've never ended. I want more! DLC, sequels, the works! Bravo, Studio Vezelle. 👏 Nothing will ever compare. Absolute masterpiece! Works great on the Steam Deck with some minor button remapping!

Inkshade, a solid 6/10 The first couple hours of the game is by far the most enjoyable as you are getting use to the systems and the fact you can upgrade your pieces mid run prevents restarting runs just because you think you cant progress without upgrades. Not a puzzle game at all though, the puzzles are simplistic and dont require much thought at all bar one. The game is too dark, like i get why parts of it is dark and it is a good addition to the gameplay but the fact my pieces aren't visible in the darkness is just annoying. It doesn't result in me not playing them it just results in me scanning the screen with my mouse. The gameplay feels redundant near the end as there isn't many layers to the gameplay, get a tank and a ranged unit and you've won. I would of liked more use out of the map aswell, the question marks 9 times out of 10 were just lore points masqueraded as random encounters. I genuinely dont know why you do elite encounters, whenever i did them it was just harder for no noticeable reward. TLDR, Fun mix between Fire emblems character permadeath, general gameplay and inscryptions deck building. The game is not a puzzle game and you wont find engaging puzzles within while playing. But it overstays its welcome as it doesn't add new layers to gameplay as you progress.