Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    EA Sports Madden NFL 26 Head Coach But Why Tho 5

    Dear EA Sports, Why Can’t I Make A Hot Coach?

    08/14/2025
    Blade in Marvel Rivals Season 3.5

    Blade Can Shut Down The Other Team In Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 If You Know How

    08/08/2025
    John Cena and Cody Rhodes during Summerslam 2025

    The SummerSlam 2025 Main Event Was A Fever Dream We All Needed

    08/08/2025
    Street Fighter 6 Sagat

    Sagat Brings Depth And Approachability To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    08/07/2025
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » PC » EARLY ACCESS REVIEW: ‘Inkbound’ Takes Roguelikes Online (PC)

EARLY ACCESS REVIEW: ‘Inkbound’ Takes Roguelikes Online (PC)

Kyle FoleyBy Kyle Foley05/18/20234 Mins Read
Inkbound — But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Inkbound — But Why Tho

Fresh off their hit game Monster Train, developers Shiny Shoe are determined to take their distinct approach to games online with Inkbound. Billed as an online multiplayer roguelike, Inkbound is a turn-based approach to the roguelike genre with a beautiful coat of pain that has some real potential. For an early access game sure to continue to grow, what I’ve seen so far inspires confidence.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

In the world of Inkbound, players are tasked with entering various stories located in the Atheneum library to travel to other worlds. Each book in the library represents a different world with unique challenges and enemies to overcome. This gives a great amount of variety and replayability for players looking for new ways to clear challenging fights in an ever-expanding world.

Once players enter a new world, they are faced with increasingly challenging battles. These battles take place in a turn-based setting that allows players the freedom to move around in real-time while selecting the moves they want to use. It is a neat little system that didn’t take me long to get the hang of, and it already feels quite polished right off the bat. One of the most underrated parts of this combat system is that different moves will flash with a flame emblem to let players know the next time they use the move, it will be a critical hit. This useful piece of information helped me plan out my attacks in the most efficient way possible. It’s small additions like that that will make combat easier to pick up for more casual players, which is an excellent way to grow the potential player base.

Growing a player base is going to be vital for Inkbound since the game is not nearly as approachable when playing solo. That is not to say that the game is not worth playing on your own, but the experience of playing with friends was exponentially better than playing by myself. Being able to sync up attacks with a full squad of four was extremely satisfying.

The downside of this is that, in its current state, there is no easy way to form a party with strangers. It is something Shiny Shoe has already said they are working on, so I expect that experience to change very soon, but from the start, it is really only feasible to play with a pre-formed party of friends. An upgraded matchmaking system will also only be useful if the player pool grows, but the core combat and setting of Inkbound have me confidently believing the game will see a relatively strong base of players.

Where Inkbound really blew me away was the presentation. I knew going in that not everything was going to be perfect mechanically, but I did not expect the actual game to look so polished. The art direction for the characters and settings will be familiar to fans of Monster Train, but Shiny Shoe really took things up a notch here with excellent 3D animation. There is also some really great voice acting that Shiny Shoe has already said will have even more lines added going forward. The great performances really help make the world come to life and such a whimsical and enjoyable way.

Inkbound has a ton of potential as an early access game with a solid gameplay loop and beautiful animation. It will need a strong player base if the online focus is going to pay off, but what I have seen makes me really excited for players to see the wonderful world Shiny Shoe has created.

Inkbound launches in early access on Steam on May 22nd.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘LEGO 2K Drive’ Is Classic LEGO Fun (XSX)
Next Article Hexworks Announces Release Date of Lords of the Fallen
Kyle Foley

Kyle is an editor, writer, and musician from Orlando, FL who primarily covers soccer as well as video games and anime. He also believes mayonnaise is the best condiment for hot dogs, which are sandwiches.

Related Posts

Sword of the Sea promotional key art from giant Squid
10.0

REVIEW: ‘Sword Of The Sea’ Offers Hopeful Environmentalism

08/18/2025
Archon of Prophecy Content Pack key art
8.0

DLC REVIEW: ‘Archon Prophecy’ Takes Age Of Wonders 4 Celestial

08/13/2025
TIny Bookshop promotional image
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Tiny Bookshop’ Holds Space For The Written Word

08/08/2025
No Sleep For Kaname Date - promotional still from Spike Chunsoft
8.0

REVIEW: ‘No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files’ Is Simply A Great Entry

08/05/2025
Demon Slayer - The HinoKami Chronicles 2 promotional image from SEGA
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2’ Is A Solid Sequel For Fans

08/05/2025
Key art for Ninja Gaiden Ragebound
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’ Is Excellent Nostalgic Chaos

07/30/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Still from Shin Godzilla
8.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘Shin Godzilla’ Is More Relevant Than Ever

By Sarah Musnicky08/16/2025Updated:08/17/2025

It is understandable how Shin Godzilla succeeded at the box office nearly a decade ago. The strength of its story still stands today.

Botanical Bliss Update Palia But Why Tho 5 News

Palia’s New Botanical Bliss Update Brings New Flora, Decorations, And Quest Mechanic

By Matt Donahue08/18/2025Updated:08/18/2025

The Botanical Bliss update adds new event, more plushes, and a host of quality-of-life improvements and more to celebrate 2 years of Palia.

BOOTS Netflix First Look promotional images News

First Look at Coming-of-Age Story BOOTS, Coming to Netflix This October

By But Why Tho?08/17/2025

Netflix is reporting for duty this fall with the new eight-episode series BOOTS, a comedic drama starring Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga

Nuestra Magia Secret Lair Art Interviews

EXCLUSIVE: How The ‘Nuestra Magia’ Secret Lair Found Its Identity And Raised Over $1M

By Kate Sánchez08/15/2025Updated:08/15/2025

We spoke with Ovidio Cartagena about Magic: The Gathering’s Nuestra Magia Secret Lair drop, its impact, and the real treasure within.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here