Zoeti
Zoeti
Game
Game2024
Inkulinati
Developer Yaza Games
Inkulinati is a turn-based strategy game straight from medieval manuscripts, where a rabbit’s bum can be deadlier than a dog's sword. Become a master of the Living Ink, build your own bestiary, defeat medieval superstars and collect perks to unleash hidden powers. From the Steam store page
277 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 25, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
79
LovedLoved
139 positive · 36 negative
95% range 73–85%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 139 | 36 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 28 | 0 | 44 |
| Mastodon * | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 10 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
449 of 535 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
80% recommend · 140 yes, 35 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 175 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,053 of 1,234 positive).
Players praise the unique art style inspired by medieval manuscripts. [1][2][3] Many find the turn-based tactics engaging but note repetition over time. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize the heavy reading and slow pacing. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
The art style is unique, but unfortunately, that's about it for this game. The game mechanics are not very deep, and the gameplay becomes repetitive, where choices do not really matter and some units are clearly better than others once you learn to push or devour another unit. Once I beat the main game once, I did not feel motivated to do it another time, let alone a 3rd time, just to unlock the "true ending", …
- [1]
This game has the greatest name ever… ...in Italian. My wife’s boyfriend says "Inkulinati" sounds VERY similar to how they say "f**ked in the ass" in Italian, and watching me play it over and over was hilarious considering what he does to my wife every night. As a 12th century knight who hath sworn an oath to cleanse the land of the murder snails, this game pleased me. Also there’s hand painted butt trumpets. ‘Nough …
- [2]
A very unique and incredibly stylish turn-based tactics game. This one sat on my wishlist for quite a while, and without a doubt, it was the visual style that drew me in. To be honest, up until I actually launched the game, I didn’t even realize it was a turn-based tactics title (with some puzzle elements mixed in). At first, the game pushed me away a bit with its heavy tutorial and the sheer number of mechanics you …
- [7]
Nice idea for a game but damn you need to READ SO MUCH. Like half of the time I'm reading. Puzzles were fun. Till I get to roguelike part. Journey is so bad and so annoying I don't know what to say. You need to read what every single damn enemy does, what your character does. Texts are hard to read so you don't want to read much but this game knows it has bad text and makes you read them as a punishment for playing …
- [3]
This game drew me in with its unique art style (pun intended) but its gameplay is also very challenging and fun. There's a good variety of unit types and flexibility to create your ink armies so it doesn't get stale easily. Also, I looked up the artwork and apparently all of the creatures in this game are actually found in medieval manuscripts. Any game that teaches you something about the real world while making …
Summarised from 34 of the 271 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Inkulinati talk about unique and charming medieval manuscript art style; those who didn't talk about gameplay becomes repetitive after a while. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 277 · most liked firstThis game has the greatest name ever… ...in Italian. My wife’s boyfriend says "Inkulinati" sounds VERY similar to how they say "f**ked in the ass" in Italian, and watching me play it over and over was hilarious considering what he does to my wife every night. As a 12th century knight who hath sworn an oath to cleanse the land of the murder snails, this game pleased me. Also there’s hand painted butt trumpets. ‘Nough said. Henry likes this game. This is a medieval Worms game. First of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts is the new game from the developers of Inkulinati, and they did send me a copy, but I haven't gotten around to playing it yet and want to give 'em a big shout out because I loved their previous game. There is of course a demo still up to check out, which is great!
neutral · AI labelView post →20. Inkulinati Turn based tactics roguelike where you battle with "Weird Medieval Guys" on a manuscript. This game absolutely didn't get enough love, it's such a great premise that was well executed, and fantastic medieval manuscript illumination artsyle. store.steampowered.com/app/957960/I...
positive · AI labelView post →As a snail scientist I collect snail marginalia pics and have used them in talks and my PhD defense. I’m weirdly connected to a whole bunch of medievalists through family and friends from undergrad. My Twitter profile is still the snail from Inkulinati, the marginalia battle game.
neutral · AI labelView post →10. Inkulinati Gotta be honest, I was shocked how much this one slipped under the radar, it's a roguelike where you battle with medieval manuscript illuminations where the actions you take with your Weird Medieval Guys is written on the manuscript. It's neat! store.steampowered.com/app/957960/I...
