Preview: Inkulinati

pczone.co.uk:

I became hooked when I saw the unique hand-drawn renaissance aesthetic of Inkulinati. Having played the demo, I have fallen further in love with this title. Why? Grab your flagon of ale, take a seat and let me regale you with details. 

There is no discernable story from the demo I played. The player becomes a Tiny Inkulinati who plays combat games against others he comes across. The Inkulinati is the character played by the knight in the ‘real’ world of the game, and you play as both when you play the game. 

There isn’t much of a story that I could see from the demo. It’s mostly about gameplay. 

The visuals particularly drew us to this title, with the hand-drawn antiquated appearance bringing to life the renaissance style. This title will be an utter joy for anyone who loves the old-fashioned warriors of medieval or renaissance fairs. 

With many games that feature such unique art styles, a question has to be asked: Was the whole budget spent on the visual artists, so there was nothing left for the game designers? The happy answer is no. Far from being a beautiful game with drab, derivative gameplay, Inkulinati is the kind of game that takes the existing turn-based combat genre and does crazy things to make it an entirely fresh experience. 

There are two main dynamics: controlling your Tiny Inkulinati and controlling the hand of the knight. Both are used in many humorous ways to move enemy units away, push them off the battlefield, or attack them. 

Inkulinati is a hilariously fresh and inventive take on a tired old genre, and I can’t wait to try the full version in Winter this year. 

Play the demo on Steam Next Fest on October 3. Release date: “Winter 2022”.