Image via Blackfield Entertainment
Ink Inside is unusual. It feels like a cartoon, which makes sense since Blackfield Entertainment flat out established the IP started life as a possible Nickelodeon series. It’s got dodgeball elements for its battles, but it also feels like an RPG of sorts. There’s adventuring elements to it, with both actual puzzles and some boss fights that function as such. It also might feel a bit weird as you play, as the team established it’s the first part (season) of a story envisioned as a three season show.
Ink Inside is simultaneously the story of Hannah, a creative girl in our own world who filled notebooks with her characters and worlds, and her now living creations in said books. Through flashbacks and real-world footage, there are hints that something happened. As a result, the notebooks found themselves in a closet with water dripping onto them. This, in turn, afflicts any beings hit by it with The Sog. The story begins with Detective Fuzz restoring life to an unfinished drawing of a stick man named Stick, who deduces he’s a hero. He then is tasked with using Cores to hit soggy enemies in what is basically dodgeball matches to bring peace to worlds and learn more about what’s going on, as well as perhaps find the Princess Stephy that he keeps being reminded of.
The story is mostly interesting, but there are some awkward quirks to the narrative that I hope get addressed in the second installment of Ink Inside. Part of it is that there are sometimes odd breaks that are framed as flashbacks or insights into characters. These can come up with little or no explanation, with the one that acts as a combat tutorial being a perfect example. So much so that I initially wondered if it was a bug due to the way one character’s text is presented. There’s also the way in which the end currently happens, which led to the team actually addressing the cliffhanger and commit to making things more clear in a future update. It can be clever, with characters like Stick and The Princess of Cursing Traff being stand-outs! But you might find some parts a little off-putting.
Much of Ink Inside involves exploring the world to deal with The Sog in various situations. This almost feels reminiscent of a Paper Mario or The Legend of Zelda style world, with encounters causing you to appear on a dodgeball court with enemies on one side and your characters on the other. (There is optional co-op.) The Cores you’ve equipped possess different traits, which affect how they behave when thrown in battle. There can be a cooldown after some unsuccessful tosses, in the event when you pull back, aim, and release you don’t land a hit. Also, some fights involve additional puzzle mechanics to even deal damage.
Again, in some ways Ink Inside feels like it needs a few more patches in these circumstances to be at its best. For example, the first serious boss fight involves controlling a claw to knock an airborne opponent down so you can hit it with a thrown Core. But this can feel more convoluted than necessary since Stick must remain stationary at the controls while the enemy attacks, and you need to be precise to knock it down. Once I had Traff in my party, I felt like maybe she was bugged in some way as she wouldn’t act during matches. There are segments that could use more explanation, namely related to the special attacks that can be used out of battle to progress.
It does feel like there’s something here, in part due to the characters and story of Ink Inside being so personable and potential to its dodgeball combat. I sort of feel like maybe it isn’t quite there yet. Like it definitely needs at least one more patch to start feeling a bit more sound. I do definitely think that, by the time a sequel comes around, it will be in a much better place.
Ink Inside is available for the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.