Innchanted Review – An enchanting Aussie game

Reviewed April 10, 2023 on PC

Platform:

PC

Released:

March 28, 2023

Publisher:

Twin Sails Interactive

Developer:

DragonBear Studios

If you’re looking for an enchanting experience with a pinch of Aussie flare, then Innchanted is sure to deliver. The chaotic couch-coop management genre has become increasingly popular in recent years thanks to hits like the Overcooked franchise. With its excellently crafted controls and imaginative level design, this game is guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed in adding Innchanted to their collection as it offers a different spin with the theming, gameplay, and story. Grab some mates and get ready to dive into the world of Innchanted!

In the game, you play as a group of Australian adventurers heading towards your uncle’s Inn, only to find that a squatter has taken it over! Mr Iser the Wizard is refusing to give back the Inn and forces you to work to earn back the property. It is a magical Inn that changes its layout constantly giving you additional challenges in running it. Mr Iser guides you through the basics of making kangaroo steaks and brewing simple potions to start off. Colin the Wizard has given you 28 days to make the Inn profitable, giving you 56 different levels of chaos! Included in this are the dreaded food critics (bosses) that will give you the ultimate challenge.

Each day is broken down into two sections, Morning and Afternoon, as well as a rest period in between each day. This gives you a chance to see all of the equipment you have unlocked as well as giving you the option to try for a boon or bane for the next day. These play out in a text-based encounter that offers you a choice. For example, if you find a potion on the table, do you drink it or leave it? This all seems to be randomised as the same answer sometimes gives different results. Boons gave benefits that often helped in the running of the inn whilst Banes was more a funny occurrence than they were a hindrance, such as your weapon quacking or finding yourself uncontrollably dancing. These minor additions help bring a random element to each level which then adds to the replayability.

“…beautiful and immersive art, music, and design that reflects the culture of Indigenous Australians”

It’s always incredibly humbling to be represented within a game space and not be made into a trope. Innchanted is not only visually stunning but also celebrates Australia’s rich cultural heritage. The game brings much-needed attention to First Nations stories, with beautiful and immersive art, music, and design that reflects the culture of Indigenous Australians. It’s good to see more attention brought to Indigenous Australian stories in the gaming community.

You are introduced to many different characters who assist you along the way as well as different customers that add different complexities. These are beautifully themed to fit in with the Dreamtime stories of the Australian First Nations peoples. The conversations had between the young adventurers and the NPC assistants are always incredibly well written and don’t have the dreaded forced comedy that most games seem to suffer from. There are heavy underlying themes of colonisation and the destruction of Indigenous property which doesn’t feel out of place.

Innchanted’s gameplay is intuitive and easy to learn but gets more complicated as you go along. Serving customers their orders of potions, weapons, and food in different colours is just the beginning. As you progress through the game, you’ll be faced with more challenging tasks like helping feed and clean giant wombats, mixing potions, creating enchanted weaponry, or even fending off cat burglars. It’s not just the customers that need the potions though, as part of the challenge may include drinking a strength potion to smash a rock or drinking a charisma potion to assist a customer in their order. Whether you are serving, defending, mixing, enchanting, or collecting shells (currency), the complexity of the game gradually increases, and it can get pretty chaotic! But do not worry, Innchanted is designed to be a fun experience that won’t break any friendships!

If you can’t get four players together, there is an AI option that functions incredibly well. You can instruct the AI to serve, defend, or refill potions on the fly and it does what it says on the tin. The AI is really well programmed and actually felt better than having the extra player at times. With the simple mechanics of the controller, you and your friends will be able to quickly jump into the game and have hours of enjoyable and magical fun.

8

Great

Positive:

  • Amazing Australian representation
  • Well thought out level design
  • AI is actually helpful
  • Balanced difficulty/complexity curve
  • Family friendly fun!

Negative:

  • Can become overwhelming
  • Need friends to play

With thoughtful Australian representation, Innchanted is sure to be an incredible experience for all gamers. The puzzles, music, and themes are so enjoyable that it’s hard to put the controller down. There’s something new with every level, making the game increasingly engaging as you progress. Plus, up to four-player multiplayer lets your friends join in on the fun. Throw in a plethora of cute costumes that you can collect and a storyline so intriguing that it won’t leave you disappointed, and you’re left with a recipe for a good time!