‘Tilted’ is a strategy game developed by Polish gaming company Yaja Games and published by Dedalic Entertainment. In 2022, it was selected as “Best Indie Game” and “Most Original Game” at the Gamescom Awards, which honors unreleased and highly anticipated games. The following February it entered early access on Steam and the official release is scheduled for February 22nd.
▲ Standby screen of the full version of “Inkrinaty”.
Judging by the Gamescom Award win, I think it’s a game that combines original ideas and fun. In fact, it was rated “very positive” on Steam. The total number of user reviews is around 260, which is not a large number, but you can say that it has definitely attracted players who have played in person. Now I would like to introduce you to the novelty and fun of “Tilted”, which I played before its official release.
▲ Representative image of Inklinati (Photo source: official website)
In cheerful doodles
deep strategy
During the ‘Basic Lesson’ where you learn the basics of the game during ‘Academy’, the tutorial content of ‘Lean’, you will see a cinematic video. The video begins with a heavily armed knight holding a long sword and praying in front of a cross in what appears to be an underground chapel. Next, the knight approaches a nun who is sharpening her pen while holding an open parchment book. Just as he was about to judge the heresy, the knight took out a pen instead of a sword and sat down next to the nun.
▲ I thought he was an Inquisitor
▲ He was a knight who liked to doodle.
This cinematic video implicitly contains the concept of “Slanted”. First, through the knights, nuns, parchment books and quills, we can see the medieval setting and the manuscripts of the time as the main materials. There are also strange humorous moments, like a knight pulling out a pen instead of a sword and sitting next to a nun even though she looks a little cramped.
▲ A scene that makes you laugh out loud
‘Tilt’ is a turn-based strategy game where you summon and move soldiers based on a pre-constructed deck onto a field that looks like a faded scroll to achieve victory. The summoning of a unit is expressed as a hand holding a pen appearing from outside the screen and drawing a “picture”, but in reality various objects and various types of units on the field are in the style of the illustrations found in medieval manuscripts.
▲ It is characterized by production that feels like drawing a real picture.
▲ It has the same visual appearance as an image in a medieval manuscript.
Personally, while looking at the concept of ‘Lean’, I was reminded of my elementary school days. It reminded me of a game I used to play with my friends when I was young, where I would draw a simple map or picture on a blank piece of paper, like a notebook or scrap of paper. Some of our readers may have had similar experiences. ‘Cracked’ has the same sensibility as an extension of this ‘doodle game’.
The sensitivity of ‘Inclinati’ is quite attractive. It also has the fun of being a strategy game. One move after another, there is a lot of tension. You can also experience the feeling of losing an important chess piece or giving up 5 pieces in vain while playing chess or mok in a moment of carelessness in ‘Tan’.
▲ It’s a game where every move is very exciting…
Players can move soldiers left and right and up and down on the scroll field. There are various breeds of soldiers, including bipedal animals and monsters, and they are also classified by type. Each race has its own unique characteristics, such as the fox stealing “living ink”, a material for summoning soldiers, from the opponent when it attacks. Furthermore, each type of soldier, such as swordsman, spearman, archer, priest, etc., has different operating methods.
There is also an element of “manual action” where “scribes” outside the scroll appear to directly intervene in the battle. Some special abilities include pushing an object or designated soldier one space to the left or right, hitting a target that deals direct damage, recovering stamina, and giving bleeding effects. When you use it, your hand rises above the scroll, like when you summon a soldier.
▲ “Hand Action”, a special ability with the concept of scribes external to the scroll who intervene directly in the game.
▲ Effects such as ally buffs, enemy buffs, and direct attacks exist, and are produced as shown above.
You have to use these soldier and hand actions well according to the battlefield environment to win the battle. Arguably, understanding the battlefield environment is the most important element of ‘The Inclined’. Some objects placed on the scroll can and cannot be passed through, and some can be passed through by allies but not by enemies. Also, oddly enough, all soldiers can pass through it, regardless of whether they are friends or not.
▲ Green and yellow represent the soldier’s movement range. Green allows additional actions after moving.
The battles in ‘The Inclined’ combine soldier characteristics, hand movements and the parchment battlefield environment to create a fun strategy. For example, if the space adjacent to the “ultra-small knuckleheads”, which serves as the player’s alter ego and command center, is left empty, enemy soldiers will rush towards them, ignoring friendly soldiers, and deal fatal damage. Additionally, you can move a friendly soldier into a space where passable objects and soldiers are lined up, then fall off a cliff and disappear with a single hand push action.
▲ A moment of carelessness can cause such a catastrophe.
While somewhat complicated and difficult, the process of experimenting with various battlefields and enemies through the Academy (Tutorial) and Journey (Story Mode) and building your deck using your newly recruited soldiers is more rewarding than stressful. Notably, throughout your journey, you’ll be able to strengthen your deck by collecting and consuming goods like gold coins and prestige, and there’s also the joy of growth and challenge by using it to face enemies who get stronger as you progress through the levels.
First impressions
A combination of medieval graffiti and high-level strategy: we tolerate Western humor.
If there’s one part of ‘The Inclined’ that may be a little different, it’s the Western-style humor. You can verify these elements in the content of the choices you encounter during your journey or in the appearance of the characters. Personally I didn’t find it funny. However, the atmosphere itself, in which several screws seemed to be missing, was favorable.
▲ Not very fun options
If you are a gamer who can appreciate even the smallest details, ‘Inclined’ is the best choice. The time it takes to complete the journey mode once is around 3-4 hours and you can enjoy additional content by playing repeatedly and the tutorial academy offers the fun of challenges, achievements and collections on top of learning the game. This is a game I highly recommend to players looking for a turn-based strategy game with a unique concept.
▲ This is a content-rich game based on a unique concept and a high level of strategy.
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