Musashi vs Cthulhu
Musashi vs Cthulhu
Game
Game2026
Realm of Ink
Developer Leap Studio
Realm of Ink is an Ink-style action Roguelite game. While pursuing the Fox Demon, the swordswoman Red, unexpectedly finds that her life is dictated by the 'destiny' within the world of the book. Only by breaking free can she unveil the truth of her existence and challenge the constraints of fate. From the Steam store page
216 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 1, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
86
LovedLoved
147 positive · 23 negative
95% range 81–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 147 | 23 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 13 | 0 | 22 |
| Mastodon * | 3 | 0 | 8 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
411 of 448 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
86% recommend · 155 yes, 25 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 180 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (5,254 of 5,824 positive).
Players widely compare Realm of Ink to Hades, praising its combat and art style. [1][2][3] Many note the game is easier than Hades but offers more build variety. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize the story, dialogue, and English voice acting. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [18]
The art style is great and that's really where this game shines out but that's pretty much all it has going for it. As others have said, it's basically a Hades clone without the tight mechanics and charm. Beyond the wall of waifus, there isn't much personality; none of the characters are really all that funny, interesting, or likable. The gameplay is clunky, the dialogue is stiff and wooden, and there's really …
- [1]
Pretty much Hades but with hot chicks and a wuxia aesthetic. Worse storytelling, but honestly more fun gameplay. Amazing soundtrack and great replayability. Also Violetta is best girl and it’s not even close. Anyways, highly recommend. 9/10 for me. Finally scratched that itch of feeling like I’m in murim
- [7]
Realm of Ink is a difficult game to review in isolation. Having recently 100% completed both Hades I and II, it is impossible not to measure this title against the gold standards of the genre. Ultimately, Realm of Ink is a competent and visually striking experience, but it lacks the mechanical depth and narrative weight of its inspirations. On a surface level, the game functions well. The aesthetic is beautiful, the …
- [12]
If you like roguelites, hack n slash games, or generally a game that will let you live your OP power fantasy - Realm of Ink is for you! The combat is suuuuuper satisfying, and has a really great gameplay loop with all the different combos and playable forms. 100%ing this feels very possible for those like me who like to collect shiny achievements. The Ink Gems & Pets in particular are great (I wanna collect all the …
- [2]
Realm of Ink is an impressive isometric hack and slash roguelite that has just been released from early access. After watching any video related to this game, you might think it's another Hades-inspired action roguelite, and you are partially right. Yes, combat itself feels heavily inspired by Hades (or, if you have played SWORN, it will immediately remind you of that too), and as such is great; they did a great job …
Summarised from 34 of the 236 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 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Realm of Ink sits at 86% positive across 170 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 216 · most liked firstPretty much Hades but with hot chicks and a wuxia aesthetic. Worse storytelling, but honestly more fun gameplay. Amazing soundtrack and great replayability. Also Violetta is best girl and it’s not even close. Anyways, highly recommend. 9/10 for me. Finally scratched that itch of feeling like I’m in murim
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Realm of Ink is an impressive isometric hack and slash roguelite that has just been released from early access. After watching any video related to this game, you might think it's another Hades-inspired action roguelite, and you are partially right. Yes, combat itself feels heavily inspired by Hades (or, if you have played SWORN, it will immediately remind you of that too), and as such is great; they did a great job with the combat, it's smooth, responsive and just an incredible amount of fun.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm playing and rating all "Hades-like" games; simple list to help you, from 1. best to N. good Hades II Realm of Ink Hades Splintered Fate BeatSlayer Reignbreaker The Eternal Die SWORN Curse of The Dead Gods FELLCHASER Will update above list when played: Cinderia Life Core Grim Trials Aksun Rise Again Lone Soul Lethal Honor Heretical Shape of Dreams Warm Snow If I'm missing any, please tell me! And sorry for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The art style is great and that's really where this game shines out but that's pretty much all it has going for it. As others have said, it's basically a Hades clone without the tight mechanics and charm. Beyond the wall of waifus, there isn't much personality; none of the characters are really all that funny, interesting, or likable. The gameplay is clunky, the dialogue is stiff and wooden, and there's really nothing pulling me into doing another run. More importantly, it's in desperate need…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The art style is very fun to look at and I enjoy it a lot. its what made me get the game in the first place but he game is shorter than I expected, took me around 11 hours to fully beat it and unlock almost everything the game has to offer. Very easy and not much reason for build variety as you get the one op ink origin and thats your run now. Aside from like 3 characters the others are not super interesting to play. Not worth the price.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Have loved playing this on steamdeck, bit like hades but has lots of unique elements. MOMO <3
