{"rewrite":{"id":"r_19dd9a243b2dfa3c9f24cb83","clusterId":"c_ef05d11fdde7ce5da06329c8","slug":"inkblood-hands-on-at-tgs2026-critical-reflex-shows-inquisitor-mystery-adventure","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Inkblood Hands-On At TGS2026: CRITICAL REFLEX Shows Inquisitor Mystery Adventure","summary":"CRITICAL REFLEX brought a playable demo of Inkblood, the new mystery adventure game from Hey Bird!, to Tokyo Game Show 2026, held at Makuhari Messe from September 17 to 20, 2026. Players take the role of Inquisitor #134, who is both an inquisitor and a prisoner confined to a carriage, investigating brutal murders and traces of blasphemous rituals in a town where suspicion falls on a cult. The carriage interior holds investigation devices, including the Echo Mirror, also called the Reverberation Device, which recreates past events when dragged over a scene, and an old-fashioned camera used to photograph suspects. Reports are filed using a rotary-dial telephone. The demo opens with a corpse by the roadside, then moves to a case at an inn that burned to the ground with multiple deaths, where four members of a musical troupe must be assessed. Inkblood is scheduled for release within 2026 for PC via Steam, with Japanese display planned.","whyItMatters":"The demo shows a mystery structure where each solved case feeds into a larger thread, since Inquisitor #133, the protagonist's missing predecessor, is tied to the burned inn, and the carriage manual states an inquisitor's heart is removed and placed in the Engine's glass vessel on the first day of assignment.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese version uses a serif typeface chosen to match the atmosphere of the original language version. The retro texture across the whole screen is styled after lithographic printing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHey Bird! is the studio behind Ministry of Broadcast. CRITICAL REFLEX is also the publisher behind Mouthwashing and Burden Street Station.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe carriage interior holds more than the Echo Mirror and the camera:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eA radio, a lamp, and fasteners sit on the seats.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eA letter near an altar describes the case under investigation.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eA book records the details of each solved mission.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eThe Vault is a desk where letters and evidence can be dragged down and taken out at any time.\u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eGreen glowing circles can be zoomed in on for extra information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScrews on items inside the carriage can be loosened to reveal evidence. On the second case, loosening the screws on the drum the band had used produced a clue.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSubmitting an incorrect report carries no particular penalty, so players can test hypotheses as they come to mind.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Inquisitor #134 investigates from inside a carriage he cannot leave, so the Echo Mirror does the walking. Every case in Inkblood arrives through a device rather than through the character's own legs.","twitterPost":"Inkblood's Inquisitor #134 is confined to a carriage, so cases reach him through the Echo Mirror and a rotary-dial phone.","threadsPost":"Inkblood's protagonist is both inquisitor and prisoner, confined to a carriage while the Echo Mirror recreates past events at each scene. The investigation happens through instruments, not through the character's movement, which puts the whole game at one remove from its own murders.","newsletterBlurb":"CRITICAL REFLEX brought Inkblood, a mystery adventure from Hey Bird!, to Tokyo Game Show 2026. You play an inquisitor confined to a carriage, using a device that replays the past and a camera to solve murders, including one at a burned inn tied to a missing predecessor. It is scheduled for release within 2026 on PC via Steam.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/966/G096666/20260922001/\",\"title\":\"Hands-on with the Unconventional Mystery ADV \\\"Inkblood\\\": Playing an Inquisitor Who Cannot Leave His Carriage, Using an Investigation Device That Replays the Past to Probe Incidents Across the Land [TGS2026]\"},{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/09/22/172629.html\",\"title\":\"TGS2026: Mystery ADV 'Inkblood' Hands-On Report - Peek Into the Past With the 'Reverberation Device' and Capture Evidence With the 'Photograph Device' as You Take on Cases as an Inquisitor\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":13567,"outputTokens":1385,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791037470,"createdAt":"2026-10-03T14:19:58.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-03T14:23:22.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T14:23:22.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_ef05d11fdde7ce5da06329c8","canonicalTitle":"異色の推理ADV「Inkblood」をプレイ。馬車から降りられない異端審問官となり，過去を映し出す捜査機器を使って各地の事件を調べていく［TGS2026］","representativeArticleId":"a_5bda1a62782438e9dd3c0219","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Inkblood\"],\"studios\":[\"Hey Bird!\",\"CRITICAL REFLEX\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-22T04:37:10.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-22T04:37:10.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T14:23:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/966/G096666/20260922001/","title":"異色の推理ADV「Inkblood」をプレイ。馬車から降りられない異端審問官となり，過去を映し出す捜査機器を使って各地の事件を調べていく［TGS2026］"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/09/22/172629.html","title":"「残響機」で過去を覗き「写影機」で証拠を掴む、審問官として事件に挑むミステリーADV『Inkblood』試遊レポ【TGS2026】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Inkblood"],"studios":["Hey Bird!","CRITICAL REFLEX"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["CRITICAL REFLEX showed a playable demo of Inkblood, developed by Hey Bird!, at Tokyo Game Show 2026, held at Makuhari Messe from September 17 to 20, 2026.","Inkblood is scheduled for release within 2026 for PC via Steam, with Japanese display planned.","The player controls Inquisitor #134, who takes over from predecessor #133, and is confined to a carriage equipped with investigation devices.","The demo's second case takes place at an inn that burned to the ground with multiple deaths, where four members of a musical troupe must be assessed."]}