Inkulinati is a fun 2D turn-based strategy game that keeps you engaged with its charming animal-drawing combatants and quite complex gameplay of yore.
The medieval era was indeed a great time for the arts. Who could forget the iconic depictions of cats wielding swords or a donkey farting into a trumpet? Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man, I sure wish these silly lil’ guys could fight to the death”? In that case, Inkulinati, the first game developed Yaza Games and published by DAEDALIC Entertainment, might just be the game for you.
In the game, you are an aspiring scribe, known as an Inkulinati, who has long since yearned to become a master of ink. The ink in question isn’t any ordinary medium; it is living ink; this type of ink allows whatever the Inkulinati draws to come to life and battle to the death in the margins of manuscripts.
Combat in Inkulinati works as follows, your Inkulinati must battle against both wild ink beasts and fellow ink masters by drawing various weapon-wielding creatures to do battle. Your fellow Inkulnati have their own living drawings; you can either slay all their enemy units or slay the Inkulnati, which will immediately finish the match in victory.
Every round, you will be able to draw creatures to put onto the battlefield. However, you won’t be able to fight immediately, as suddenly gaining life can leave your doodles a bit tired. Each type of creature you draw has its own set of unique abilities; some creatures heal, others use bows and arrows, and others use swords, pretty standard unit types.
However, what’s not standard is the map. In Inkulinati, the world is entirely 2D, and there are multiple ways to move around each map. This means that obstacles don’t really act as a hindrance to some units and can instead be used to your advantage.
For example, if your opponent has a sword-wielding unit, they cannot attack your spear-wielding if there is an obstacle between you, but your spear-wielding unit can still attack them due to their range. This doesn’t mean that your units are entirely safe, as obstacles can still be destroyed and moved.
One of the most powerful units on the battlefield isn’t any trumpet-wielding fart donkey or spear-wielding fox; it is, in fact, your little Inkulinati. They have the power to move units and obstacles around the map, deal significant damage to enemy units, and even heal units that are damaged. Be careful because whatever you can do on the battlefield, so can your opponent’s Inkulnati.
So far, Inkulinati seems like quite a complex game, right? Well, this is only the tip of the iceberg of what Inkulinati has to offer. You see, at the end of every turn, you gain more living ink, and dotted around the map are small puddles of ink; it is vital that you position your units onto these puddles, so you gain more ink and, can therefore create stronger units that require more ink. Do not overdo it, as if you keep drawing more of the same unit, the next match they will cost more as your Inkulinati has become bored drawing that particular creature.
Be mindful of where you place your units. As mentioned earlier, whatever you can do, so can your opponent. This means if you place a unit on the edge of a page, the enemy Inkulinati will most likely push them off into the void. You can stop this by having a unit pray or by using barrels and obstacles to prevent your unit from being pushed off.
Being pushed off the edge isn’t the only thing you need to worry about. If you take too long to finish a match, a great apocalyptic event will occur along the blank spaces of the page. These events affect both you and your enemies, and for example, if one of your units stands where a flame is about to appear, it’s best if you move them or kiss them goodbye.
For a game with so many layers of complexity, Inkulinati certainly doesn’t look like it. The game is drawn in a style that emulates the look of medieval manuscripts. The colors are muted, earthy, and meant to look like they are made from the natural pigments that actual Inkulinati would have used for their manuscripts.
As for the writing, the game is rather unserious and makes jokes referencing some rather odd occurrences during the Medieval era. Such as dying of dysentery, poking fun at the glaring class differences, or pointing out that you just gave a victory speech to a dog with a bow and arrow. Heck, the game throws in the occasional Monty Python reference. This will surely give you a bit of a chuckle until Hildegard from the Chapel knocks your Inkulinati into the fire for the fourth time in a row, ending the match and losing a quill.
Despite the surprising complexity, the campaign for the game feels a bit lackluster. This isn’t really much of a gripe as the game is currently in Early-Access, which likely means the lackluster campaign will most likely be remedied in the future. As well as gaining more content as the game completes its development, such as new and exciting creatures to draw and battle with.
Inkulinati is a rather unique 2D turn-based strategy game with a surprising amount of complexity; this does mean that the game takes a while for you to fully grasp all its systems and mechanics, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have fun while doing it.
Even though Inkulinati is still an Early Access game, it is a joy to play and can only improve as progress continues. From its unique art style and fun humor to its complex combat that keeps you on your toes, Inkulnati is a game worth checking out.