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some of the worst dialogue I've heard in recent memory and it sounds like it was recorded with a shoe. Also, having to hold R3 to read the wordy text explanations in the most unappealing layout ever is a SUPER weird choice. There are dozens of games like this in existence and this game feels like it tried to reinvent the wheel a bit and failed horrendously. No clue why this has "very positive: reviews. Simple little tweaks could improve this game tenfold. Hard pass and requesting refund.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're a fan of 'Hades'-like games, you'll definitely enjoy this one. Also - what if Hades had a lot more waifus? Although, unlike most other games in its genre, it doesn't take a lot for it to get going, until your OP. I tried and failed 6x times, before completing my first run. (Each run averages about 10-15 mins) After that first run, it gets a little easier - and you can unlock different characters with different playstyles (and they do become very different). Like the first character…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is great if you meet one criteria... and thats if you are super bad at roguelites. This game is pathetically easy. Even at max difficulty this game is easier than most roguelites in their base form. It's sad because this game does so many things right. The in run progression and ink skills are all so cool and I would enjoy it more if everything didn't just die in 5 seconds. I literally beat the final boss for the first try in less than 10 seconds without taking a single hit.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(I have more time than shown). Except for the very pretty art style, half the game is budget Hades and the other half is a game that struggles to land what it tries to do differently. I don't need to explain the former, anything that reminds you of Hades (and most of the game will) while playing this is just objectively worse. Worse A.I, worse writing and acting, worse design, worse feel, etc. But fine, smaller and newer studio, it's acceptable even if they are cheating on their homework.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like roguelites, hack n slash games, or generally a game that will let you live your OP power fantasy - Realm of Ink is for you! The combat is suuuuuper satisfying, and has a really great gameplay loop with all the different combos and playable forms. 100%ing this feels very possible for those like me who like to collect shiny achievements. The Ink Gems & Pets in particular are great (I wanna collect all the Momos). Plus, the art-style is GORGEOUS - especially the art for some of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome game, a bit on the easy side but very good replayability, lots of different builds and ways to play it. If you liked Hades 1 and 2 you will definitly love this too. Hint: if you got a very powerful Rupture 150 run, do not attempt the Sanctum infinite mode. Even with all graphics options turned down to minimum it gets to 0-1 fps in about 5 minutes and you cannot even die as a result, having to force close and lose the stats :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Realm of Ink is a game that plays a lot like Hades but lets you make more complex builds and is a bit faster. The developer (Leap) is Chinese and that comes through in story and game elements, it feels like it respects Chinese mythology and culture. Also the ink-brush painting aesthetic is something I really liked. However, there is some pretty overt fan service in the character models that I found a little off-putting. Overall I rate this game a guilty pleasure; it is fun to play. I am…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is great. It doesn't receive as much recognition as games like Hades, but it should. Complete the room, get the reward and try to find synergies that enhance your character's abilities. It's also one of those games that once you understand the mechanics, you can become pretty OP and that is satisfying. Decent story, good graphics. There are multiple characters with different playstyles. If you enjoy roguelikes, it's worth picking up, especially if it's on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Realm of Ink is a difficult game to review in isolation. Having recently 100% completed both Hades I and II, it is impossible not to measure this title against the gold standards of the genre. Ultimately, Realm of Ink is a competent and visually striking experience, but it lacks the mechanical depth and narrative weight of its inspirations. On a surface level, the game functions well. The aesthetic is beautiful, the music is atmospheric, and the core combat loop is mechanically sound.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another roguelite that I had to test, even when I'm so bad in roguelites and likes. I am just drawn to these games for some reason.. and this one didn't make me abandon it immediately, like many have! This is being compared alot to Hades, but it's unique enough to stand out. And there's PETS! People seem to say that the game is too easy. Well it is.. on lower difficulties, but you can increase the difficulty. I think this game is great starter game into the genre and for dummys like me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you enjoy Hades / Hades 2 I highly recommend trying out this game. It is a bit easier than Hades but has a lot more build customization. The only real negative I would say is the dub voices. I played with the original voices and used subtitles because I found the dub too annoying.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like the game, but the entire experience was subpar or just plain average. TLDR; I cannot recommend the game even on discount. There are better, tighter gameplay alternatives & more engaging, insightful meta-commentary on the "character knows they are in a video game". I'll still play to pass time and holding hope for updates to improve it. Would love to change this review to positive because I think the ink art style & chinese mythology are fantastic. Issues: The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🐰🪄 This week's schedule is here! 🍴 Mon — Game Buffet Day: Realm of Ink and Dimhaven 👽 Wed — Crewed ⚔️ Fri — FFXIV: Post Shadowbringers MSQ ⚔️Sat— FFXIV: Sorrow of Werlyt Trials 🕕 Live at 6 PM PT on Twitch today! 💜
