Inkulinati: funny name for a promising game! Try the Demo.
Inkulinati is a turn-based strategy inspired by medieval marginalia, which attracted attention yes for its peculiar artistic style, but also for its very particular title. Apparently the developers were aware of the effect it would have in our language and despite everything they decided to go on without changing it.
Beyond the name, the first Inkulinati test highlighted an experience that was not only irreverent, but also extremely original. The Inkulinates are people who can manipulate ink as they please, so much so that it comes to life and exploits it to fight epic battles: the only weapons they need are inkwells, goose feathers and a strategic mind.
On the blank page of a manuscript, which in a short time turns into a ferocious battlefield where the clash can take on more or less noble tones. Each trick is valid to win, and defeating an opponent allows you to learn the secret techniques of drawing and have access to numerous units on the field: the goal is to build the ideal army to put the close personalities of the caliber of San Francesco, Dante Alighieri.
And even Death itself. In addition to choosing the level through a standard difficulty modifier, the player can also determine the starting ink points and how many turns must pass before the Apocalypse. Easy, normal or difficult are modes that directly impact the artificial intelligence, making it start the game with a different amount of ink points.Although there is no real story to follow, you proceed step by step by unlocking new elements from game to game .
The characters featured in the demo are Sir Godfrey, Sister Hildegarde and the Master. Finally, the Master is a decent middle ground, able to increase the accuracy of a unit, along with the damage, and give it another opportunity to act in case it has already consumed its turn.
The game is to defeat the opponent, bringing his health to zero or pushing him over the edge of the page or, again, into the flames of the Apocalypse. The combat takes place from one end of the book to the other and the two sides represent the playing field of each character: here you lay the foundations of your strategy and draw the troops to be sent to the assault, arranging them according to the range of the Inkulinati: Each unit requires a specific number of ink points to be put into play and, beyond the initial ones, it is possible to collect others by stopping on the spots that occasionally appear on the pages.
Often it is more appropriate to give up the offensive to appropriate as many points as possible, not only to be able to draw more powerful troops but above all to prevent the opponent from doing the same. There is no limit to the amount of actions that the Inkulinates can perform, as long as they are available, unlike their units which are limited to moving, attacking or using a particular ability.
They all have melee, long-range, support and special units in their ranks - those soldiers who cost a lot of ink but pay back with equal pain to anyone who stands in their way. Each level features a different battlefield, more hand-crafted. as the adventure progresses and new elements are unlocked: it is possible that the clash also develops on several floors and in that case it is necessary to make good use of the stairs to understand how to manage the fight.
From the explosive ones to others that obstruct the range of the archers, up to the most fearsome and important of all: the flames of the Apocalypse. From turn to turn they will occupy a space, setting fire to the next and definitively eliminating anyone who stops there.
Nothing prevents you from giving a good push to some enemy and accidentally throwing them into the flames. If losing a unit might be acceptable, the master draftsman should avoid such an end. Thinking outside the box, taking into account not only the soldiers but also those who maneuver them and how they might react, is the key to a not so obvious success; even in normal mode, in fact, you are cornered on several occasions, only to be defeated in a very poor way.
In Inkulinati there is much more strategy than the name suggests. Yaza Games gives life to an artistically very particular and beautiful game to behold but above all profound in spite of its contained nature: the boundaries of the world are the two sides of a manuscript but what happens inside them is so unpredictable as to make you forget these narrowness Reinterpreting the narrowing of the arena typical of battle royale, creating a series of variegated troops of which we have only seen a small part and seasoning everything with an irony transmitted more by the drawings and animations than by a few words, the battle for becoming the Grand Master of the Inkulinates is only at the beginning ..