positive · AI labelView post →Medieval monks were secretly comedians, and this game proves it. Battle with trumpet-butt rabbits and spear-wielding dogs in a strategy game that’s hilarious, deep, and just the right amount of absurd. Tons of fun—until the repetition kicks in. 8/10, would wage ink warfare again. ✒️🐰🔥 Follow my curator page for more medieval mayhem, ink-fueled battles, and rabbits with a deadly sense of humor! ✒️🐶✨ https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42602807-Osiris-Reviews/
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Plenty of new popular singleplayer releases: https://steamdb.info/stats/gameratings/2024/?min_price=0.01&min_rating=85&displayOnly=Game&category=2&sort=followers_desc Edit: If you want less popular games take these (collected from YouTube, [email protected] , steam etc): [Wild Bastards - roguelike strategy fps](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1660840/Wild_Bastards/) [Arco - turn based rpg](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2366970/Arco/) [Nova Drift - bullet hell…
neutral · AI labelView post →I also really loved their previous game, Inkulinati, which went unfortunately way under the radar. You fight turn-based battles with weird medieval guys, it's great.
positive · AI labelView post →Our game is obviously inspired by: - Sticky Business 📦 - Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 🏠 - Inkulinati 🐰 - Potion Craft ⚗️
neutral · AI labelView post →The art style is unique, but unfortunately, that's about it for this game. The game mechanics are not very deep, and the gameplay becomes repetitive, where choices do not really matter and some units are clearly better than others once you learn to push or devour another unit. Once I beat the main game once, I did not feel motivated to do it another time, let alone a 3rd time, just to unlock the "true ending", because the main gameplay simply wasn't very satisfying or rewarding to play. In a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Medieval, history, archive and archaeology gamer friends, check out Inkulinati! 🏺✍️📜 #Inkulinati It looks like a cute derpy illuminated manuscript game. Anyone played it yet? youtu.be/2XXVFDDFSIo?...
neutral · AI labelView post →There are fast roguelikes, there are slow ones, and there are ones where battles are fought with goose quill on margins of manuscripts. This game - this is straight up chess, like if medieval monks invented it after tenth glass of wine: here rabbits wield swords, cats preach sermons, and snails wear knight armor together with devils. Nerd trap caught me hard... couldn't rip myself away while different ideas were in my head) Battles are built solid, but with catch: proper placement of warriors,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can understand why there are mixed reviews for this game. Some people are going to be ultra bored with it because of repetition of play and not too much diversity of play style, but I played this from a perspective of "I'm playing an artistic tactics style game" and so should you. I think what the team has created here certainly has style and playable merit. The game looks really good and I think they accomplished the design they intended to execute. The game play is pretty robust and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here's a list of credits for *Fallout: New Vegas*: https://www.mobygames.com/game/48717/fallout-new-vegas/credits/windows/ Obsidian was purchased by Microsoft, so both Bethesda and Obsidian are under that umbrella. Looking at some of it: Project Lead: J.E. Sawyer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Sawyer He last did *Penitment* in 2022 at Obsidian. Executive Producer: Lawrence Liberty. Looks like he's doing other things, last being *Marvel Snap*. Producer: Mikey Dowling. He last did…
neutral · AI labelView post →A very unique and incredibly stylish turn-based tactics game. This one sat on my wishlist for quite a while, and without a doubt, it was the visual style that drew me in. To be honest, up until I actually launched the game, I didn’t even realize it was a turn-based tactics title (with some puzzle elements mixed in). At first, the game pushed me away a bit with its heavy tutorial and the sheer number of mechanics you have to keep in mind. But once you get past that initial hurdle, it quickly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy 2nd birthday to Inkulinati, our debut title! 🎂 The game that laid the foundation for Scriptorium. What better gift than the Scriptorium demo going live TOMORROW? ✨ Are you ready? www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XXV...
