Inkbound lays the groundwork for a great co-op roguelike

polygon.com:

You have to respect a game that calls its villains Villains. It doesn’t get much clearer than that.

Inkbound, which will be released in early access on May 22, is the latest title from Shiny Shoe, developer of Monster Train. Described as a turn-based, co-op roguelike, Inkbound is a game that invites one to overuse the verb “meets.” Alas, I am compelled: Inkbound is Hades meets Diablomeets Into the Breach, with the tiniest splash of Fortnite thrown in for good measure.

Let’s start with Hades, as, structurally, it’s the most obvious point of inspiration. Inkbound is a narrative-driven, action roguelike from a top-down perspective, strewn with characters who give you tasks to accomplish on your many runs through its storybook locales. There’s the Silent Promenade, which isn’t as serene as its name suggests, as well as the Proving Grounds, which, yeah, no, definitely made me prove my ability. After every run, you return to the Atheneum, a hub-area-slash-library that, for a book nerd like me, seems super cozy, despite the apocalyptic trappings. The story goes: Every book ever written is kept in the Atheneum, but — but — they’re at risk of being destroyed forever, as the aforementioned Villains sap them of their ink, causing them to fade.

Yes, yes, but gameplay. You play initially as one of three classes: the Magma Miner, the Mosscloak, or the Weaver. The Magma Miner is a tank that can stack ability power and shields. The Mosscloak is a kind of rogue, with a focus on comboing dashes and shuriken throws. The Weaver is a take on the traditional mage that connects enemies with threads, setting them up to take more damage with each new enemy threaded. In the pre-release build I played, two additional classes unlock after