686: Inscryption

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Inscryption for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[Nicktendo]

October 2021 I was coming out of a COVID-19 lockdown which had lasted 77 days. It was a tumultuous time, and I needed something to take my mind off things and relax. Well, Inscryption definitely took my mind off things. It's haunting aesthetic and addictive rogue-like gameplay hooked me from the get-go. Just one more run I'd tell myself. And then one evening I did it. I beat the Moon. Was that the end? No. It was only Act 1 and the game pivoted in such a way that I hadn't experienced probably since discovering Raiden would be the main character of Metal Gear Solid 2.

Act 2 reminded me of the Pokemon TCG on Gameboy. The highlight, as with the PTCG on phones now, was opening new card packs.

Act 3 was a sci-fi repeat of Act 1 that by that point didn't have the same staying power as Act 1 did in my mind. The clever use of file explorer bringing up pictures on my hard disk reminded me of the Psycho Mantis battle in Metal Gear Solid (another callback to the series).

The mysterious plot trickled throughout the game was intriguing and kept my attention until rolling credits.

Act 1 is the best part of the game and was justified in the creation of the Kaycee's Mod DLC.

Inscryption is well-crafted singular vision of Paul Mullins and possessed my attention for the week it took me to complete it. In its wake I was searching for something similar, and it opened the world of deck builder rogue likes to my gaming repertoire and have since discovered Slay the Spire and Balatro all thanks to this mesmerising indie gem.

TWR: Intriguing Insomniac Indie

[DaMonth]

I only played through this a couple weeks from the end of February, looking for a deckbuilder rougelike fix after Balatro that Slay the Spire's dim gamefeel didn't quite provide. I thought I got my answer, but Inscryption really isn't much of a rougelike, is it?

Not that that's an issue. While the card system was interesting and turning friends into overpowered death cards was a fun little distraction, I eventually started running out of friends to name runs after and got pretty sick of the Prospector. Had to look up stabbing my own eye because being blind was more just a hassle the first time I tried it on the final boss.

Glad I did though. The New Game "gotcha" was enough to reignite some interest. Blazed through Act 2 with an energy/bones deck. Act 3's probably the most clever with all the meta-twists and plot progression, but by then, my interest in the card matches drained exponentially and I was just incredibly ready to be done. Even the Yu-Gi-Oh joke wasn't enough to make me sad hitting credits.

Overall, good game but personally waned on my patience.

[TheAngryWalnut]

Towards the end of Inscryption I was torn: is this a developer who struggles to self-edit, lacking the bravery to leave solid ideas on the cutting-room floor in order to refine the whole, or someone with the confidence in their creativity to throw new idea after new idea to ensure nothing outstays its welcome? At the end I didn’t care. The twists and turns tightened, spiralling into a gleefully meta experience beyond my expectations, even after act 1 led me to expect the unexpected.

Then came something else unexpected: Kaycee’s mod allowed us to dive back in to where it started, without any of the fluff, and revel in its tight cardplay. For many this game is probably a step down from other rougelike deckbuilders - slay the spire et al - but for me it was a gateway. I loved the idea behind it all and the way it allowed for some truly OP builds (as any good rougelike should), and I sunk many, many hours into this endgame. It also led me to many of its inspirations, most notably magic: the gathering - something that had always passed me by, but that I now play whenever I can with friends.

I will always look back on Inscryption fondly - from the wild ride of the main game, to the addictive endgame, to the whole new world of physical card games it introduced me to.

[Rhaegyr]

It's not often that games mess with the player but Inscryption does this expertly and I wish more games would follow suit.

The segueway from Act 1 to Act 2 is something I'll never forget.

[The_reviewist]

I really liked Inscryption. A brilliant blend of storytelling and deck building fun.
Unfortunately, it took me DAYS to get out of Act 1, simply because I made the mistake of using the dagger during the final battle... and so never found out that you got a replacement eye, because when the showdown ended, the camera snapped and I started over.

