![]() Inscryption is equal parts weird narrative adventure game, puzzle game, and deckbuilder, and the different elements of the game come together in a way that is much greater than the sum of its parts. Know that the story is unashamedly fourth-wall-breaking, so if that’s not your thing, you probably won’t enjoy it nearly as much as I did. The dialog was funny when it wanted to be, unsettling or downright scary when it wanted to be, and not once did I roll my eyes at “video-game writing” - games like Inscryption are starting to make me feel like I can’t even call it that anymore. This is thanks in large part to the writing, which is excellent throughout. The ending fell a little flat, but the journey to get there ranks among my top video-game stories of all time. If you’ve played Daniel Mullins’ other games, Inscryption might feel like more of the same (albeit bigger and better), but I went in unfamiliar with his previous work and was honestly blown away by the way Inscryption’s narrative is delivered. Without giving too much away, know that the time you spend with the mysterious stranger in the cabin is only the first act in one of the coolest, weirdest stories I’ve ever seen in a video game. They aren’t just there for fun, however many of them serve to advance the plot in some way, and so it makes sense that they aren’t too difficult to solve.Ībout that plot: there’s so much more I want to say about Inscryption that would ruin a lot of what makes the game great. The puzzles are a nice way to break up the card playing, though none are particularly challenging. In addition to new cards, solving some of these puzzles will allow you to acquire an item that can be used to influence the card matches in some way. You can also permanently add cards to your deck by solving puzzles scattered throughout the cabin. These are all portrayed with excellent art design and dialogue - the stranger you play against puts on masks and uses props while narrating the story of your character’s journey through the game. Others contain battles, and there’s a handful of other fun risk/reward choices and push-your-luck mechanics. Some locations let you upgrade a card or pick a new one. ![]() Winning a match allows you to move your game piece forward one space on the map, which contains all the things you’d expect to see in a roguelike deck-builder. Going from an even score to victory or defeat only takes 5 points of damage, and many creatures do 2 or 3 damage - it’s possible to win (or lose) quite quickly. ![]() ![]() This creates a tug-of-war style back and forth that I found very exciting, with the scales swinging wildly from one turn to the next. Tip it far enough in your favor, and you win the match. The game’s victory condition is also something I’ve never seen before: instead of reducing your opponent’s life total, damaging your opponent adds weights to a scale. Given the brief length of most matches, each draw decision feels like a big one, and deciding when and how you’ll get your cards on the board is a fascinating challenge. At the start of each turn, you can choose to either draw from your regular deck, or from your squirrel deck. This is generally accomplished by sacrificing squirrels, which are weak creatures that you have a near-limitless supply of. You’ll be sacrificing a lot of squirrels if you want to winĮven just playing your cards is done in an interesting way: most creatures require sacrifices to be played, so you’ll have to kill one or more of your units on the board to get a new one out. You can see what units your opponent will play next turn, and even damage them with overkill damage - it isn’t chess, but thinking a move or two ahead is essential for victory. All units automatically attack at the end of their owner’s turn, and units only deal damage when attacking. There are no spell cards, only creatures, and most of the game boards provide only 4 slots for you to place your units in. The rules of the card game itself are fairly unique, a blend of typical creature combat and board game style positioning. You can’t just build a generically strong deck instead, Inscryption requires you to carefully consider the upcoming challenges when picking your next card or upgrade. There is an almost comical amount of special modifiers that cards can have, and each boss plays by its own set of rules. All singleplayer card games end up being puzzles to some extent, but Inscryption really leans into that idea, creating a series of card matches that require you to constantly shift your strategy and adjust your understanding of the game’s rules. ![]() You can get a clear explanation of any special card effects with a single clickĪnd what a deck-builder it is. ![]()
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