This review contains spoilers
(I will contain spoilers to the end and mark them)
I like Inscryption. It is a super solid exploration of a few unique card game mechanics that come together in very interesting ways. The meta-narrative, surprises, and ending of the game didn't really land for me, unfortunately, which brings it down quite a bit.
The card mechanics in Inscryption are the strongest part. The game starts out with a single mechanic (blood) and introduces more as the game goes on (bone and some others). The approach here is super interesting... it has a lot of similarities with Magic the Gathering's mana, but in Inscryption each mana type is generated in a unique way. For Blood you have to sacrifice your cards, you get Bone any time one of your cards dies (even if you sacrifice it... synergy!), and there are a couple of others that are impressively unique and thematic to their type as well as introducing mechanical interest.
These mechanics on their own are pretty straightforward, but when used together become really compelling. You can combine strategies to generate resources in interesting ways and use those to play in multiple types at once, similar to making a deck of multiple colors in Magic.
The individual card mechanics themselves are cool and well done, with each card type having a fairly unique use that still feel good to combine with other types. This game is highly breakable in terms of straight mechanics, basically on purpose, which makes it an interesting puzzle to solve, but lacks some staying power once you understand the mechanics.
Visually, Inscryption is really impressive. I like the style of the 3D as well as how hard it leans into atmosphere and wierdness/creepyness. The characterizations and world building in the game are really well done and compelling, unfortunately the game undermines itself trying to be clever.
I had a good time with Inscryption and exploring all the card mechanics and how they interact with each other was really fun!
The narrative shortcomings definitely left me with a more negative feeling than I otherwise would have, but I think this game is worth playing for any fan of card games.
*Spoilers start now*
Part 2, with the 2d sections were less effective to me, just because it loses a lot of the atmosphere and unique feel. The meta-layer of exploring an overworld also isn't as interesting as Leshy's cabin
I did like getting back to the 3d and seeing the Robot's take on the playspace, even if the actual execution of that space is definitely not as impressive and fun as Leshy's.
The game definitely loses steam in parts 2 and 3. There are a lot of extraneous (unneeded) mechanics and the game just drags in a way that can start to feel tedious rather than fun.
The final portion of the game hints at the style of the other two Scrybes, which is a cool view into their mechanics and themes. Their mechanics don't stand as well on their own, which makes that part feel more like a narrative exercise than a gameplay one.
The broader narrative in Inscryption didn't stand up for me at all. The ending is abrupt and the ARG elements feel unearned to me. I just don't have any investment in the character based on these vlogs and the larger story of the game doesn't appeal to me at all, even after looking up some of the deeper secrets after playing -- it basically just reads as pretty dumb to me.
Honestly the four Scrybes and the internal world of the game are far more compelling, and the meta/ARG layer just detract from and undermine that, unfortunately. I was really impressed with how each Scrybe's resource mechanic fit their style and personality as well as with each Scrybe's unique board mechanics.
The eventual combination of all four types is a really impressive piece of game design that is worth looking at by itself.
I like Inscryption. It is a super solid exploration of a few unique card game mechanics that come together in very interesting ways. The meta-narrative, surprises, and ending of the game didn't really land for me, unfortunately, which brings it down quite a bit.
The card mechanics in Inscryption are the strongest part. The game starts out with a single mechanic (blood) and introduces more as the game goes on (bone and some others). The approach here is super interesting... it has a lot of similarities with Magic the Gathering's mana, but in Inscryption each mana type is generated in a unique way. For Blood you have to sacrifice your cards, you get Bone any time one of your cards dies (even if you sacrifice it... synergy!), and there are a couple of others that are impressively unique and thematic to their type as well as introducing mechanical interest.
These mechanics on their own are pretty straightforward, but when used together become really compelling. You can combine strategies to generate resources in interesting ways and use those to play in multiple types at once, similar to making a deck of multiple colors in Magic.
The individual card mechanics themselves are cool and well done, with each card type having a fairly unique use that still feel good to combine with other types. This game is highly breakable in terms of straight mechanics, basically on purpose, which makes it an interesting puzzle to solve, but lacks some staying power once you understand the mechanics.
Visually, Inscryption is really impressive. I like the style of the 3D as well as how hard it leans into atmosphere and wierdness/creepyness. The characterizations and world building in the game are really well done and compelling, unfortunately the game undermines itself trying to be clever.
I had a good time with Inscryption and exploring all the card mechanics and how they interact with each other was really fun!
The narrative shortcomings definitely left me with a more negative feeling than I otherwise would have, but I think this game is worth playing for any fan of card games.
*Spoilers start now*
Part 2, with the 2d sections were less effective to me, just because it loses a lot of the atmosphere and unique feel. The meta-layer of exploring an overworld also isn't as interesting as Leshy's cabin
I did like getting back to the 3d and seeing the Robot's take on the playspace, even if the actual execution of that space is definitely not as impressive and fun as Leshy's.
The game definitely loses steam in parts 2 and 3. There are a lot of extraneous (unneeded) mechanics and the game just drags in a way that can start to feel tedious rather than fun.
The final portion of the game hints at the style of the other two Scrybes, which is a cool view into their mechanics and themes. Their mechanics don't stand as well on their own, which makes that part feel more like a narrative exercise than a gameplay one.
The broader narrative in Inscryption didn't stand up for me at all. The ending is abrupt and the ARG elements feel unearned to me. I just don't have any investment in the character based on these vlogs and the larger story of the game doesn't appeal to me at all, even after looking up some of the deeper secrets after playing -- it basically just reads as pretty dumb to me.
Honestly the four Scrybes and the internal world of the game are far more compelling, and the meta/ARG layer just detract from and undermine that, unfortunately. I was really impressed with how each Scrybe's resource mechanic fit their style and personality as well as with each Scrybe's unique board mechanics.
The eventual combination of all four types is a really impressive piece of game design that is worth looking at by itself.