Thank you Leap Studio for providing us with a preview code!

In Realm of Ink you play as Red, a warrior who finds herself trapped within a destiny that she has no control of.  She wants to break free of this fate and forge her own way.  With the help of her pet Momo, and the gift of immortality by a fox-like goddess named Miss Ching, Red sets out to free herself from the Story Realm once and for all.   

True to Roguelite games, Realm of Ink is designed to be played many times over while slowly revealing the story and hanging a carrot in front of the player to defeat the Book Spirit again to help Red live the life she dreams of.  Even if her freedom is granted temporarily before being dropped back off at Miss Ching’s inn.

At the inn Red can talk to various characters whose fighting styles she shape-shifts into.  Previous adventures are archived and can be looked at for reference.  Earlier versions of the game had an area called Animitta’s Sanctum, however it’s currently closed until further notice.  As a result, some Steam achievements are impossible to get until it’s enabled again.  

There’s an altar called the “Divine Decree of the Peach God” and you can unlock traders and inventory refreshes for future game runs.  At the Talent Stele, Red can permanently get damage modifiers, buff duration increases, and better item drop rates.  You can reset and re-distribute the points if you change your mind on your previously enabled modifiers.  

Red can assume the likeness and fighting styles of different characters residing at the inn.  Some are melee based while others rely on ranged attacks.  Momo’s fighting style and appearance are dependent on the elemental affinity of the two inks Red has equipped.  The elements include earth, fire, water, and metal.  If leveled up, many inks spawn additional pets to attack on your behalf.  Leveled up ink also unlocks a powerful attack.  Always level up your ink if you can afford to do so!

When starting a run, Red will be transported to the first realm with a random ink and perk drop.  If you have unlocked the trader, you can buy an additional ink and perk right away.  I like the perk that randomly inflicts three curses on your foes that get close to Red.  The auto-deploying shield and rotating orbs are nice to have equipped as well.  

After clearing a room’s waves of enemies, loot like ink, elixirs, silver, or perks may appear on the ground.  You can also damage nearby items for the chance to earn more silver or regain some health.  When leaving an area you’ll often get the choice of multiple rooms to advance to.  Some rooms focus on silver drops while others will drop elixirs or perks instead.  There are some trial rooms that drop better loot if you can survive the tougher enemies and protect a structure for a short amount of time.   

There’s always a marketplace area that’s right before a boss.  In this area you can level up your inks, eat food to restore health, or buy upgrades if you have enough coin.  Talking to the merchants and bosses will increase your relationship with them.  You’ll earn Steam achievements after talking to them multiple times.    

The boss battles differ and some bosses have multiple forms while others do not.  A couple of the bosses have you clearing our their lesser forms before you can fight them directly.  Upon their demise you’ll get all kinds of loot and a healing elixir to strengthen you for the continuation of your journey.  

Realm of Ink is undergoing many changes and balancing updates.  A configuration you like now may be weakened in the next update or vice versa with previously weakened builds now stronger.   Voice acting is being refined and is pretty good.  I absolutely love the inked art style and hope it remains intact.  

Morally, there are some concerns worth noting.  Violence is present, but there isn’t any blood.  There are many references to gods and Buddha.  Some of the female characters wear outfits that reveal their cleavage.  During one of the ending scenes Red is shown as naked but covered by animals in strategically placed spots.  

If you’re on the fence about buying this game, there’s a demo available.  As of this preview, there are sixty-two Steam achievements available with many of them being focused on completing the game using the different forms for Red and Momo.  There are currently five levels of difficulty and the harder modes have better loot drops.  With the constant game updates, I wouldn’t be surprised if more realms and difficulties are added over time.