Is this fun?

[bishop6363]

I LOVED Monster Train def in my top 5 all time. 500 hours played. It truly was the best. When this game released I bought sight unseen. I am 2 hours in and not feeling the pull and allure. It felt like Hades right away (which is a good think). But then it just felt like a simple puzzle line Alina. If the greatness of the game is the multiplayer, then that would explain it. I know the game is EA. and big changes could occur. But the basic game, the core mechanics see like less than Monster Train. Happy to have bought it, supports the DEVS, and can watch and see the game devoplop.

[Michel aus Pimmelberga]

The only enjoyment you can currently get from the game is a mindless grind without any resistance or challenge.

[:D]

I do want to note that just because its the same devs as monster train doesn't mean it will function or even resemble monster train. They are trying something new and still growing with the game. I for one am loving the game and I think its super fun and it looks like it will only get better the further from Early access it gets.
If you like turn based tactic roguelikes then you'll probably like this game.

[Calico]

I've played 20 hrs so far. At first I was really into it, but the magic started to wear off about 10-12 hrs in. By 15, I'd pretty much seen everything the game had to offer and there wasn't much challenge or depth left except one boss I hadn't beat yet. Beat it last night, and realized the only progression I still had were the quests... but none of them were all that engaging.

I should say I've only done unranked solo, so maybe there's more to it there, but as it is I don't regret supporting them but I think I'm done for now. It sound like I'm not alone.

[Elveone]

Originally posted by Calico:

I've played 20 hrs so far. At first I was really into it, but the magic started to wear off about 10-12 hrs in. By 15, I'd pretty much seen everything the game had to offer and there wasn't much challenge or depth left except one boss I hadn't beat yet. Beat it last night, and realized the only progression I still had were the quests... but none of them were all that engaging.

I should say I've only done unranked solo, so maybe there's more to it there, but as it is I don't regret supporting them but I think I'm done for now. It sound like I'm not alone.

Play ranked.

[fubarbarella♡]

Originally posted by Calico:

Beat it last night, and realized the only progression I still had were the quests... but none of them were all that engaging.

Get your toys unlocked.

[Calico]

Originally posted by Elveone:

Play ranked.

Okee dokee!

[Calico]

Originally posted by ruebea:

Get your toys unlocked.

This is why I should take the time to proofread...

[Dazeychain]

It's a lot more fun in ranked multiplayer

(kinda weird to say you've seen everything the game has to offer when you've deliberately avoided big parts of it...gamers)

[Calico]

Originally posted by Loveshocker:

kinda weird to say you've seen everything the game has to offer

I meant as far as maps, enemies, etc. I've played a few ranked matches now, and they aren't any different from unranked besides the mods for each book... am I missing something?

[Ittrix]

Originally posted by Calico:

Originally posted by Loveshocker:

kinda weird to say you've seen everything the game has to offer

I meant as far as maps, enemies, etc. I've played a few ranked matches now, and they aren't any different from unranked besides the mods for each book... am I missing something?

Ranked mode has you go up a series of ranks, from needless all the way to inkbound.
Initially it just has some extra modifiers for the books, but it keeps stacking more on as you go up the ranks.
I'm at silver 1 atm, and minions have a 20% buff to health, bosses have a 25% buff, all enemies deal more damage, more enemies spawn during boss fights, the blight deals additional damage, and there's more difficult challenge buffs as well.

It's nothing 'new', but it certainly constricts your options and makes you think harder. Definitely a big part of the game.

[Ittrix]

Broadly speaking, the game is repetitive. Three endgame bosses, 5 midgame bosses, and 5 unique(ish) assortments of enemies between the biomes that you go through. Pick 1 of 5 classes to play as, pick 2 biomes to romp through, pick an endgame boss, win or don't; then start over.

it's spiced up by build possibilities between runs being partially random.
On one run with an obelisk I built tons of stacks of spiked and defense. I got shell (2 defense and spiked on cast), an augment to let me cast it for free 3 times each turn, and then just absolutely spammed it. Enemies would hit me, take damage, and die. I would cackle. "Come!" I'd shout, "Come and break your weapons against me!"
The next run I didn't get shell- I instead got avalanche and a freezy cone. I focused cooldown, got dazed to reduce incoming damage, and then built tons of ice stacks, as every ice stack would build a stack of crush on avalanche cast, and every 3 stacks of crush would do 50 flat damage.
Same game, same class, same run, but the options available to me made me play it differently. If I weren't comfortable with the game, I might not have known which options to choose- but I didn't. I've played enough, and died enough, that even given suboptimal choices I can make something to get through.

You'd either really need to like roguelikes to get into this, or you'd really need to like theory crafting builds. Otherwise, it'll get repetitive for you fast.


Of note, this is early access. Like, entered open early access two weeks ago early access. There's plans for more of everything down the line. Classes, enemies, bosses, items, augments, etc.

[Calico]

Ah, ok! Thank you both! You're describing exactly what I love about Monster Train and what I was missing from Inkbound. I'll give it another try.

I guess with Monster Train, the strategy and synergy between abilities were more apparent to me, but probably since I'm more comfortable with roguelite deckbuilders. I was loving Inkbound at first but the sense of repetitiveness out paced everything else and I found myself just sorta spacing out, going through the motions, and still winning.

I also don't usually touch ranked in a game until I know it's something I want to spend a lot of time with, and feeling "done" so quickly made me considering setting it aside. I never really had a run like you're describing where things clicked together. One of my favorite things in Monster Train is that feeling of "getting the engine going", so it sounds like Inkbound has that but I just hadn't gotten to it yet. I thought the core of the game was the quests, and I just wasn't all that interested in them.

I'll give Inkbound more of a chance. Now that I understand unranked / ranked, I'm realizing my main criticism between the two games is that Inkbound has more information that's not entirely obvious right now. Going in I just figured ranked was just posting a score from your run to a leaderboard. Hopefully as the game evolves and I play it more, I feel less like the challenge is coming from not realizing I needed to mouse over a tiny icon I didn't notice.

Thanks!