Monster Train Developer Announces Inkbound, A Co-Op Mishmash Of ARPGs, Tactics, And Roguelikes

Developer Shiny Shoe, the indie group behind 2020’s Monster Train, has introduced its subsequent sport and it’s known as Inkbound. 

Revealed as we speak with a flowery new trailer that showcases gameplay and cinematics from the sport, Shiny Shoe describes Inkbound as a combination of motion RPGs, ways video games, and roguelikes. It seems to be nice, too, and you may test it out for your self within the announcement trailer under: 

“Inkbound takes players on a journey through procedurally generated storybook worlds, battling monsters that are set on unraveling the nature of reality itself,” a press launch reads. “Players can dive in solo or party up via online co-oop in hybrid real-time/turn-based encounters. All the while, heroes become more powerful the deeper they progress in each roguelike run.”

The sport is about to hit Steam Early Access someday in 2023. It takes place in an space generally known as The Atheneum, which Shiny Shoes says is a “world that contains all the stories that have ever been written.” There, something that’s written in Ink can turn into actual. This consists of nightmare carnivals, historic ruins accompanied by volcanic annihilation, and extra. Players will tackle the roles of Binders, who’re characters charged with sustaining these tales, and so they can go wherever at any time as long as it has been written earlier than in Ink. 

The developer says the fight system blends the brawls of ARPGs with the deep technique of a ways sport, and you may in all probability already see how The Atheneum units the sport up properly as a roguelike. Combat turns are “snappy and quick, but players can slow down and take time to fully evaluate their current threats,” selecting optimum occasions to both rush enemies for large melee strikes or higher place themselves for ranged assaults. 

“Inkbound is not a card game, however, like Monster Train, you’re creating and upgrading a build to change the way you engage with each roguelike run,” Shiny Shoe artistic director Andrew Krausnick writes in a press launch. “Fans will notice that Inkbound shares DNA with Monster Train, but we expanded upon what we learned making that title, to create a richly different experience, which also combines our love of co-op games and ARPGs.”

Shiny Shoe explains Inkbound has been constructed round co-op gameplay in that Binders can work collectively to debuff enemies and subsequently hit them with follow-up assaults. Or, quite the opposite, a Binder can select to hold again, opting as a substitute to concentrate on protecting the occasion healed up. Because it’s a roguelike sport, each run might be totally different and co-op modifications that much more, though the creators say co-op just isn’t required (however it will likely be rewarded!). 

“We cultivated an incredible community with Monster Train, so with Inkbound, we wanted to explore ways to approach that shared experience within a new genre,” Shiny Shoe CEO Mark Cooke writes within the press launch. “Our goal is to give Binders new surprises to discover every week – whether it’s deadly new enemies, powerful loot, or even entirely new biomes. And that’s the mission statement of Shiny Shoe. We want to attract a base of players who love our games and find new reasons to keep playing them so that they’re remembered fondly 20 years from now.” 

While ready to study extra, learn Game Informer’s Monster Train review. 

Are you excited for Inkbound? Let us know within the feedback under!