| Realm of Ink | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gameplay & Story | Release Date | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Realm of Ink is a roguelite that features incredible build depth and variety. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Realm of Ink Review Overview
What is Realm of Ink?
Realm of Ink is a roguelite real-time RPG that engages in thrilling battles and experiments with various combinations to shape combat identity. You’ll be able to take control of three dynamic characters: the unmatched Swordswoman Red, the Nightmare Hunter Wang Ding, and the Fox Judge Ning Ye.
Realm of Ink features:
⚫︎ Isometric action
⚫︎ Seventeen Ink Gems to pair
⚫︎ Nine different forms for the protagonist, each with different playstyles
⚫︎ Nine bosses
⚫︎ Multiple difficulty levels
⚫︎ Multiple endings
⚫︎ An Endless Mode
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Realm of Ink's gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts |
|---|
 Steam |
| Wishlist Only |
Realm of Ink Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Enough Builds To Drop Jaws Combat Is Surprisingly Simple Insane Replayability |
Lacks a Lot of Quality-of-Life Features Jarring English Localization |
Realm of Ink Overall Score - 88/100
Realm of Ink is a game of possibilities. It feels deliberately designed to make players sink dozens of hours into exploring every build and satisfying that gamer hunger for big numbers. And it works. Every session feels unique, and the rewards for getting the builds right is immense. Now, if only the developers add more bosses and randomize their rotations, it could make the experience even better.
Realm of Ink Story - 7/10
Realm of Ink’s story is decent. It has a conflict, provides a solution, and follows Red’s journey as she fights tooth and nail for the conclusion she desires. Much of the world-building is tucked away in an optional log that you can access at any time if you're curious. The pace, as a result, is constantly moving, just as any action-packed game should. However, one immersion-breaking issue is that, even after multiple runs, certain interactions still imply first-time encounters with characters you've already met repeatedly. This is especially weird for major support characters that are designed to be Red’s close acquaintances.
Realm of Ink Gameplay - 10/10
Realm of Ink's gameplay can be described in many ways, with most of those descriptions being compliments. It’s entry-friendly, surprisingly challenging, extremely replayable, simple in structure yet complex in possibilities. Although it lacks a few quality-of-life features, such as a skip cutscene button or a way to preview upgrades in shops without exiting the prompt, the game is still deeply engaging and rewarding. It’s the kind of game that will keep you hooked for way longer than is healthy.
Realm of Ink Visuals - 10/10
Beyond its beautifully crafted artwork that justifies its price and theme, Realm of Ink’s visuals are a treat for any action enthusiast with a taste for aesthetics. The visual effects are not only spectacularly satisfying, but the hand-painted 2D artwork seamlessly blends with the 3D environment. It's one of the few action games where, despite the egregious visual clutter of its later stages, you can still make sense of what’s happening on screen.
Realm of Ink Audio - 7/10
Despite the awkward English voice acting (just pick the original Chinese voice acting), the overall sound design in Realm of Ink is quite good. The sound effects are decently punchy. That is, it’s not overpowering, but it could be better. The background tracks, on the other hand, is a mix of memorable and forgettable tracks, though mostly leaning toward the former. At the end of the day, while the entire experience doesn’t particularly stand out, it does its job well enough.
Realm of Ink Value for Money - 10/10
There’s no doubt Realm of Ink deserves a perfect score in terms of value for money. The sheer variety of character and build combinations, multiple endings, and the additional roguelike mode that complements its main roguelite gameplay provide immense depth and, dare I say it, many hours down the drain. And on top of that, the game is already teasing even more content to come.
Realm of Ink Review: A Work of Art
It doesn’t take much to fall in love with Realm of Ink. A single successful run will do the trick, unless you become infatuated with it even earlier, like I did.
Realm of Ink has achieved an incredible balance of nearly everything one could want from a game. It’s accessible, requiring only six buttons to play, and it starts off very easy. But does it offer a challenge? Yes. Higher difficulties can be quite frustrating to beat. And how about build variety? Honestly, you’re more likely to exhaust every ending the game has before you run out of viable equipment and perk combinations to try.
The crux of Realm of Ink’s excellence lies in the most important part of any roguelite: the gameplay. You play as Red, a taciturn woman who seeks to free herself from the whims of the Book Spirit’s world. To do so, she must defeat the Book Spirit’s four realm keepers and their minions, with the help of her trusty Ink Pet, Momo.
Combat revolves around the usual loop of attacking enemies and dodging their attacks. Shocking, I know. However, you can also obtain items called Ink Gems. Each provides a passive and an active skill that heavily shapes your playstyle. For example, the Shield Ink’s passive effect allows you to deal heavy damage to enemies whenever you are attacked. You can hold up to two of these Ink Gems at a time, and they can be upgraded by decomposing unwanted ones into inkstones and spending them in safe zones.
Currently, there are seventeen different Ink Gems (unless I’ve somehow missed one after 10-odd hours of playing). None of them overlap in functionality, despite some having similar effects. Since you can equip two at a time, it’s easy to imagine how these playstyle-defining items can influence your build.
Realm of Ink’s build variety doesn’t end with Ink Gems. Red can assume different forms by donning the skins (yes, skins) of other characters. This completely changes her playstyle, ranging from the speed-focused skin of Violetta to the strength and tenacity of General Gor. With nine skins to choose from, that’s a lot of playstyles to choose from, especially when you factor in the numerous Ink Gem combinations available for each.
