Inkbound is an upcoming rouge-like turn-based game. It is being developed and published by Shiny Shoe. They are also the makers of the card game, Monster Train which is the inspiration for the world of Inkbound. The game will share similar features and mechanics from its predecessor. This immense world will give players a feel of adventure bearing the elements people enjoy from Monster Train.  Players will be able to explore in the game freely as an action game. But when it is time to combat foes, the game will change screens and initiate a turn-based combat system set up.

You love Inkbound, but did you know that it’s inspired by the our first game: @TheMonsterTrain? Mark Cooke explores both games in this latest video on #YouTube https://t.co/NQHP5RYkc6#inkbound #indiedev #indiegames #roguelikegame #multiplayer #pcgaming #roguelite #IndieGameDev

— Inkbound (@PlayInkbound) March 16, 2023

A new gameplay trailer has been published diving into the mechanics of the game. The CEO of Shiny Shoe, Mark Cooke breaks down the core of the game and explains to viewers the content we can expect from Inkbound. He starts of by explaining how they weaved together Monster Train and Inkbound. Monster Train was about creating different combinations of cards, artifacts and upgrades for taking on foes. Cooke says, “We want players to feel the density of interesting decisions and experience the pay off of going from weakling to God over the course of a strategic rouge like run.”

He goes on to explain the similar combat systems. Although the game has an appearance of an action role-playing game it will have a turn-based engine. Players will move around and select bindings to cast and aim. Players will only be able to perform these actions so long as they have enough resources called Will. In order to have a fluid feel in battle, the game was designed so players are able to move freely inside of the battle constraints and attack similar to a MOBAS game. When it comes to the speed of the game, players can either take their time to come up with combinations or go fast if decisions come easy to players.

When it comes to upgrades, players were able to upgrade champions in Monster Train. Inkbound, players can ascend their bindings in run, changing how they function. Each ascension has a new additional effect that can also earn drops in battle. Similar to the artifact system in Monster Train, players will chose a vestige item and an ability item. For rewards, players would defeat The Collector to earn coins. In Inkbound, players will need to defeat quilling pop to get currency. Inkbound will have a tracking system like its predecessor. The logbook will record progress across various objectives in the game. It will take many challenging gameplay hours to complete these objects.

Inkbound is scheduled to be released May 22, 2023, on Steam and is currently available for early access.