neutral · AI labelView post →The game consists too substantially of one-shot mechanics (pushing things off ledges and into fires), which pretty much destroys the more interesting tactical game that might exist otherwise. I found myself thinking more about what I can push and what I can protect from pushing than about any other factor in combat. Still, give it a try if you like tactics games, maybe it's for you.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →B-side gaming zine #6 (news, game recommendations, free mini python game, humor). ## Welcome A bit later than I wanted to, but finally issue 6 is ready. This time there is not a big article about a gaming-related topic, but there will be one next month again. I am still playing around with the format of the zine since I am not satisfied with how to add all the content I want to. This month we have: News Game recommendations Free Python game Mini Walkthrough of a Previous Python Game.…
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is extremely charming and fun to look at, but just not the right gameplay for me. The pacing and style is somehow way too slow, way too complicated, and too simplistic all at once. There are so many unit types with unique abilities to learn even on the first run, and for good reason, that first run took me 4 hours. Hours! I'm not interested in trying a second run even though I unlocked dozens of new things. The game was already over-saturated with unit and ability variations, so those…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game drew me in with its unique art style (pun intended) but its gameplay is also very challenging and fun. There's a good variety of unit types and flexibility to create your ink armies so it doesn't get stale easily. Also, I looked up the artwork and apparently all of the creatures in this game are actually found in medieval manuscripts. Any game that teaches you something about the real world while making you forget about it for a short while is worthy of attention.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →* Final Fantasy VII Rebirth * Expeditions: A MudRunner Game * Fear Effect Sedna * Grim Dawn * Keep Taking and Nobody Explodes * RIDE 5 * REKA * Bomb Rush Cyberfunk * Old World * Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand * Crime Boss: Rockay City * Moonstone Island * Inkulinati * Monster Prom 3: Monster Roadtrip * Venba And I gifted *Freedom Planet 2* to a friend. The Winter Sale isn't over until January 2nd, so I might buy some more games before it ends. Problem is, I own most of the games on the Steam…
neutral · AI labelView post →Charming game. Love the vibe. Very interesting strategy almost like chess, which I also like. Here's the thing,. I look into what the game has to offer progressively and cant imagine it changing much. Some games never change and people keep playing them like chess, every card game and sports like Tennis for example, but I get bored easily and It is due to this repetition that I decided to return it and also why I gave it a thumbs down. Not because the game is bad but because I don't feel its a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Go buy Inkulinati. It’s like $13 on Steam rn. It’s a strategy game where you play as weird medieval guys. Your hare soldiers moon enemies to give them headaches. Your donkey bard plays a butt trumpet. You won’t regret it.
positive · AI labelView post →Played on a Steamdeck [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45534557/]@MatureContent This was a fun little turn-based combat game, where you fight your way through an ink filled medieval universe. In this game you get to fight various enemies with increasing difficulty while also interacting with different characters from the realm inbetween. The combat consists of two armies, yours and your opponents, taking turns to move, attack or draw. Your army centerpiece is the character you made…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Btw, this game is being developed by the creators of Inkulinati, another game I highly recommend. It is a tower defense game, but using those funny marginalia creatures you see in the margins of medieval manuscripts. store.steampowered.com/app/957960/I...
positive · AI labelView post →Here's my #NintendoSwitch #indiegame highlight for today! 🎮👍🏼 Game - Inkulinati Developer - @yazagames.com Publisher - @daedalic.bsky.social Release date - February 22, 2024
neutral · AI labelView post →Genre - Cute turn based medieval art strategy game. Surprising amount of depth for a small game. I got up to the start of the last run and balance seemed mostly fair on normal, but if you use some creature types it does make it naturally harder. Looking forward to my last run and hopefully a sequel at some point
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This character already appeared on a previous Yaza game, Inkulinati, but this Yoda looking fellow comes from a 14th century manuscript known as the Smithfield Decretals, a recording the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX. This drawing is illustrating the biblical story of Samson.