neutral · AI labelView post →Absolutely yes, with qualifiers. This game is gameplay forward. The story is beautiful and the art is breathtaking, but the story is a little light. It reads like a fairytale, not a novel. People call this a Hades II clone, and even if it theoretically could have started that way, that's not really true. It's Dynasty Warriors. If you like Dynasty Warriors, and you like Hades I/II, you'll like this, because it's like if those two games boinked and had a really artistic baby. Having play…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, clearly Hades inspired but goes it's own way.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⠀⢀⣀⠤⠿⢤⢖⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⡔⢩⠂⠀⠒⠗⠈⠀⠉⠢⠄⣀⠠⠤⠄⠒⢖⡒⢒⠂⠤⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠇⠤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠈⠀⠈⠈⡨⢀⠡⡪⠢⡀⠀ ⠈⠒⠀⠤⠤⣄⡆⡂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠢⠀⢕⠱⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢳⣐⡐⠐⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠁⠇ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠑⢤⢁⠀⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢰⠀⠀⠀⡀⢄⡜⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡦⠄⡷⠢⠤⠤⠤⠤⢬⢈⡇⢠⣈⣰⠎⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣃⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢪⢀⣺⡅⢈⠆⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠶⡿⠤⠚⠁⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⡤⢺⣥⠟⢡⠃⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here I will leave this beautifull capybara, whoever pass by can pet it and give it a thumbs up (I need Steam points)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A pretty fun Hades clone. This game is lacking the story depth that makes Hades so memorable, but I would say the game play here is pretty good, There's a fair few different ways to do builds but in the end it boils down to getting as many perks and elixirs as possible. I would say the balance is a bit weird, because the success of run basically comes down to how fast you can blitz bosses out of existence. Even at the highest available difficulty, it is possible to kill the final boss in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playing Realm of Ink a game like Hades and has beautiful art. #vtuber #gameplay youtu.be/xTxi0mVFHMM?...
positive · AI labelView post →For a game that's now v1.0 it feels like it's on par with a roguelite game soon to be released and has just recently released its demo. Maybe because of the balancing of this game? If your run doesn't pop a "legendary", you're cooked. If it does, it's GG. like finish the whole region-die for whatever reason-restart again type of GG. Where is the music?? It's so boring I can only hear the wind, bamboo whistle and what not. Npcs have this chinese names I only sometimes hear and see, one generic…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First off; in spite of the game having 0 disclosures, it does, in fact, contain AI. It is blatantly obvious in the facial features of the main character ON THE TITLE SCREEN, as well as the badly written lines with triple apostrophes, em dashes, and missing letters and words. Second, the structure of the game is trash. Literally everything but the final boss is far too easy. I am on my 4th run, and have a 50% clear rate. That is terrible balance. It's a shame the devs are lying scammers who…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The art style is cool but basically no music. The combat is okay, but nothing amazing and doesn't feel impactful. I don't think this roguelike is for me. It just felt boring to play and put me to sleep.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good Hades-like, though don't expect the writing and game balance to be up to par. I enjoyed it for what it was. The gameplay is fun, but the English VA is atrocious.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the combat is so fun, game feels really fair
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid experience. Combat is fluid and engaging, and art style is really good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Realm of Ink is a stunning roguelite with gorgeous ink-painting visuals and tight combat inspired by Hades. The star is Red, a fierce and beautiful swordmaster whose graceful yet deadly moves shine. Her bold spirit and striking design make every battle a joy. With deep lore and addictive gameplay, this Early Access title is a must-play for roguelite fans ! Rating: 9/10 - Highly recommended !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Update: Alright the devs acknowledged it was wrong to show Keh barefoot on the art for her skin and they fixed it quickly. And honestly, this is so based. I am really pleased by devs taking actions like that and I hope they will do the same for Grace. We're almost there, if they do that I change my review and buy the games for my friends. Disclaimer: petty review ahead This is a Chinese game, which means it's choke full of beautiful barefoot women. So if you're gonna show playable characters…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am really enjoying the game, love the aesthetic, and I'd recommend it for anyone that likes the roguelite category. My only gripe is that some of the text is difficult to read for those that are colour blind. Particularly the dark red text, which is indecipherable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It’s Monday night and you know what that means.. - Game Trailers galore - Minecraft and Realm of Ink Spotlights! - More Lost Judgement? Twitch.tv/joafterwork
neutral · AI labelView post →Today's bday vid is my first run in #RealmOfInk! A game I been following since I played the demo over a year ago, and I was *not* disappointed! Huge congrats to the dev team on version 1.0 #vtuberEN #blackvtuber www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6aV...
