“Inscryption is yet another masterpiece in Daniel Mullins’ growing roster.”
Spooky season is here, folks! Fear not, though, as Inscryption is here to satisfy your spooktacular desires. Indie mastermind Daniel Mullins has made a reputation for himself with his unusual, cryptic and unique library of releases, and this latest game is no exception to the trend. Inscryption is a mash-up of enticing genres; primarily presenting itself as a deck-building card battler but satisfying the subjects of roguelike gameplay, escape room-style puzzles and mild horror along the way. Trapped in a room with a mysterious figure who has a story to tell, players must submit to this antagonist’s game, fighting through to its conclusion while solving the enigmatic problem of how to escape their dark and dingy cabin-come-prison. If you are thinking “hmm, that sounds different” then you are absolutely correct. And guess what – it’s a delight!
Before jumping into the story, let’s first talk about the card game that is at Inscryption’s core. Taking clear inspiration from popular Trading Card Games such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon and, to some extent, Magic the Gathering, Inscryption presents a card game that is relatively simple in style, with quick and easy-to-learn rules and an animalistic theme. At the start of the game, you are presented with a simple deck filled with both squirrels and a flurry of simple-yet-aggressive creatures. Squirrels in Inscryption are harmless but exist to serve the purpose of sacrifice; the method through which stronger creatures are “summoned” to the game board. A simple Stoat card requires just one sacrifice to summon, for example, whereas a three damage, two health Wolf card, for example, requires two.
Once in play, your creatures are used to attack their directly opposing spaces on the field of play, which may be either vacant or contain an opponent. If an opposing creature is present, the damage value of your creature is deducted from the opposing creature’s health. If, however, the opposite space is vacant, the attack is launched again against the opposing character. To the left of the field of play is a set of scales, and each point of attack levied against an opponent sees the scales tip. Should they tip all the way in a given direction, that player loses the game. Again, Inscryption is very Yu-Gi-Oh! in its base workings but is simplified into a game that can be picked up in just minutes of play. Additionally, certain cards have abilities that amplify their usefulness. Some birds, for example, have the ability to fly above opposing creatures and directly attack the player, whilst other creatures have functions such as spines which will damage any creature that attacks them. There are a wealth of these abilities which are, again, easy to learn and significantly enhance the strategic thinking behind what is visually and complexity-wise a fairly straightforward game to play.
What makes the central card game of Inscryption especially interesting, however, is the ways in which the ruleset grows over time in the early game and, most significantly, the manners in which said rules can be bent. At the beginning of the game, sacrifices are made through blood. As the game develops, however, other methods of sacrifice become apparent. The earliest example of this is bones. When any creature on your side of the field of play is discarded, either through defeat or sacrifice, a bone is acquired by the player. Some cards can only be summoned through bones rather than blood, most of which are often less fluffy and more disturbing subjects such as the cockroach. These changes to what you consistently believe to be the established ruleset are introduced gently and naturally during play and help to keep both the story and gameplay both fresh and mildly disturbing; both of which are at the core of what Inscryption is about.
Bending the rules is another matter and a strategy that both you and your opponents have opportunities to employ. As you follow your imprisoner’s twisted story, you will occasionally come across “items” which can help you during the card game. Sometimes these are as simple as squirrel cards or bone tokens in jars which you can use as sacrifices at any time, whilst at other times items such as a fan can help your creatures to gain the flight trait, or plyers can allow you to pull one of your (in-game) teeth to tip the scales in your favour. All of these are early game items, too, with even more unusual and twisted implements being at your disposal as you play on. To reveal all of these in this review would damage what Mullins has consistently done so well in all of his titles; hiding their true nature and what is yet to come. As a tease, though, you will find yourself “compelling” your opponent to make certain moves and making greater sacrifices still in the pursuit of victory. Don’t be fooled, though; your opponents in play will twist the rules too, in particular when you meet “bosses”.
