Inkturn Makes Every Trail a Puzzle for Two

FIRST SIGNAL / INDIE DISCOVERY / PC PUZZLE

It’s easy to think of a puzzle as a problem with one character and one route through it. Inkturn is interested in what happens when the route you leave behind becomes somebody else’s opportunity. Two little inkfish must collect every star, but each paints a trail that gets in its own way while opening a path for its partner. Even better, picking up a star switches who you control. Suddenly, every seemingly simple movement is also a handover.

The opening lesson in an unusual two-character puzzle system. Image: Lucent Trace Games.

The puzzle isn’t just where you go

Solo developer Evan of Lucent Trace Games describes the central idea in neat terms: each inkfish’s coloured trail blocks itself but helps the other. You aren’t simply drawing a path from A to B. You’re planning where the first character should travel so the second can make progress, then preparing for the moment control changes. A route that looks clever in isolation may create a dead end several moves later.

That creates a promising tension between immediate progress and long-term planning. Collecting a star is the objective, yet it also triggers a forced change of perspective. The game asks you to think about the next player-controlled fish before you’ve finished moving the current one.

Two inkfish, two trails, and routes that depend on each other’s progress. Image: Lucent Trace Games.

Small rules, substantial consequences

Inkturn is built around 42 handcrafted puzzles divided across five chapters, according to the developer’s submission. That fixed collection matters. Rather than relying on an endless stream of randomly assembled rooms, the game can build on previously introduced rules, then test whether players really understand the consequences of a trail, a star and a forced switch.

The appeal is less about reflexes than about seeing a pattern that wasn’t immediately obvious. The screenshots supplied by Lucent Trace Games show layouts with distinct shapes and arrangements; how difficult or inventive the later levels become is something we’d need to establish through proper hands-on testing.

Handcrafted puzzle layouts are designed around movement and switching control. Image: Lucent Trace Games.

A compact indie with a clear identity

For a small solo-developed puzzle game, Inkturn has a useful advantage: the premise can be explained in a sentence, but mastering the interactions should take more thought. It’s easy to see how the design might reward players who enjoy pausing before a move instead of trying to undo an impulsive one.

A later arrangement of the inkfish trails and obstacles. Image: Lucent Trace Games.

When can you play Inkturn?

Inkturn is listed for Windows PC on Steam, with a planned 13 November 2026 release and a developer-stated price of US$2.99. A public Steam demo is available now. UK pricing may differ and should be checked on the storefront at launch.

This is a First Signal discovery feature, not a scored review or claim that we’ve completed the demo. We have not independently verified the depth of the full 42-puzzle collection, but the premise is distinctive enough to earn a closer look.

Another official level layout from Inkturn’s current build. Image: Lucent Trace Games.

Find Inkturn on Steam or learn more from Lucent Trace Games’ press materials.

All images are genuine gameplay screenshots supplied and cleared for editorial use by developer Evan at Lucent Trace Games. This article is independent, unpaid editorial consideration. Any offered review access does not influence coverage or imply hands-on play.