Developer: Somnium Games
Publisher: Pixmain
Platform: PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC, Mac, Android
Tested on: Switch
Inked: A Tale of Love (Switch) – Review
Inked: A Tale of Love, a stunning game by Somnium Games, has been out on PC and mobile for a while now. Now, the game has been ported to Nintendo’s hybrid console. The game has received very positive reviews in past, and given that the title was already available on mobile, we reckoned the Switch version would offer the same level of quality. Let us find out how it flows on Nintendo Switch.
Story
The Nameless Hero retires his sword to spend time with the love of his life, the artistic Aiko. However, his adventures were not over as his world turned darker, and strange things started to happen around the couple. He and Aiko decide to set out into the world to try and figure out what is happening, to then discover that this is all their creator’s own doing.
Inked: A Tale of Love is mainly about love and loss. It tells a story of a Nameless Hero and his sweetheart Aiko, but also, the sad and gloomy mind of the peevish creator of it all: The Artist.
Adventuring through the 10 short chapters with our Nameless Hero, there is a mysterious voice joining us along the way. The voice of ‘The Artist’, the person who drew the enchanting ballpoint penned (inked) world in which the whole adventure takes place. It turns out, both The Nameless Hero’s and The Artist’s stories run parallel to each other. Navigating through each chapter and solving puzzles will draw you deeper into The Artist’s life and will unravel more and more about the connection between the two. The fourth-wall-breaking narration has many layers and tells multiple stories. It’s very intriguing and it takes a whole different approach to telling a love story.
Graphics
Inked: A Tale of Love is a lovely hand-drawn puzzle adventure game that is heavily inspired by Japanese culture. The minimalistic geometrical worlds are impressive. Each chapter is beautifully shaded with one color and balanced out with some other subtle colors that are mostly used to highlight important points in the world.
There’s hardly anything negative to say about the visuals, except for the fourth-wall-breaking hands of The Artist that we occasionally get to see on-screen. The idea of it is genius, and the animations are properly handled, but it does break the immersion, as well as the lovely chosen art style. In short, it feels very out of place. The whole game feels so immersive and real as if we are actually staring at a drawing on paper. Then, all of a sudden, these odd-looking hands come in and stir things up. Perhaps it would have been better to have presented this via a different style, or by using real hands, rather than 3D modelled ones.
Sound
Besides the enjoyable visuals, there’s also some enjoyable music to keep us company during our puzzle-solving. The soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful and calm, yet still eerie and dark depending on what’s happening in the chapter. Having an actual narration is also appreciated. The voice-over is warm and pleasant.
Gameplay
Inked: A Tale of Love is a wholesome narrative-driven puzzle adventure game, set in a beautiful ballpoint pen world, played from an isometric point of view. The gameplay is fully based on puzzle-solving and moving from point A to B. As this is the game’s core gameplay loop, the game is very suitable for some casual gaming. However, moving from point A to point B isn’t so self-evident as you might think. The path in front of you is full of threats and perils that you’ll have to overcome in order to get ahead. The latter is what the puzzle-solving is all about: clearing your path. The game should take around three to four hours to beat, depending on your puzzle-solving skills and if you want to find all the collectibles or not.
To clear your path from obstacles, you have to move your character and all kinds of objects that are conveniently found in your surroundings. The objects have to be in the correct place, not only by shifting them but also by rotating them, for example, to align a ramp. One action will lead to another. It’s all quite evident, and the game always provides you with the controls. The game is fairly clear as to how things work, but it’s up to you to figure out what you’ll actually have to do for certain puzzles.
As said before, the game’s not that complicated. The only frustrating thing about the gameplay is the clunky controls when you have to move your character or objects. It’s hard to navigate at times from an isometric perspective, but it’s especially frustrating when you want to place an object into a specific place due to the game’s snap-to-grid mechanics. While this is not exactly a dealbreaker, it just gets tedious for some of the puzzles.
Conclusion
Inked: A Tale of Love on Nintendo Switch is enjoyable, relaxing, and perfect for some casual gaming on a rainy day because of its stunning visuals, beautiful soundtrack, and easy gameplay (if you can ignore the somewhat clunky controls). By comparing the gameplay on Switch with our previous outing with the mobile version, we can conclude that the game has remained pretty much the same. The game is very good, but it does have a few minor flaws. Still, we recommend playing through this piece of art if you were looking for a casual puzzle adventure game.
Inked: A Tale of Love (Switch) – Review,
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