
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.
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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.
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English
Engagement
Hours played at review time, across 43 reviews with recorded playtime.
Reviews
Themes across 43 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Reviews
Amazing worldbuilding. So mysterious!
Molto carino, ispirato chiaramente ad Inscryption pur discostandosene in un certo qual modo. Del primo conserva il mix fra escape room, racconto e roguelike. Al posto delle carte avrete pupazzi di legno che raffigurano membri del vostro equipaggio, ma il concetto alla base è il medesimo. Le battaglie si svolgono su un tavolo con degli scenari a tasselli e in stile legno. Molto misterioso all'inizio, inquietante e carico di suspence, per le riuscitissime sessioni da escape room in cui dovrete esplorare le stanze e risolvere piccoli puzzles e rompicapo per entrare in possesso di premi che vi consentiranno di proseguire o di oggetti necessari per raggiungere il termine. La storia è raccontata attraverso una tecnica metanarrativa abbastanza efficace, caricando il giocatore di tensione e aspettative ...che a mio avviso però vengono in buona parte deluse sul finale. Non mi aspettavo un colpo di scena alla Inscryption, ma dopo tanta suspence sicuramente avrei curato molto molto di più il finale, offrendo qualcosa in più sia da un punto di vista narrativo che visivo. Ma questo spesso è una caratteristica di questa tipologia di giochi, in cui il viaggio è dieci volte meglio della meta in sè. Lato grafico nonostante la pochezza delle animazioni e dello scenario, ho trovato il motore grafico ingiustificatamente pesante. Il gameplay non è difficile ed è impostato per la progressione morte dopo morte, raccogliendo denaro e potenziando l'equipaggio al punto da renderlo quasi invincinbile. Lato sonoro invece è stato fatto un lavoro incredibile. Sentirete suoni di ogni tipo, scricchiolii, sinistri versi, sussulterete più volte mentre andate in giro per le stanze; consiglio di giocarlo con un ottimo paio di cuffie per esaltare l'esperienza. L'inglese utilizzato è abbastanza scolastico quindi nessun problema, ma è consigliata una comprensione basilare dei testi. Tutto sommato lo consiglio, è sicuramente da provare se volete qualcosa di diverso dai soliti giochi, senza aspettarvi però chissà cosa.
Fun little game, with nice game mechanics.
A helpful guide on how to piss off your ttrpg Game master ! Great game !
Great dark atmospheric theme, i enjoyed the game throughly. Well balanced, rightfully challenging and with enjoyable puzzles and strategies to take. If anything i just wasn't satisfied with the ending, though hey, it's got some irony in it and mayhaps we did have it coming. Aye captain, until next time <33
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Loved the game. Two things I would have appreciated: - undo button at the end of each unit's turn - more reward for improving units outside of your core team
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!
Eventually I will keep trying to get somewhere close to the Roguelite experience that clearly exists beyond this really unpleasant beginning but -- YUCK! Every button push has the dull narrator that is resting entirely upon the implications of a different game yank your camera away from the environmental storytelling that was of actual interest in said different game. This narrator who, again, you have no connection with or even hint of understanding of is one that is just an insult machine. Lesh-dog at least kept the majority of the rude behavior for other narrative figures in the game. This, I suppose, does a better job of presenting what it is like to be held hostage by a sociopath. Making a player walk through the mechanics via fail states is annoying since, don't worry gurl -- I will probably fail all on my own. What's the worst that would happen? You have tell a story off rails in the first hour of a game? In a ROUGELITE?_? How ever would they figure out how to do some sort of modular storytelling based upon a gameplay loop? It's just an entirely strange choice to make. So, no, I don't think that this game does itself any favors in this opening section that indeed, I just find myself getting annoyed at whenever I try to engage with. I don't think that others should slog through it either. I think that there's some very large, glaring and easy changes to what *squints at clock* is hopefully only the first hour~ of tutorialization. I don't get the impression that this is the sort of production team that self-reflects or takes advice from plebs, but anything is possible in the world of video games so fingers crossed. You'll know if you're someone who finds bad tutorials a deal breaker or not and this, for me at least, is one of the worst because it includes reading insults from, again, the figure who has literally trapped me into the situation both within the narrative and in actuality via game design that I find hard to believe wasn't critiqued more harshly prior to release. Only some attachment to 'atmosphere' that's full blown toxic smog explains it having remained in this state through into full release.
Very immersive and satisfying to play
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Trends
Concurrent players on Steam, sampled daily since tracking started.
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.
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