Note, I only played this single player, so all my feedback is playing offline.
Inkbound plays and feels a lot like a turn-based version of Hades. The way the story unfolds between runs particularly seems of the same style. I consider this a good thing. The one downside is that the stories themselves don't seem to end with a bang, but a whimper. It doesn't feel like there is any grand resolution to the questions laid out, though there are some fun reveals along the way. Maybe that's intentional, like you're just in the middle of a much larger story, but it is a bit unsatisfying. [EDIT] I belatedly realized I was only half way through the story, and hadn't triggered the second half. The story is no longer unsatisfying, and has a good conclusion.
That said, I've put over 50 hours into the game, and probably will put in a few more. The way I personally did it was to let the game organically increase its difficulty to its maximum, and after I got all those achievements, I dropped to Casual to keep exploring the story. I probably will go back to max difficulty runs to give myself a challenge again, but if you do want to unlock as much as possible, going to Casual to level and reveal items hidden behind stories is the easiest way to unlock everything.
For me, the biggest gameplay win is the positioning mechanic. Inkbound is very naturally set up to where you are on the board matters a ton, and even fractional changes can lead to major outcome differences in a turn. If you've ever played a turn-based tactical game on a grid, it's like that, but far more nuanced. It works well, and it's very engaging when you know to even just survive, you have to get your positioning just right.
A couple practical notes:
1. If the game loads without a texture on your main character, quit the game and reload. I had this happen to me about 25% of the time, but a reload would fix it. Some monsters become invisible with this texture bug, so don't try to play the game with the bug on.
2. The game kinda chugs on Stem Deck. It will work, but make sure to turn all settings down as low as possible. Text is also kinda small, so it's better if you already know the game and can tell what you're picking up by the picture. In my opinion, Inkbound could really use a round of polish to make it a great Deck game. But as it stands, it's still a good one.
3. Even on casual, one of the last levels you can unlock has enemies with lots of HP. They can grind you down. While almost every other level lets you get away with the silliest combos on casual, when you unlock the late level, make sure you have your damage combos working well, or they'll simply outlast you.