As if that weren’t enough to keep the game from becoming stale, Realm of Ink also features multiple difficulty levels, different endings, and even a roguelike mode. Yes, a roguelike mode within a roguelite game. Dubbed “Endless Mode,” it lets you use the Ink Gems and upgrades you’ve obtained from previous runs and places you in an area where endless hordes of enemies spawn. As you level up, you can choose random upgrades, fulfilling the genre’s requirements.
It’s easy to sink dozens of hours into this game. Personally, I’ve been sneaking in a run or two every lunchtime since I got it, as well as between games of Eternal Return at night. It’s insanely fun, and even unhealthy at times.
Pros of Realm of Ink
| Things Realm of Ink Got Right |
|---|
|
Enough Builds To Drop Jaws Combat Is Surprisingly Simple Insane Replayability |
Enough Builds To Drop Jaws
Between the game’s seventeen Ink Gems and Red’s nine forms, you’re more likely to unlock all the game’s endings before fully exploring even half of the possible character builds Realm of Ink has to offer. Sure, some of Red’s forms may benefit from specific Ink Gem combinations to maximize their unique traits, but you’re not restricted to specializing solely in her strengths. You can also use complementary Ink Gem pairs to create entirely different, versatile playstyles.
My favorite Ink Gem pair is a great example of something that works well on any character. It combines the Shield Ink, which damages enemies every time you take damage and is strengthened if you have a shield, with the Quake Ink, which grants a massive shield that scales with your health. Every one of Red’s forms—from the slow, powerful General Gor to the speed-focused Violetta—can benefit from the increased attrition proficiency that these two Ink Gems provide.
And that’s not even the end of the story. The game is already hinting at upcoming skin upgrades, which will further expand the number of builds you can experiment with.
Combat Is Surprisingly Simple
Even with the variety of builds you can random number generator (RNG) yourself into, the game never overwhelms you with more than three things to manage at any given time. That’s because the Ink Gems, which might seem like they would complicate things at first glance, actually refine your playstyle into specific routines.
For example, using the Shield Ink to retaliate against attacks and the Quake Ink to create shields can severely narrow down your options from having to juggle between attacking with normal and heavy attacks, dodging incoming enemy fire, and utilizing your character’s unique abilities to simply having to maintain your shields by spamming Ink Skills and letting the enemy die from retaliation damage.
If anything, the game is actually more complex at the start, before you acquire a synergistic pair of Ink Gems.
Insane Replayability
Aside from the variety of builds you can experiment with for each character, allowing for a unique experience in every run, the game also features multiple endings that you gradually unlock as you progress through the main story. The story unfolds slowly as you achieve success, making each victory more rewarding than just a quick dopamine hit.
The game also has multiple difficulty levels that scale up every time you clear the highest setting, allowing you to unlock much harder versions of the game. It’s a great way to test the viability of your builds in increasingly challenging situations.
However, the feature that offers the most replayability is the Endless Mode. Simply put, it’s a roguelike mode that uses the Ink Gems and upgrades you’ve obtained from completing a stage and pits you against endless hordes of enemies. You gain access to more upgrades as you level up in this mode, which vary with each run. In other words, it’s a roguelike within a roguelite!
Cons of Realm of Ink
| Things That Realm of Ink Can Improve |
|---|
|
Lacks a Lot of Quality-of-Life Features Jarring English Localization |
Lacks a Lot of Quality-of-Life Features
Considering the number of repetitions that roguelites like Realm of Ink demand from players, being able to quickly navigate through menus, dialogues, and cutscenes makes the experience far more enjoyable than having to slog through them as often as the gameplay itself. Unfortunately, Realm of Ink offers none of that.
Sure, you can technically “skip” menus by mashing the spacebar or gamepad buttons, but the point still stands.
You can’t even preview Red’s different forms if you haven’t purchased them yet, which would be incredibly helpful in deciding whether to spend the precious resources you can only farm by defeating bosses. Additionally, there’s no way to check your current perks while selecting new ones, forcing you to exit the shop window just to check them manually.
Jarring English Localization
Strangely enough, the voiced dialogue in the game lacks consistency. You'd think the developers’ top priority would be giving full voice acting to the main campaign since that's the part everyone will experience, no matter what. But instead, it feels like the random encounters are the ones with more complete voice acting, which is kind of jarring.
Oddly, the sound effects suffer from a similar inconsistency. Sometimes you hear them, sometimes it looks like you’re playing the game muted.
There are also some untranslated texts here and there, especially in certain menus. Thankfully, though, their functions are still easy enough to figure out.
Is Realm of Ink Worth It?
Please get it
Realm of Ink is the kind of roguelite that can easily boast about getting the right things right. It’s visually stunning, highly replayable, simple in structure yet rich in possibilities. No need to wait for a sale. It's worth every cent, especially if you’re into isometric action games and roguelites.
| Digital Storefronts |
|---|
| Steam |
| Wishlist Only |
Realm of Ink FAQ
Does Realm of Ink have any multiplayer?
No, Realm of Ink is a single-player only game.
Is Realm of Ink a roguelike or a roguelite?
Realm of Ink is both a roguelike and a roguelite. Although it’s mainly the latter, its endless mode is technically a roguelike built on the results of your runs in its roguelite main mode.
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Realm of Ink Product Information
 |
|
| Title | REALM OF INK |
|---|---|
| Release Date | Q2 2025 |
| Developer | Leap Studio |
| Publisher | Leap Studio |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam) |
| Genre | Roguelite, Indie-RPG |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Realm of Ink Website |
