The game’s history is alluded to by the dialogue you have with the residents of Isle Shammer. The romantic tone of the writing, layered over such dark and cruel acts, hits especially hard, and is why the game’s minimalism, which is centered on its words, works so well. Some even touch on more gruesome themes, namely rape and violence against children. Events unfold in reverse chronological order, with each event peeling back just enough layers to answer some questions while still keeping me intrigued.
#Inkslinger entertainment series
These are partially narrated by a young boy, Yearnmore, who takes us through the Inkslinger’s troubled past in Nomania to her escape to Isle Shammer ― one gorgeously written passage at a time.Īs we learn more about the Inkslinger’s tragic past, we discover the series of events that caused her to flee from Nomania, and a glimpse into the country’s past. Some dialogues will include a highlighted word, which prompts players to type them out and triggers a flashback sequence.
Imagine having this amazing ability to articulate and paint with words, only to find that it comes at a cost.Įach client also leaves closing remarks at the end of every request, ranging from happenings around Isle Shammer to reminiscing about their past in the neighboring Queendom of Nomania ― this is where our unnamed Inkslinger comes from as well. I felt suffocated by the Inkslinger’s conditional existence. I found it particularly frustrating during an encounter with a resident, where I wanted to choose a rude option while penning an ode, instead of the other lukewarm options. Thus it’s not enough for them to find someone’s story to pen their tales also need to be penned in a particular way.Īs such, Inkslingers don’t have the luxury of self-expression or the freedom to imbue their writings with personal flair. It’s implied that dried Inkveins cause Inkslingers to become rigid, eventually turning into lifeless shells. While they have an innate need to tell stories, this seems to be tied to their survival in a macabre sense. The Inkslingers aren’t like the conventional scribes from fantasy books like Nepenthe from Alphabet of Thorn, or Sazed from the Mistborn series, obsessed with exploring foreign lands, preserving history, telling stories, while nurturing a hunger to learn and express themselves. These only matter after the game’s conclusion, upon which you’ll unlock one of four endings.Īt the same time, these Inkveins are more than just intrinsic to the Inkslingers’ livelihood. Ultimately, it won’t matter how many of these you get right, as they aren’t needed to advance the story with, since it follows a straightforward, linear plot. It’s unclear what Inkveins are, but their status is implied to be related to their ability to channel someone’s thoughts accurately. Get a client’s request right, and the screen flashes “Your Inkveins Thrive”, while fulfilling a request incorrectly prompts an “Your Inkveins Dry” screen. Though these encounters are brief, the residents leave an impression on the Inkslinger, and through their brusque, small talk, you can piece together a rich history of Isle Shammer. You’ll meet frustrated mothers urging their grown kids to reply to their letters, guild leaders wanting formal letters and speeches, a cointaker teasing the boy who taunted her at the market with a cheeky poem, and a teacher penning an elaborate interpretation of a three-year-old student’s painting, and more. Inkslinging wordsĪs residents of Isle Shammer filter in and out of the workshop, you’ll encounter a mishmash of colourful characters, their idle chatter giving us an honest glimpse into who they are.
Yet the inability to enlarge text-size is an unfortunate omission for such a text-heavy experience. The requests themselves aren’t particularly difficult to figure out either, and the story advances regardless of whether you get them right or wrong. It’s not the key mashing affair I was hoping it to be ― Inkslinger was introduced as a typing game after all ― but it puts me in the shoes of an Inkslinger chained to their desks, giving words to others’ thoughts and feelings. To that extent, the game has you interacting entirely through your keyboard, which replicated the atmosphere of being in a wordshop really well. Each word fills one paragraph, and most requests will have you choosing between three to four words to complete a composition.
Completing a request is a simple matter of typing the best word from a list that matches the client’s brief.
The game dives straight into client interactions without doled out tutorials, and it feels intuitive straight off the bat. You play as a 20-something unnamed Inkslinger behind a typewriter at Brassknee’s wordshop, churning out words in the form of letters, poems and speeches for the eccentric clientele of Isle Shammer.
0 kommentar(er)