positive · AI labelView post →🔥🕹️ #RealmofInk [1.0] by @leapstudio.app #indiegame #indiegames #videogames #gaming
neutral · AI labelView post →play warm snow instead...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would describe the game like this: Worse than Hades, a liiittle better than Hades II. The inspiration of the game is clear, but it is way more casual, in the sense that it is: -More forgiving: a lot more HP, less taxing mistakes -Some pretty OP builds, which decimate the enemies within seconds The music is less poignant than in Hades, so you may find yourself booting up YT music or Spotify in the background to have something pumpy for the fights here. The art style though, is great, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Live now with Ed as we check out Realm of Ink provided and #sponsored by @/4DivinityGames! Join us as we play this Hack and Slash, Action Rogue-like game for the first time and experience the story ❤️ @/realmofink #keymailer #twitchgaming twitch.tv/nozohomie
neutral · AI labelView post →If Hades is to hard for you, i guess this is a good option to start. Artstyle is nice and combat feels smooth. There is replayability and a lot of unlocks. The only thing thats really bad is the one ink option, there is literally an i-win button in the game. When you get this option you go from making 600damage to 60000damage with a single hit. 60% of players have the "not get hit from endboss" achievement and all yo have to do is getting this one ink option. Because you just kill the boss in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hades inspired fun roguelite. Lovely art style and loads of choices of weapons and powers to upgrade. Nice accessibility too Only feedback to give to improve it - make it clearer what ink skill is better than others, what / how pets are different? Also don’t use italics text it’s hard to read on the steam deck. Overall it’s a really fun game. I’d recommend it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The visuals are great, gameplay is fluid and the pet system is very creative, but the game should honestly be a bit harder, even the unlockable harder difficulty doesn't make it much more challenging, but it stands out on its own against other roguelikes greatly and has good potential. As someone with 400 hrs on Hades 1 and almost 300 on Hades 2, this game absolutely scratches that itch if you like either of those games. This game clearly has a lot of love put into it and I think it has the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game does a great job at deceiving players with the visuals, because it looks amazing. This is pretty much the only positive point for me. The gameplay is too easy, and you get so much upgrades you will be invincible without knowing what is going on. While this does not sound like an issue, playing as an overpowered chararcter, it becomes boring very quickly. The different forms (basic weapons) are not that amazing. I felt like they only matter in the first 2 worlds, later on the ton…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For experienced players in games like Hades/Hades 2 this might look an easy game at start (I have played only 4 hours by the time of this review and on my first run did all bosses without any hit) but looks like the game is getting harder now, the replayability and gameplay is 10/10 a lot of variability of enemies and areas, which are not always the same, even bosses are not always the same, will update this review after more gameplay but for now they might need to balance more some of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty solid chinese Hades style game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey everyone! Realm of Ink is finally out of early access and the kind folks at @kuoda-gg.bsky.social sent me over a key! #ad Been looking forward to this game since trying it out at gamescom so come hang out twitch.tv/slashie101
neutral · AI labelView post →Jank Hades-clone but there's something delightful about it all the same. It's unpolished in a lot of ways but there's a heart at the center that I kinda vibe with. Lots of unlockables, the various "costumes" (fighting styles) all feel pretty different, the companion evolution thing has amusing mechanical and artistic outcomes... It's also on the easier side so if other games like this are too difficult, you might enjoy the breeziness of this one
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty smooth gameplay. Feels a little like Hades but slightly different. Hades has a lot more depth and story. This is a little more straightforward. Nice things are that you can use more characters than Hades, while Hades has different weapons...different concept but it has more characters than Hades have weapons for what's worth. Built wise, quite varied but in the end, there's only a few that truly shine so you end up using some variants of that type of build. What i like is a rather quick…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →15~25 hours gaming should be sufficient to complete the game with all difficulties level (level 150) The arts looks good, the difficulties are managable, and the action is smooth. if you can't pass any boss, check some information in the forum. All the boss are easily handle once you understand the mechanics. Great game overall