In reality, you only ever battle one opponent in Inscryption; your captor. The twisted mind who traps you takes on many personas throughout the game, though, each with their own unique mannerisms and methods for mixing up the meta and making you re-learn how to play. It is an interesting and innovative way of continually refreshing the game’s core mechanics whilst maintaining the cool but creepy aesthetic. The bosses are many and varied, many of which are a delight of sorts to encounter. The first, for example, is the Prospector. His pack mule is key to breaking his focus, but a victory is not all that it seems with this conniving figure… The bosses are also the key moments at which the game changes up its style, sending the clear message that you now face a different beast before you. These individuals take on the ruleset, keeps you on your toes and reminds you not to trust the world you are trapped in too closely… This is true, also, when it comes to death.
Death in Inscryption comes when you fail to defeat your opponent and your lives are spent. Death, however, is not the end. This is where the game’s rougelike elements come into play, but also its gameplay loop. If you die, your soul is forged into a card to be played in your next life. Using elements from creatures gathered in your deck, the more you die the more powerful this card becomes. When you restart the gameplay loop, this powerful card is at your disposal, as is everything you have learned thus far, to help you progress onwards at pace. It is a simple yet highly effective and emotive implementation of rougelike elements into the mix of the game, and it works well to consistently remind you how far you have come, and what the stakes of the game truly are.
Outside of the card game encounters which make up the bulk of Inscryption, the remained of your time is spent either on the game board (or tapestry) or exploring the cabin in which you are trapped. The board contains a variety of locations, from battles to backpacks filled with the aforementioned gear. In addition, though, some other twisted events can help you to enhance your deck in unusual ways. Sometimes, you are given a simple choice of cards and are able to add one of your choices to your deck. This is the best way to gain powerful new creatures and boost your arsenal. Other events include meeting a group of unusual figures around a campfire who help to enhance a creature and sacrificing a creature to give its powers to another upon a strange, bloody altar. These small touches are over in a matter of seconds but are consistently strong aspects of the game for immersion, progression and tricking you into being enticed by the very horrors before you.
The final key aspect of the game is the escape room-like cabin that surrounds the area of play. At key points, you are able to walk around the cabin and interact with puzzles. Completing these gives you the sense that you are overcoming your captor and progressing towards an escape, but equally, importantly your exploration can help merit you additional and powerful cards for your deck. The most interesting of these are the few creatures with personalities. Whilst they often argue and do not get along, they, like you, seem keen to escape and will help you to solve the cabin’s mysteries as well as advising you during battles. It is a cool touch that makes you feel, and fear, that others have been here before you and failed to escape. These moments for me were perhaps more interesting than the cabin puzzles themselves, which I found to be the least impactful elements of the game. The creatures’ interactions, and the arguments they have directly with your captor, push the story forward and add some occasional, and welcome, comic relief to the proceedings.
Before closing, the design of the game is highly worthy of note. The blotted ink of the cards and game board beneath the candle-lit illumination style turn what could be a monotone aesthetic into a thematic and dark setting. The mysterious antagonist, consistently hidden in the shadows with only their grim hands and burning eyes apparent, provides a consistent sense of dread through all of the game’s events. You are made to feel uncomfortably trapped by this character’s will. The dingy setting of the cabin itself completes the picture with low lighting, unusual objects and dark, creeping sounds all around you. Absolutely best played with headphones in the dark, Inscryption won’t try to catch you out with anything as dull as jumpscares, but instead uses subtle atmospheric sounds and a feeling of closeness to immerse you in the experience. A masterpiece of simple yet effective design aesthetics, the game keeps everything very simple, but very disturbing all the while.
On the whole, Inscryption is yet another masterpiece in Daniel Mullins’ growing roster. It is a disturbing game, contained within a single space with relatively simple mechanics, but what which encourages and entices you to play on through the horrors you are witnessing. The card game mechanic is well-thought-out and super easy to pick up, but the twists, turns and rule-bending surprises that frequently break the meta keep the experience fresh, interesting and challenging throughout the experience. The best elements of a variety of genres are simplified and artfully mashed together to create a mild horror package that replaces boring jumpscares with psychologically testing decisions and scenarios. A card game turned into something much, much more, Inscryption is both a valid and valuable addition to your collection.
Purchase this game here https://www.inscryption.com/
Currently only available on PC
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