- Shintaro Higashi’s new work that transcends the limitations of solo development
- A picture book roguelike where you fight with ‘consumable cards’ that disappear when used.
- Experience on PC and smartphone without installation… Scheduled for Steam release in December
Developer Shintaro Higashi (alias ‘Higashishin’) has released a free browser trial version of the picture book roguelike game ‘Ink & Lore’ . This trial version can be played immediately anywhere via PC and smartphone browsers without any separate installation process.
Steam has been distributing a downloadable trial version for Windows and macOS since September 8, and recently attracted attention by participating in ‘Steam Next Fest,’ held from October 19 to 26. The full version is currently under development with a target release date of December 2026 on Steam, and the price is yet to be determined.
The game is set in a unique worldview called “a picture book that someone stopped drawing.” Players will experience an exciting journey leading a pencil inspector and distinctive companions down into the deep abyss within the picture book.
A disappearing card when used—when to use it is the key.
The skills in ‘Ink & Lore’ are provided in the form of cards that disappear after use. Since you must obtain cards from dungeons and use them selectively, the timing of using your limited hand is crucial. This approach is differentiated from existing deck-building games where you collect cards to build a deck and use it repeatedly.
The developer explained that they reinterpreted the sensation of progressing through the masterpiece roguelike ‘Shiren the Wanderer’ by consuming scrolls and staffs into card combat.
In particular, by introducing a ‘generation’ system that creates new cards during combat and a chain mechanism where follow-up cards are added to the hand after a card is used, the game captures the thrilling sensation of continuously attacking while depleting resources.
Players level up their characters and enhance equipment such as swords, shields, and bookmarks, and challenge themselves to break through the ’99-Floor Dungeon,’ which changes its structure every time they enter.
Two people per team… Battles vary depending on the character combination
The party consists of two characters, each with independent health, level, and equipment systems. A total of four Guardians are planned for the full version, but in this demo, you can select and play with three of them.
Each character’s unique combat style also catches the eye. The ‘Pencil Swordsman’ obtains powerful secret cards as he chains attacks, while the ‘Highlighter Healer’ supports allies by generating highlighter cards every turn.
‘Compass Dancer’ builds up rotation stacks to unleash explosive consecutive attacks. The developers explained that depending on which characters are combined, players can experience completely different strategic fun and gameplay even within the same dungeon.
One picture book is a dungeon… Defeat the boss and the book closes.
Each dungeon in the game symbolizes a ‘picture book.’ As you descend a floor, the visual effect of actual book pages turning is applied, and at major branching points in the story, ‘motion comic’ sequences unfold, conveying the narrative through beautiful illustrations and speech bubbles to enhance immersion.
The boss guarding the lowest floor of each dungeon is none other than the ‘protagonist’ of the corresponding picture book. Only after defeating the boss can the final page of the book be closed, bringing the story to a close. Players must finish reading all three volumes of the draft (dungeon) in order to unlock the seal of the final book, where the ‘author’ who has finally laid down his brush awaits at the bottom of the deep abyss on the 99th floor.
A picture book that spreads and tears the deeper you go
A visual feature of the game is the presentation in which the art style of the picture book gradually collapses as you progress through the depth of the dungeon. The first book begins with soft lines and a charming art style, but upon entering the second book, the watercolors spread and the colors become muddy, reversing the atmosphere.
The developers explained that the cute picture book world in the shallow layers becomes distorted into blurring, tearing, and rampaging forms as you descend deeper. In the newly released browser demo, you can also experience firsthand the bizarre and unique atmosphere that changes rapidly as you move from the first book to the second.
Meanwhile, the developer stated that they put particular effort into vividly bringing this picture book worldview to life and utilized generative AI technology for the character and background graphics.
The trial version provides excerpts from two picture books.
In the newly released browser demo, you can play up to the ending of the first picture book and the middle of the second, allowing you to get a preview of the core fun of the full story.
It runs instantly on PC and smartphone browsers without the need for a separate Steam key or download, and supports comfortable gameplay in landscape mode on smartphones. Ongoing save data is automatically saved to the browser being used.
Another strength is the official support for multilingual subtitles for global gamers, including Korean, Japanese, English, and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional). Furthermore, the development team has announced that streaming and broadcasting of the Steam and browser demo versions will be fully permitted without restrictions, which is expected to lead to active participation from indie game creators and users.
Information regarding ‘Ink & Lore’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Development and Release | Shintaro Higashi |
| Genre | Picture Book Roguelike (Roguelike + Consumable Card Battle) |
| platform | PC (Steam / Windows·macOS), a browser version of the trial is also available. |
| Supported languages | Korean, Japanese, English, Chinese (Simplified · Traditional) |
| Trial version | Released on Steam on September 8, browser version available |
| Scheduled for release | December 2026 (Price TBD) |
| Browser trial version | Shortcut |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
