Останні рецензії користувача AtomicMushroom

Inkbound is an amazing hidden gem of strategy games. The builds and playable characters are diverse and interesting.

If you like turn based strategy games, definitely give this one a go.

At its core this game is a mix between a puzzle (15%), adventure (15%), and trading card game (70%). It does all of these with some grace, but the element that truly captures your attention is the story. The real secret to this game is that it's 100% about the story. The other parts inevitably turn into grindy filler. Don't expect to play this game more than once.

For the first 2-4 hours I was very intrigued with this game and wanted to uncover its secrets. After the first "act", things gradually became less polished and interesting.

While I appreciate the artistic direction and story this game displayed, I ultimately came out of it feeling like it was shallow and anti-climatic. Was it a fun ride? Sometimes, but unfortunately the pack just wasn't worth the crack.

TLDR: This game currently has TONS of balancing issues making it way too easy, and also boasts some wonky mechanics that initially piqued my interest but after playing I found them shallow. They tried to do something new but in its current state it comes off as awkward and ultimately boring. There are some clear deck building paths that make your journey bland and uninspiring (basically passive buffs that turn you into a mindless clicking god).

Another Early Access card game I much preferred to this was Fate Hunters - very well balanced, great strategy, good deck building, much better permadeath, engaging boss fights, and much more fun.

For Devs (gameplay fixes):

In its current state this game is TOO EASY. I didn't find the builds very exciting or fun, as I was steam rolling everything the first play through with each character: discard mage deck and "draw"/bleed/ash combo for rogue. The only part that was any challenge was the very beginning of my first play-through while I was learning cards and understanding game mechanics/enemies. Anything beyond the first half of the first chapter is mindlessly simple. If you clear most/all of the dungeons you'll be easily maxed out. I found myself avoiding fights purely to beat the game quicker out of boredom, not to avoid death/time running out (or fight them for fun/loot).

The ash events need more interesting mechanics or visuals, as I was just blowing through them without looking after the first couple.

Movement on the map should be quicker (literal time it takes to move one space to another, especially in the dungeon) and more compelling. I should feel that each move matters (moreso outside dungeons) and I found myself at times just moving aimlessly since I already had maxed everything out and I'm just waiting for the boss to approach. It should be the other way around, I should feel my movement must be strategic in order to get the things I want (not be able to have it all).

The need to constantly rebuild your deck after a fight became annoying quickly. At the very least there should be cards you can favorite, be able to sort the cards, and exclude certain cards from showing (like Ash cards, since why would you EVER want them in your battle deck?).

There's a lot of work to do, but I'm sure you can make it a compelling game. You may need to rethink some mechanics - Is this actually interesting or does this feel "blah"? I'd consider removing the permadeath (seems pointless anyway), is there ever a reason to have a smaller deck (make some reasons), make the endgame buffs less broken (give small stat boosts), etc.

Right now your biggest issue is balance, too easy = no fun. With your current setup: Up the cost of EVERYTHING by 1.5 times, or make it harder to gain resources by 1.5 times. Make the enemies 1.25-1.5 times stronger in the 2nd half of the 1st Chapter (maybe after 3-5 battles), 2-4 times stronger in the 2nd Chapter, 4-6 times stronger in the 3rd Chapter. It feels like you went Darkest Dungeon ExtraLite, with Ash Pact/Life cost and permadeath mechanics that are pointless while making resources abundant and fights effortless. Or instead of increasing the difficulty that way, there needs to be card limits on Ash cards and others (like Draw cards). Or maybe a deck limit... Decrease the amount of time you can wander the map (dungeons should be MOSTLY unaffected, but maybe increase current time lapse by 2 upon exit), don't take the player to camp before a boss or only allow 3-5 actions, and many more...

Good Luck