There's a lot I could talk about when it comes to Ikenfell, a lot of things I loved. I could ramble on about the almost casually effortless way it handles queer themes, its excellent music, the well-executed and rare GBC aesthetic. I could point out how its world is focused, interconnected in a way that makes it painless to traverse, how its secrets are accessible or how it manages to forge a unique identity during a time when it is very easy for a lot of indie RPGs to feel very of a kind.

But that's not what I want to talk about. When it comes to Ikenfell, what makes it a game I have come to adore is the personal and the mechanical.

The personal side of Ikenfell isn't a new one. It's not the first RPG to elevate its characters beyond the plot, to treat them as more than tropes. But the way it does so, the pervasive nature of the interpersonal development of these characters, is difficult to approach. Each one feels like a person, someone with a life outside of this story and whatever moment of time they are inhabiting. Ikenfell spends as much time on the relationships between these characters, the exploration of this personal space, as it does on the plot itself. And it does so in a way that does not disrupt the flow of the game, coming as a very natural ebb and flow of plot, mechanics and introspection.

The growth of these characters, catalyzed by a plot that pushes them into uncomfortable personal realities, is as much the focus of the game as the moment-to-moment story developments. A rarity in a genre that is often propelled by grand, sweeping themes and ever-increasing stakes. It's tempting to talk about the details, the ways it subverts expectations, how it handles its serious moments with a rare dignity. But it's a game I refuse to spoil, as the act of discovering these moments is the emotional core of the journey.

That alone would be more than enough for me to like the game. But the fact that the mechanical side is so polished, and in a way that suggests a keen understanding of the pitfalls of games that pull from the JRPG well, is what elevates the game to one that is, for me, an instant classic.

Moves. Skills. Think of the RPGs, particularly the JRPGs, you've played. Ask yourself how often you used the entire skillset on a regular basis. How about half of it? How many skills were simply different flavors of the same. Fire for ice enemies, ice for fire enemies. Raising magic defense when fighting spell casters, physical versus melee. Spells that are strict upgrades, rendering the previous version obsolete and thus not being new at all. Rote responses to rote situations and, in many cases, ones that aren't even required, with combat that favors brute efficiency over dynamic choices. Systems that are, ultimately, prescriptive, difficulty curves that expect average play and thus punish those who fully engage with the tools provided by dropping all pretense of a challenge.

Ikenfell does not have this problem. Each character has eight skills, with the last one earned notably before the endgame. In most cases, the very first skill will be the strongest. Everything else is a sidegrade. A weaker attack, but one that hits an area and clears traps. A stronger attack, but with severely limited range. One that allows you to approach from a different angle. An option for movement, or limiting that of the enemy. Healing spells with actual differences that genuinely matter. Every single skill you earn, beginning to end, will be useful on a regular basis throughout the game. There is no chaff at all, no extremely niche choices.

Movement in combat is best described as SRPG-lite, with a limited field and enemies that are quite mobile. Your opponents will also have specific ranges they prefer as well, attacks that hit in spreads and lines, near and far, and it becomes increasingly difficult to find optimal positioning as the game goes on. This is compounded by the lack of random encounters, with each mob pack having a unique combination of enemies. No two battles are the same, a dynamism that is sorely lacking in so many entries.

That dynamic nature is furthered by the timed hit system. All skills, offensive and defensive, and all incoming attacks are subject to this. But unlike other timed hit setups, they are of critical importance here. Hits can be bad, good or great. Buffs and heals will fail to take on bad, debuffs can be avoided with great. The difference in damage is very notable, both coming and going. And every skill on both sides has a different, uniquely animated timing to it, making the occasional mistake all but inevitable. To the game's credit, the tuning on the numbers is so solid that those mistakes will often cause you to change your plan, leaving an enemy alive or a character in peril.

But what about gear? Too often, gear is a series of largely linear upgrades, with accessories allowing a bit of variety. You arrive in a new town, you buy your new gear. You go into a dungeon and root around for a few ahead-of-the-curve pieces. You give a relic to this person, a bracelet to that one, to tweak their build just a bit or to prepare for a specific battle. Most of these decisions don't matter, so long as the number goes up and obvious mistakes are avoided.

Not so in Ikenfell. Gear that you find is of equal use to the gear that you buy, with every piece being a trade-off in some way. As in combat, the numbers are kept low and fine-tuned to such a degree that you will absolutely notice the difference dropping speed for an extra move makes, the defense you sacrifice for power. Meanwhile, special equipment is largely limited to collecting gems from secret areas and trading them in for items in a shop. You know what you're getting, and what you're getting isn't a strict upgrade. These, too, offer trade-offs, special effects at the cost of stats. Even the tired trope of ultimate weapons hidden in obtuse ways and bringing game-breaking stats and abilities is absent. Your best weapons will be acquired in the final area, through character specific trials and in time for you to make use of them in the ending hours.

There's more. A soft cap on leveling and an EXP curve that tops out perfectly just from fighting the enemies you find along the way. An economy that forces actual choices if you intend to use all of the characters. Three roles, with two options each that play out quite differently while providing you all the freedom you need to make an unbalanced team. Secrets that are both worthwhile and which want to be found. Consumables with multiple effects, and the need to use them if you choose not to rely on the (arguably too) generous save points to recover.

All of this is just to say that Ikenfell does more than provide a compelling plot and characters to care about. It builds systems to drive you forward, systems that feel like they require your engagement instead of simply shuttling you along. Dungeons aren't slogs, they're exciting opportunities to learn new enemies and expand your strategies. Itemization isn't fishing for the highest stats, it's an active decision with tangible impact and inevitable sacrifices. Numbers are small enough to easily track the differences made when one goes up or down a bit, and the choices for them are diverse enough that you feel like even small choices will change how a battle flows.

Everything matters, from the plot to the personal to the play of the game itself. It was the first time in a long time I felt I wasn't simply along for the ride in an RPG, part of a visual novel with just a bit more mechanical depth than usual. Ikenfell is a game in a genre where many titles are just stories that check to make sure you're still awake between cutscenes and, for me, a breath of fresh air that reinvigorated my waning love for RPGs.

Reviewed on Apr 12, 2023


1 Comment


11 months ago

Good writeup, will check the game out at some point