Assuming that if I used the knife I'd have to play the whole game myopically, I shunned it! Until finally out of necessity I used it, about 6 runs later. Then I practically sped though the final two acts over a couple of evenings.

[Girard]

Ultimately, it had a great opening, and some fantastic twists, but I felt like none of the subsequent things it became were as compelling as the opening act, and by the end it felt like it didn't really have anything to say for all of its surprises and secrets. It felt more 'clever' than 'smart' if that makes sense. Even if it's not an unalloyed triumph, it's still a striking experience, and one I'd recommend. And the card game at its core is actually quite fun to play - it got its hooks in me, even as someone who generally does not enjoy deck-builders or card games.

[Alex79]

*ALMOST CERTAINLY SOME SPOILERS IN THIS POST*

I started a new game on this planning to get it finished before the show. It's frustrating because I know there's more to the game, and although I enjoy Act One I've never yet managed to beat the fisherman boss so have never seen what else the game has to offer!

EDIT: Woohoo just beat the fisherman. Got a really good deck at the moment with triple blood for the squirrels and a card called Stabber (I made him) that does six damage in each diagonal direction and has four health and only costs one blood.

EDIT 2: Ok, so these are very much still thoughts in progress. I finally beat the first act of the game and really loved that section. It's really fun how overpowered you can be when you know what you're doing and what builds you can make. You can win every match on your initial turn once you have the right set up.

I'm really stuck now though. I just seem to be stuck in a dark room with no way out. I can see a candle through a door but can't interact with anything or do anything... I'm baffled!

EDIT 3: Ooooooooooooh, okaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

EDIT 4: Oh man. So this game really drops off a cliff after act one, huh? The first part of the game is so atmospheric, really fun game mechanics, and then...this? Act two sucks. The battles are exponentially more difficult, making very little progress, a ton of new mechanics are introduced with zero explanation, it just stinks. Bizarre.

EDIT 5: Ok, ok, getting some better cards now and making some progress. Seems a little more interesting than I'd first though. What a fucking rollercoaster

EDIT 6: Oooh cool, there's a way in Act 2 to completely break the battles! I suddenly have a ridiculously overpowered card, limited only by my own patience. Yes! Act 2 is brilliant! This game is brilliant!

EDIT 7: This might be one of the most oddly inconsistent games I've ever played. Good grief Act 3 doesn't half drag on longer than it needs to. It's just not much fun to keep on repeating the same fights over and over again with no discernable way to improve your deck between attempts. At least in Act 1 you'd get your death card. Act 3 feels like banging your head against a wall.

EDIT 8: Yay! I've got my cheat card back!! This game is good again!

[Alex79]

I finished Inscryption last night and it is, without a doubt, a brilliant game. But it's not a perfect game. Each of the acts, perhaps with the exception of Act One, annoyed me to a lesser or greater extent as I got to grips with the new rules and the new cards, but ultimately the core gameplay, the battles themselves, remained largely the same throughout.

The game begins on such a high. Positively dripping with atmosphere and the first time you get up from the table is one of those 'woah' moments in gaming, where you suddenly re-evaluate everything. And then the lead in to the second act with the home movie footage hints at a wider mystery and the player is fully in by that point.

I found myself struggling in both of the latter parts of the game simply due to not getting my head around the best tactics to win quickly enough, but the fact that the game gleefully lets you create a ridiculously overpowered card to use as you wish around the mid-game certainly eases off some of the pressure.

I felt that the second and third parts of the game were entirely less appealing than the first, but that's not to say they were without enjoyment, because I really did enjoy the game. I said before I felt they went on too long, but looking back now at my total play time of around 15 hours, I'm not sure that can be true.

Inscryption is, to me, a slightly rough masterpiece. A really interesting set of mysteries and puzzles built around an extremely competent and enjoyable card game. And I don't even like card games. I'm really glad I saw this through to the end.

THREE WORD REVIEW: Arise, Sir Ouroboros!