This review contains spoilers
Hello! I've noticed you've clicked through the spoiler warning. What follows is a summary of Inscryption, but you really should play it first. I will warn you when things really get into big spoiler territory but the best way of playing Inscryption is completely blind.
Inscryption is a spooky card game set in a mouldy cabin. Opposite you sits a figure shrouded in darkness, only visible by his shining, hypnotic eyes and the occasional reveal of a gnarled hand. He introduces you to a 4-lane Hearthstone-esque card game, where you place creatures to attack your opponent, and their creatures. Victory is tracked by a set of scales - as soon as it tips too far one way, the match is over.
But you don't have a pool of mana like Hearthstone - to summon stronger monsters, a price must be paid. Perhaps you have drawn enough squirrels (and have enough free lanes) to summon the 3-blood wolf. Perhaps you don't - but you do have two creatures you already placed sat there doing little. Sacrifices must be made to win.
Using this system, you journey through a simple roguelite map, getting exciting new abilities for your cards, deckbuilding and obtaining last-ditch items to save your skin. Eventually, you'll reach a boss with a unique mechanic and two "lives" - maybe you'll meet the Prospector, and I hope you didn't have two many cards down when you took his first life. If you did, well. See you in the next run!
The deckbuilding in Inscryption is the first time I've ever been remotely interested in the concept. There are so many mechanics and all of them are genius, and each can be combined with another to create something absolutely brutal. Maybe you'll find the black cat, who has a rune that marks it as unkillable. It doesn't do any damage, and only has one hit point, but if you hide it behind a rock... now you've got a free sacrifice every single round. Maybe you'll get a mantis, who doesn't attack directly ahead but to both the spaces to the left and right of that. Combine that with the fan consumable, and now you have free win just when you might need it most.
That's the core of Inscryption and if you haven't played it yet, you really, really should. I promise there's much more to see than just what I've described, and I can tell you it is flat out the best game of 2021. Please go and enjoy it.
OK, have they gone? Cool. Let's get into the fucking weeds here. Big spoilers from here on out.
Inscryption is a 16-bit deckbuilder inspired by Pokemon: The Card Game. Inscryption is an FMV adventure. Inscryption is a techno-horror card game with impressively in-depth systems. Inscryption is an ARG. Inscryption is the most mechnically dense game I've played in some time. Inscryption is a time vacuum.
It's impossible to talk about how good Inscryption is without completely spoiling it. There are effectively 3 entirely different games here - the initial sacrifice card game, the middle's deck-size limited RPG, and the final few hours' energy-based system. Each could support an entire game on its back by itself, but Daniel Mullins instead relegates each one to a few hours, then kind of tosses it away. The way these systems fold together in the second part generate some really interesting plays - I picked the P03 deck and so my economy was based around the same mechanic you work with later on. But early on I found a sacrifice card that when played, granted me an extra energy cell. Instantly my economy was improved. Each part is full of synergies like this waiting to be discovered. I kind of wish I'd picked a different starter deck - I will likely go back and try the two mechanics that are briefly seen at the end. I doubt we'll see DLC (the game is pretty final) but there's so much potential in the other two scrybes getting their own full adventures. It's such a good game, god. Play Inscryption.
Inscryption is a spooky card game set in a mouldy cabin. Opposite you sits a figure shrouded in darkness, only visible by his shining, hypnotic eyes and the occasional reveal of a gnarled hand. He introduces you to a 4-lane Hearthstone-esque card game, where you place creatures to attack your opponent, and their creatures. Victory is tracked by a set of scales - as soon as it tips too far one way, the match is over.
But you don't have a pool of mana like Hearthstone - to summon stronger monsters, a price must be paid. Perhaps you have drawn enough squirrels (and have enough free lanes) to summon the 3-blood wolf. Perhaps you don't - but you do have two creatures you already placed sat there doing little. Sacrifices must be made to win.
Using this system, you journey through a simple roguelite map, getting exciting new abilities for your cards, deckbuilding and obtaining last-ditch items to save your skin. Eventually, you'll reach a boss with a unique mechanic and two "lives" - maybe you'll meet the Prospector, and I hope you didn't have two many cards down when you took his first life. If you did, well. See you in the next run!
The deckbuilding in Inscryption is the first time I've ever been remotely interested in the concept. There are so many mechanics and all of them are genius, and each can be combined with another to create something absolutely brutal. Maybe you'll find the black cat, who has a rune that marks it as unkillable. It doesn't do any damage, and only has one hit point, but if you hide it behind a rock... now you've got a free sacrifice every single round. Maybe you'll get a mantis, who doesn't attack directly ahead but to both the spaces to the left and right of that. Combine that with the fan consumable, and now you have free win just when you might need it most.
That's the core of Inscryption and if you haven't played it yet, you really, really should. I promise there's much more to see than just what I've described, and I can tell you it is flat out the best game of 2021. Please go and enjoy it.
OK, have they gone? Cool. Let's get into the fucking weeds here. Big spoilers from here on out.
Inscryption is a 16-bit deckbuilder inspired by Pokemon: The Card Game. Inscryption is an FMV adventure. Inscryption is a techno-horror card game with impressively in-depth systems. Inscryption is an ARG. Inscryption is the most mechnically dense game I've played in some time. Inscryption is a time vacuum.
It's impossible to talk about how good Inscryption is without completely spoiling it. There are effectively 3 entirely different games here - the initial sacrifice card game, the middle's deck-size limited RPG, and the final few hours' energy-based system. Each could support an entire game on its back by itself, but Daniel Mullins instead relegates each one to a few hours, then kind of tosses it away. The way these systems fold together in the second part generate some really interesting plays - I picked the P03 deck and so my economy was based around the same mechanic you work with later on. But early on I found a sacrifice card that when played, granted me an extra energy cell. Instantly my economy was improved. Each part is full of synergies like this waiting to be discovered. I kind of wish I'd picked a different starter deck - I will likely go back and try the two mechanics that are briefly seen at the end. I doubt we'll see DLC (the game is pretty final) but there's so much potential in the other two scrybes getting their own full adventures. It's such a good game, god. Play Inscryption.