The story also has very clever twists such as the moment after becoming so immersed in the world and storytelling that when a pair of human hands appeared on screen to draw an object, I needed to solve a puzzle, it took me completely by surprise.
If you are a casual puzzle fan or perhaps even someone who has been put off by puzzle sections in other games, Inked hits just the right balance to keep the enjoyment going. Due to the solutions being often rather obvious or the more mechanical based puzzles never being too demanding or difficult, it allows the pacing to be maintained so you the player always have the sense you are moving forward and even if you do become stuck on a puzzle, the solution will present itself rather quickly. The clever design of each section prevents the rotation of these sections becoming too boring and there is a genuine satisfaction once you have solved a puzzle and you are able to move on. Whilst the puzzles never become too difficult to solve, they do require thought as they cycle through the usual moving of objects to activating pressure plates and switches to continue to progress through the world. This interaction with the world is key as Aiko is carried away all Mary Poppins umbrella style suddenly and we must guide the Nameless Hero as he tries to follow and rescue her. This section also replaces the sword the Ronin would usually carry but now put down, with the giant paint brush Aiko uses instead. Storytelling is very much the core strength to Inked and the heart of that lies in this being a very welcoming puzzle game which is introduced during the prologue as our Nameless Hero accompanies his wife Aiko on a simple walk which requires the player to move 3D objects to complete the pathways on which they must walk as Aiko is carrying her paintings of the wildlife she clearly adores back home. Combined with an astonishing beautiful musical score that brings it all to life just so effortlessly that it never made a difference playing this game in handheld or when docked to the bigger TV Screen which is something I truly welcomed with his game as it quickly became an experience I wanted to take on the move with me, and it helped with the couple of instance of having to wait a few hours for a hospital appointment that was delayed to the point I never noticed the two hours that vanished as I played the story. The art style is striking with a pure paper white background with every drawn in clearly blue biro pen style lines and shading that give this world a 3D aspect in its 2D setting.
Two of the elements that have an immediate impact the moment you start this game are naturally the visual art style and the music. They are suddenly faced with a sick bird, and Aiko so desperate to find out why the bird is so sick, encourages her husband to open a portal for them to travel through to discover what is happening to their world. We watch as he joins his wife Aiko, a woman who is dearly in touch with the wildlife of their world and very much the focus on the Nameless Hero’s devotion and love.
Inked: A Tale of Love places you the player, as the ‘Nameless Hero’, a Samurai Ronin type character who has reached the end of their fighting days, so much that the opening scene is this hero putting down his sword for the last time now that all the battles he faced are over. As I continue my journey into gaming on the Nintendo Switch, I have really started to rekindle my love of deceptively simple looking Indie titles, and this is certainly one I am adding to the “so pleased I have a Switch console’ list.
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