Indie studio Shiny Shoe is proud to announce that Inkbound‘s new Starship of Terrors update is available today. The expansion, which is available to all Inkbound players at no additional cost, adds an exciting sci-fi twist to the tactical co-op roguelike with a new Star Captain class, Derelict Starship book to explore, daily challenges, and more. Players can also enjoy a long list of fan-requested features designed to make Inkbound easier than ever to enjoy, whether they’re ready to settle in for a lengthy adventure or need the flexibility to fit a few runs into their busy schedules.
“We designed Inkbound’s world around books and storytelling to give us plenty of creative space,” says Mark Cooke, founder and CEO of Shiny Shoe, the studio behind the smash hit Monster Train. “The Starship of Terrors update gives us an irresistible opportunity to bring science fiction into our world of magic and fantasy. We love giving players the freedom to team up and fight the forces of evil, whether they choose to bring a bow, sword, or arsenal of lasers to battle. We’ve got plenty of other stories to share, and this is just the beginning.”
The new Star Captain aspect brings a bold new way of playing into Inkbound’s snappy turn-based combat, built around Sentinel Drones and lasers. Star Captain is a capable hero in both solo play or in a team, with buffs that protect allies and make the group even stronger.
The Chillazer is an icy take on chain lightning, with shots that careen between enemies with devastating effects. When things get particularly spicy, players can tap into Star Captain’s Cryoclasm to call down a chilling orbital blast that delivers deadly single-target damage and frostbites anything close to the target.
The Starship of Terrors update adds new Trinkets to Inkbound, giving players a player-selected boost of power when starting new runs. That comes in handy when tackling new Unravelled enemies, which appear both in the new Derelict Starship book and previously released settings. Adventurers will need to be prepared for anything; there’s a reason it’s called the Starship of Terrors.
The update adds a bunch of other new features and enhancements to Inkbound‘s ever-expanding world. Here are the highlights:
- Season Passes have been reworked. The new Leveling Pass system removes the element of time from seasonal unlocks. Progress from the first season will persist and you can unlock the rewards at your own pace. The first Leveling Pass, which is completely optional, is available with the Starship of Terrors update and includes cosmetic rewards – Inkbound will never include any pay-to-win mechanics.
- Daily Challenges add wild new mutations to Inkbound every day alongside competitive leaderboards.
- More Draftable Bindings that add new abilities to craft your build.
- Quest Multi-Tracking and Objective Indicators make it easier to juggle multiple tasks during your adventure.
- The Updated Rank System streamlines progression and adds even higher ranks to achieve.
- Victory Boards unlock cosmetic rewards as players flex their skills in a massive series of objectives.
- Multiplayer Run Save/Resume gives co-op players a chance to take a break and come back refreshed without missing a beat.
- Offline single-player mode lets players go on runs without an internet connection. Note: Some features are not available when offline, including multiplayer and Daily Challenges.
Inkbound launched in Steam Early Access for $19.99 in May, and Starship of Terrors is the first of many planned expansions. Check out our official Inkbound website and Steam blog for regular updates, and be sure to join our Discord server. It’s a great place to meet your fellow adventurers, party up, and share your feedback and suggestions directly with the development team.
-Press Release
Alongside the Press release, those of us at the press got to have a small taste of what the update entails. New class of Star Captain will be one that has great synergy in Multiplayer. Newer classes from here on out will be ones that have better synergy in multiplayer than the classic classes. The new enemies in this update will be present in all current book dungeons.
The way movement works will be changed with giving you a circle indicator showing you the amount of space you have to move, and when you move the circle indicator decreases. This new update also does a better balance to the AI of enemies. In the game AI used to group up accidentally and made areas that were death zones rather than actual movements. The tier progress list will be based on a solo or a group run. With the offline feature being created, you will be able to play Inkbound on Steam Deck. Online features still will make issues with Steam Deck, but offline will run smoothly. You will be able to control and click food to instantly eat it instead of needing to open up the inventory.
Ranks no longer have names in the new update of Inkbound. There will be more ranks and the ranks will be numbered instead. What used to be the top rank will now just be rank 10 out of rank 20. Alongside the challenges you get in the normal game, you will also be able to undertake new daily challenges every day for bonus experience points.
Inkbound is available in Early Access on Steam.
