I tried starting this review in a few different ways, but I think the following sentence gives you the best summary: Ink Inside is an RPG in which doodles throw dodgeballs at each other. They do this to defeat the evil that has possessed the enemies, and then they do it again to… Ahem… Ram the ink back into someone in order to restore them to health. Blackfield Entertainment LLC’s words there, not my own.
In Ink Inside, you control Stick, a stick figure who has woken up amnesiac, missing an arm, and freshly informed that a giant fuzzy mountain of a creature has stuffed him full of ink to get him back on his feet. Combat, as previously mentioned, is done in the form of dodgeball matches, but what starts as simple movement and aiming quickly evolves into parries, blocks, dodges and double jumps, melee combat and perfect timings, and a wide variety of different balls to hurl. Your dodgeball, or “Core” as the Sheriff calls it, is your primary means of interacting with the world as well.
The RPG elements come into play an hour or so in, and mainly involve inventory/equipment management, quests, a party system, and even the basics of “job roles”. Though put all thoughts of a Square-style web of complex abilities out of your head, jobs here are a series of small challenges that unlock a buff to equip if you complete them, so they basically function as another piece of equipment.
This game oozes charm, humour, and whimsy, fully committing to the bit and coming off better for it. Cutscenes are a mishmash of cartoonish animation and live action film, but even the animations themselves are in varied styles and detail, all of it gorgeous. I promise this grab bag of visuals makes sense plot-wise too, but I don’t want to spoil what Ink Inside has in store for you.
Ink Inside’s voice acting is also a highlight. Whilst the audio is nothing special, but certainly not bad by any means, the assembled cast here is clearly having a ball, and that bleeds through into their performances and makes the plot a joy to behold. Heavy hitters and internet stars alike are featured here, with Brian David Gilbert being a particular highlight as the non-binary lead Stick.
Sadly, during my review, I’ve come across a bug preventing me from progressing any further. This is a huge shame, because what I’ve played so far has been such a huge treat. Hopefully by the time you read this review, it won’t be an issue anymore, as is the double-edged sword of modern gaming, bugs like this can be patched out nowadays. There is also some weird artifacting when you perform a lot of actions in the game, with a giant pink square enveloping your characters on multiple occasions, but I can’t tell if this is a design choice (it does mesh rather well with some of the gleefully garish visuals) or a problem.
Either way, I can promise you I will be returning once the bug is fixed (avoid doing the Shield training course, you physically cannot exit the course once you get to it as you fall through the floor before you hit the only exit and have to save and quit, which locks you in the course) as the humour and style Ink Inside provides is intoxicating. If you’re in touch with your inner child and like dodgeball, I’d recommend giving this game a try.
Ink Inside was reviewed on an Xbox Series X, but is also available on Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.
