| 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 on to learn everything we know, our review of the early access, and more.
Everything We Know About Realm Of Ink
Realm Of Ink Plot
In Realm of Ink, players will embark on an epic adventure starting as Red, the skilled swordsman, and unlock new characters as they advance. Harness the boundless power of the Fox to navigate through perilous 'Story Relics,' face off against four distinct bosses with rich histories, and strive to break free from the unpredictable Realm of Ink.
Realm Of Ink Gameplay
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. You’ll also be able to arm yourself with a formidable arsenal comprising nine powerful weapons like the Scarlet Sword, Shadow Twin Blades, and Azure Aura Blade.
Realm of Ink Release Date
Realm of Ink Early Access released in September 27, 2024 for PC (Steam), with the full release delayed to March 2025 from January 2025.
| Digital Storefronts |
|---|
 Steam |
| $16.99 |
Realm of Ink Review (Early Access)
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.
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 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!
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.
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.
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Realm of Ink Product Information
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| 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 |
