
Inkshade is a turn-based tactics game carved out of strange wooden miniatures, wrapped in a web of locked rooms, and orchestrated by an otherworldly game master. Victory is not guaranteed, and the only constant is the cruel black ink that flows within the pieces.
Modeled estimate, not a reported figure. How we estimate →
About
The creature behind the desk insists that you play their wooden board game. And in this game, you are a captain looking for the mysterious realm known only as the abyss. To reach such a place, you’ll need to conquer a continent, acquire an airship, and sail into cursed skies. Or rather, assemble a crew and have them do it for you.

It will take more than one attempt to defeat the game master and achieve victory, and every run will be different from the last. However, with strategy, tactics, and tenacity, you will be destined to reach your goal.


Refine and upgrade a collection of distinct pieces and deploy them in a turn-based strategy board game. These pieces are your crew, and they will do as you say.
Find new classes of pieces as you solve puzzles and explore the murky chambers beyond the desk. Please ignore the dark stains on the carpet.
Add new pieces to your collection in the middle of each run by recruiting fallen foes. Whether or not they joined voluntarily is irrelevant, since they will bleed for you all the same.
Genres
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Add-ons
Each DLC is estimated with the same model as a game, then summed — a modeled figure, not reported DLC sales.
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 49 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
the vibe and gameplay is cool but stuff is a bit unbalanced and the story rather empty also the battle overview is sometimes very stressful and u have to change the light settings a lot. they should definetely overhaul some stuff and explain the stats more. otherwise a cool game tho would give it a 4/10 game wise but a lot of potential
Some of the most fun I have had playing a game. The combat is unique, challenging and not too grindy. Late game you can get into a rhythm and feel like you are unstoppable, then the finale hits. I love the puzzles and the storytelling. The models and world building are beautiful. I only wish there was more after the finale. If you ever make a sequel or DLC that would be amazing!
Media

Related
Related
Price dynamics, follower growth, revenue and sales trajectories with interactive tooltips
This and every other Pro feature is free until October 20, 2026. A free account is all it takes.
Languages: English
Hours played at review time, across 49 reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Okay, so, I picked this game up because it looked pretty interesting and I enjoyed the demo. Obvious parallels to Inscyption aside, I was willing to give it an honest try on its own terms (because I hated the story of Inscryption). The story of Inkshade kind of hits you over the head to where I feel it would have been better if the Narrator used 'The Captain' instead of 'You' when playing the board game. Sort of bury the lead. By the time we get to the end, we've gotten the point. Thoroughly. The exploration aspect was fun, but the video settings which I never got the hang of ended with moving around the ship giving me motion sickness. Which I suppose is an interesting bit of immersion if I'm getting seasickness playing a game about walking around a ship. Lastly, and I know it's sort of the point, the gameplay board was obscured in darkness and scenery to where I couldn't see my own units' stats or even where they WERE often times. Plus, being able to move the board only so far, I ended up misclicking more often than I was comfortable with- ending turns prematurely, attacking the wrong targets, etc. I know I could tilt and rotate the playspace, but it ended up feeling really clumsy. I would have also liked to see more units with different abilities, perhaps buffing others, AoE, more than just varying degrees of the same seven stats. ALL OF THAT HAVING BEEN SAID. I really did enjoy playing Inkshade. It gave me pretty much exactly what I wanted, and aside from those bits of criticism, it didn't deliberately insult me like Inscryption, Eiyuden Chronicle or Artifact Adventure. I could see myself coming back to Inkshade again and again, especially if I could manage to figure out the aforementioned technical issues.
Juegazo
Just finished, very good
It's PEAK it's like Inscryption and if you like Inscryption you will like this game.
Wonderfully crafted game. Tone, setting, and vibes are all in place, and lots of passion is seen everywhere. Pacing can be slow at times, but that's one of the two only real issues I see with the game. The other issue is how often it crashes. I crash about 2-3 times a session, which is super annoying. Also, if you look at your crew, it's almost a 100% chance to crash. It's not required at all to look at them, so this is passable as a crash. It is quick to open the game back up and continue where you left off though, which makes the crashing more of an annoyance than anything. Otherwise, absolutely wonderful game. I have had a lot of fun playing!
It's like Inscryption but a tactics game instead of a card game. I loved the atmosphere, and our demon "GM" was a perfect blend of creepy and funny. Just be prepared for how dark it is.
Absolutely fantastic; great art design, great structure, great pacing. The tactical side of things - the majority of the gameplay - excels at the slow introduction of new concepts and ideas: it starts off simplistic, maybe even a bit overly so, but it reveals more and more facets to its gameplay as it goes. Each run is paced just right; each run gives you enough resources for overall meta-progression that you feel like you've made significant progress even when you lose (always a make-or-break portion of any roguelike, in my opinion). The framing story, meanwhile, will be a structure familiar to anyone who's played Inscryption - you're playing a game with a shadowy, possibly-supernatural figure and basically have to scour your surroundings for game pieces to give you an edge in 'the game' (the tactics portion of the title). I don't know that the comparison to Inscryption (which Inkshade's not at all shy about inviting) does the game any favors, honestly... but I don't know many games that I'd say compare positively to Inscryption (which I consider an absolute masterpiece), so I follow the logic that if 'you're gonna outright steal (ahem... 'be inspired by'), might as well steal from the best'.
It's a neat looking game, like Inscryption, but you're a captain directing a crew. However, the game gives you no guidance for your journey unlike Leshy. Narrator, you give me excess information about every damn thing I touch in the room, and NO INFORMATION AT ALL when selecting my path for my journey. What the hell? And then you are going to pity me for "going the path to die too soon?" BRUH. Game looks cool, has great potential, but the Devs seem to have put little effort into the experience for a new player. The combat tutorial is useless if you're just going to die on turn one. Teach me the combat in a safer environment. Hell, don't give me the choice in the beginning- FORCE IT. If I am learning the game, I should not have a choice to go into what I assume is hardmode shortcut without properly learning the game's mechanics. Also, keep the controls on screen for the first few combats at least so I can learn them. I can't learn all of the controls in a combat in which I move once, attack once, and DIE. lol TLDR: Inscryption look-alike with potentially cool gameplay, but awful execution in teaching mechanics.
Players by region
Where this game's players are, estimated from review languages.
Related
| Game | Estimated lifetime revenue | Reviews | Review score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $61.6K | 221 | 76% | $14.99 | |
| $9.8K | 36 | 81% | $9.99 | |
| $5.4K | 12 | 100% | $14.99 | |
| — | 0 | — | — | |
| — | 0 | — | — | |
| — | 0 | — | — |
Related
| Game | Estimated lifetime revenue | Reviews | Review score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $421.9K | 611 | 84% | $29.99 | |
| $421.9K | 533 | 91% | $24.99 | |
| $422.4K | 1.8K | 91% | $9.99 | |
| $422.5K | 476 | 57% | $24.99 | |
| $422.5K | 475 | 68% | $29.99 | |
| $422.6K | 1.3K | 81% | $14.99 |