‘Inkression’ Captures Stories Through Tattoo Artwork

Inkression sees you trying to revive your neighbourhood by showcasing people’s stories through your art of creating tattoos.

Tattoos often have deeper meaning and a story to tell, especially to those who get them and to the artist that is designing and creating them. You’ll get to experience a taste of that feeling when you play this game as it sees you working at a tattoo parlor and capturing those meanings with your work. You’re not just stuck in the shop all the time, though, as you can switch between working in your tattoo parlor and exploring the town, seeing what exactly is going on in this area and how it’s changing.

The story around your town, Nortown, is that the entire place is going to be demolitioned to make way for a new commercial hub. Everyone is battling with this massive change and what’s going to happen to their lives. You are able to explore this town, talking to the individuals you come across about what is going on. The atmosphere at your parlor also reflects the changes that happen to the staff there who are more than aware of what’s going on.

Thankfully, Inkression is a story-based game where you do not need to actually be good at drawing and creating the tattoos. Instead, the game will wipe away any ink that’s outside of the lines and will often allow you to skip coloring in the designs if the story has been presented to you.

I got the chance to play through some of Inkression at Day of the Devs, where I was interested in this town and its story. Things there look a little old and faded, but taking the time to transform these stories into art so that they will be remembered feels so important. The captivating story and ease of playing really caught my attention, making me excited to see the full game once it’s out.

Inkression is currently in development, but in the meantime, you can grab a demo or add the game to your wishlist on Steam.

About The Author

Jupiter Hadley

Jupiter is a prolific indie game journalist, writing for Metro UK, Big Boss Battle, AlphaBetaGamer, and many more, all with a focus on smaller indie gems. She covers thousands of game jams and indie games on her YouTube channel, letting every game have a moment in the spotlight. She runs indiegamejams.com, a calendar of all of the game jams going on in the world, judges many jams and events.