neutral · AI labelView post →Hi I’m super late but I’m doing this anyways because I have a lot to talk about wrt neurodivergent characters. I’m Abby, and last year I enjoyed Inkulinati, a strategy game that allows you to play as creatures from medieval marginalia. #SFFChat
positive · AI labelView post →[Humble Choice][Dec2024 Bundle] Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Old World, Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand and more ($11.99). DECEMBER 2024 GAMES: - BOMB RUSH CYBERFUNK - OLD WORLD - ATLAS FALLEN: REIGN OF SAND - CRIME BOSS: ROCKAY CITY - FIRST MONTH EDITION - THE INVINCIBLE - MOONSTONE ISLAND - INKULINATI - VENBA - MONSTER PROM 3: MONSTER ROADTRIP EXTRAS: - 30% OFF OLD WORLD - BEHIND THE THRONE DLC - 30% OFF OLD WORLD - WONDERS AND DYNASTIES DLC - 90% OFF OLD WORLD - HEROES OF THE AEGEAN DLC - 50% OFF…
neutral · AI labelView post →"Fun for the first 15 minutes" type of game. Besides the slow gameplay you get the idea really quick and lose motivation to play. But yes, art is nice.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice idea for a game but damn you need to READ SO MUCH. Like half of the time I'm reading. Puzzles were fun. Till I get to roguelike part. Journey is so bad and so annoying I don't know what to say. You need to read what every single damn enemy does, what your character does. Texts are hard to read so you don't want to read much but this game knows it has bad text and makes you read them as a punishment for playing the game my eyeballs are bleeding. Most of the time you just need to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Terrible, boring, not a strategy game, more like a puzzle game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (February 19-23). • Balatro (February 20): "Balatro is a poker-inspired roguelike deck builder all about creating powerful synergies and winning big." • qomp2 (February 20): "Explore a dangerous, minimalist world, armed with simple two button controls: tap a button to change direction diagonally by 45 degrees, and hold down a button to unleash a cathartic dash forward." • The Lost Legends of Redwall: The Scout Anthology (February 20): "A…
neutral · AI labelView post →I really wanted to purchase Inkulinati, but I had some reservations before doing so. Having read many mixed reviews, I can now positively recommend it. It's a funny, quirky and irreverent game that reminded me of the times I played Age of Empires and other medieval-related games. I have always loved medieval codexes, and this is one of the quirkiest games I have played this year. The mechanics are overall simple, Player Vs Machine. I appreciate that it has a lot of tutorials, and non campaign…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a brilliant game with absolutely stunning graphics and a very original plot and game dynamics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a fun game! I ended up beating the main campaign on Normal and totally dug it. This is one of those gems-of-a game that you don't exactly know what to expect and suddenly are enjoying a puzzle that intrigues and delights with it's neat hand-drawn graphics, interesting mechanics, and most of all, all kinds of different combos of characters to try. It's a puzzle-y, turn based, rogue-lite where you have to battle various encounters by drawing your characters. The charm comes from the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The real standout for me was that the Inkulinati team @yazagames.com is doing the smartest possible thing: spinning off their medieval marginalia art style to put together a game about MAKING medieval maunscripts! store.steampowered.com/app/3119540/...
positive · AI labelView post →I gave it a shot, but I got bored fast. It's more like a puzzle game, it's not really my thing. Besides that, these type of simple games used to be -free- Flash games. They added visual stuff , but it's still a very basic concept.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fanatical Prestige Bundle Includes Deathloop, Elder Scrolls Online, And More. ``` Deathloop (Steam Deck Verified) River City Girls 2 (Steam Deck Playable) The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: High Isle Shantae and the Seven Sirens (Steam Deck Verified) The Mortuary Assistant (Steam Deck Verified) Blacktail (Steam Deck Verified) RWBY: Arrowfell Inkulinati (Steam Deck Verified) One Lonely Outpost (Steam Deck Playable) Deadlink (Steam Deck Playable)…
neutral · AI labelView post →🪶Medievalsky, discover Inkulinati, a game featuring epic battles between medieval marginalia characters! Warning: playing this game may cause uncontrollable urges to buy a quill and some parchment.