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do enjoy Hades, but I have a massive bias to kitsune, so this game checks all the boxes, it's got such an amazing artstyle, and after the first run it felt like there was so much more to the game, defo is guna be one of my comfort games <3 I do wish that some of the animation cancels were more fluid though
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Been playing this on-and-off since Early Access, and it's been a great experience every run. Love how fluid the action is, how many combinations and ways to play there are with the ink skills, perks, and forms, and most importantly how well it leans into themes and tropes from the Cultivation genre. Fairly polished for an indie piece, and definitely looking forward to other titles from the creators.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's like Hades, but Less Less challenging (I already beat it) Less good music Less polish generally Less crisp gameplay Just play Hades the foxgirls are hot though not gonna lie
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ya like demos?? Cuz I got a new YT vid for yall about a Hades-inspired Rouge-like game called Realm of Ink!! (Game is currently delisted but check this out if its something you'd wanna try when it fully releases!) #BlackVtuber #Vtuber www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_p5...
positive · AI labelView post →very addictive, but a little too easy
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Started playing Realm of Ink and I like it, exactly the kind of fidget spinner for listening to podcasts I like. It's basically Hades. With a battle pet. And it's own graphical style. store.steampowered.com/app/2597080/...
positive · AI labelView post →Extremely enjoyable roguelite/Hades-like game RPG with beautiful visuals and fluid gameplay with a lot of interesting elements (different classes/weapons, skills that can be changed and upgraded during the game, artifacts and potions of various qualities that give various buffs, permanent passive bonuses that can be upgraded, etc.) that provide a great replay value with various creative approaches to building your hero. And plus you have a pet that actually fights (and changes) with you and has…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I waited till 69 hours for this, so here we go: This game is really, really fun. I won't say it did incredibly unique things, it was still a Hades clone when it was conceived, but I can confidently say that this game has found its place. I've been playing the game since like 0.3, and every single patch or change has been well done. The art is incredible, the gameplay is fluid and fun, the build crafting can be utterly insane by the end of the run. The difficulty modifiers (which they only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought it for the art style mainly, which is great, but the rest of the game really doesn't hold up. There's only a few characters that are actually fun and engaging to play and the other dozen are pretty ♥♥♥♥. The difficulty is tuned way too low. You can breeze through most difficulties with the primordial ink. While it makes you a lot stronger, it locks you out of most of what the game has to offer that's different from other games. Most ink skills in general don't do much apart from the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Haven't reviewed an indie for a while. I enjoyed Realm of Ink, a Hades-esque Chinese roguelite which I played on PS5. It has a nice style, lots of unlocks, and some cool bosses. My only complaint is that one stat screen is mapped to pressing the left thumb stick, and can't currently be changed, which means you're going to be seeing a lot of that stat screen in more frantic battles. Pretty fun though, and easier to beat than most roguelites. #gaming #indiegames #RealmOfInk #ps5 #roguelite
positive · AI labelView post →Overall I really enjoyed it. Done two runs so far, no bugs or issues which is amazing for a game in launch lol The combat is fluid, the power-ups are fun, Momo (the companion) is very endearing and also fun with this mechanics. The game is beautiful and if you're looking for a waifu collector to add to your roguelikes this game has more than got you covered. I fear it won't be challenging for roguelike enthusiasts as whilst the game does, optionally, get harder the more you progress I still…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