neutral · AI labelView post →Really enjoyable. It is a strategy game, but can be played without extensive planning. Have a nice day!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was initially drawn to the game for the art style and was pleasantly surprised to find it really engaging, both in terms of the turn-by-turn strategy of individual combats and learning more overarching deckbuilder-type strategies you need to employ in order to successfully beat an entire run. It took me until my second or third run to really start understanding how to put together a collection of beasts, hand actions, and talents that synergize well with each other into a coherent playstyle…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Welcome to Bluesky and to the Polish Game Dev starter pack, @yazagames.com! Happy to have the creators of the award-winning Inkulinati and the upcoming Scriptorium here with us 🐇 go.bsky.app/JuuSSUs
neutral · AI labelView post →Inkulinati released on Steam [40% off].
neutral · AI labelView post →I really like this game, but cannot recommend because it has a long standing bug (and no game updates in a long time) that prevents you from seeing your resource count and resource cost of units. Tried playing anyway, but it becomes a guessing game at that point instead of strategy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Behind brilliant, stunningly good graphics and atmosphere hides a poorly thought out game and an atrociously bad user interface. (I am not completely sure concerning the game mechanics, but what others wrote about everything being about one-shotting rings very true.) Whether I tried the touch screen or the controller -- the modal nature of the UI with totally non-obvious modes and visual clutter unrelated to the mode kept making me do random things instead of what I wanted. At least I think…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I find the art of the game absolutely stunning and that's the reason I bought it and played. After around 10h in the game, I'd say the gameplay isn't very challenging or exciting, but visually it's a beautiful game. I do think there could be more interesting ways to make it more engaging. The roleplay flavour also isn't that good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: - Weird Medieval guys Cons: - Weird Medieval guys
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great lil turn-based tactics game, one I would highly recommend to folks who are looking for something on the lighter side. There's plenty of tactics puzzly-ness to scratch that itch, and 3 difficulties that cater to novices or sweats. Battles are small, contained, and short. They feel like a unique snappy puzzle, no need to lock in for hours and risk forgetting everything that's going on. Each battle will vary up the map and one of the few rule varieties. There's also a Boredom mechanic,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It looks pretty, but I dont like the way it plays. Id say especially for that price its a novelty at best.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Medieval Manuscripts Take Center Stage in Innovative New Game. Inkulinati, a turn-based strategy game, launches today. One can now get into the Middle Ages by playing with characters right out of medieval manuscripts www.medievalists.net/2024/02/inku...
neutral · AI labelView post →Our journey continues in Inkulinati on today's game stream! Come hang out: twitch.tv/creativeoutp...
neutral · AI labelView post →Great aesthetic and replayability. Neat twist that you as the "artist" have powers to interact with the art you are fighting with. "Think Slay the Spire" meets "The Banner saga". One run takes a couple of hours. 3 runs to complete the story. 30 hours to 100% achievements.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a hard pass... Bought it to play on the steam deck. Even thought the art is fun, the controls are counterintuitive on the deck. I found myself spending more time making sure the right control inputs were being made rather than being focused on the strategy aspect. I did the tutorials and such, but nah.. couldn't get into it. If you're buying it for the steam deck, the controls might be an issue. Perhaps this game better played on PC.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Inkulinati stands out by seamlessly blending its unique theme with innovative gameplay and striking visuals. The ink-based battles deliver thrilling moments that reward creativity and smart use of gestures and skills. Drawing inspiration from the ornate doodles found in Medieval manuscripts, the game’s world is both captivating and richly detailed. While the single-player campaign holds its own, the real excitement shines in local multiplayer especially once both players have honed their…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can't disable automatic camera movement, it's vomit inducing, glad i got this via humble bundle or something.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Surprisingly fun. Not only optical but also gameplay wise an entertaining game. The stories are mediocre and I don't share the humor but then again, you wouldn't play this game for it's "visual novel" content. After all the decisions you make are mere tactical ones (e.g. taking bonus A or bonus B) so don't worry too much about your answers in the "dialogues". The gameplay itself is a more complex stone-scissors-paper mechanic and reminds on the usual deckbuilders. After each battle you gain…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →build options are very limited and are locked depending on whatever starter team you picked
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a game it's fine and enjoyable, but for 25€ it feels rather overpriced. It's a turn based strategy game with very rudimentary AI. And even though it offers you an option to have 1v1 duels, these duels offer only preset features and give little room for customization.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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