Inscryption

Fascinating game with tons of secrets and surprises. The art styles are amazing as well with great variation between the acts. For anyone who gets a bit frustrated in certain battles, there are a bunch of things online about unlocking the secrets to help get more cards and power ups. Some battles are meant to be lost as well. It's a very unique experience that is difficult to forget.

I don't want to spoil anything because "the big twist" is part of why the game is popular. What I will say is the story the game sets up before the twist was vastly more interesting to me than the creepypasta story it ended up becoming. If the developer took the first act of Inscryption and fully committed to that story then I think they would have had a much better game. The card characters were such an interesting concept. With the card gameplay being centered on blood sacrifice as well as the implications of bone alters permanently removing cards, it just pains me to think of what could have been if the story stuck with that.

Mechanically speaking, the game plays fairly well. The gameplay in the first act was much more enjoyable than the rest of the game. The times between acts where your deck is tossed out and you start over can be a real slog. The UI could use some quality of life improvements. Having such a low field of view was probably a stylistic choice, but having to shift the camera around to see what's in my hand, to look at the game board, or to read opposing cards felt very cumbersome. Not having tooltips when hovering over things, instead having to click icons and pull out a rulebook, was also a bit tedious.

Overall I'd say Inscryption is great if you want to play something made by someone who quite clearly loves card games. I just wish they had the courage to be authentic with their story and a little less meta.

If you like deckbuilder rogue-likes, this game is for you. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

An imaginative entry into the burgeoning canon of roguelike card game sims, Inscryption is a fine CCG, realised in handsome and characterful fashion, and enlivened by / saddled with (delete according to preference) Daniel Mullins’ trademark metatextural hijinks. A kind of Paul Auster’s Magic: The Gathering, Inscryption is certainly worth checking out, but in purely gameplay terms does little that hasn’t been seen before.

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT:

It’s likely worth going into Inscryption as blind as you can, as much of the game’s enjoyment comes from the discovery. Like Shrek, Inscryption has layers. With that caveat out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks: this a more a bundle of related games than one experience. The initial roguelike Slay-the-Spire-in-an-escape-room familiar from the marketing is likely the best. Moving through a beautiful diegetic world of wooden figurines and tableside tools, trapped in a log cabin with your faceless nemesis (who dons wooden masks to represent the various characters you meet along the way), I found Inscryption’s first few hours to be its most enjoyable. The atmosphere is rich, and the premise intriguing. The card battler’s systems are a little shallow, however, and progress is gated behind the puzzles strewn about the log cabin. This can lead to frustrating repetition, which both robs Act 1 of its atmosphere and reveals it to be somewhat at the mercy of the RNG. Drawing one card per turn can feel restrictive, and the five-point-swing to win means battles rarely last for long. There are some delightful synergies and strategies to exploit, but aside from some fun interactions between the card games themselves and the surroundings, there’s little from a gameplay perspective to recommend Inscryption over the likes of Slay the Spire or Hearthstone.

Then you finish the first act, and the second reveals itself as more of a top-down Pokemon-CCG. The aesthetic is much worse, almost deliberately unpleasant. The gameplay is quite shallow, even compared to Leshy’s Cabin. Then comes the third act, a sci-fi reimagining of the first, but mechanically less dynamic, and much less characterful. I’m not sure ditching roguelike mechanics for persistent progression benefits the gameplay. As this goes on, Inscryption reveals more of its 2000s disc-in-the-woods lore, which is not necessarily a good thing. As with Mullins’ previous Pony Island, the gameplay is perhaps best seen as an enjoyable vehicle for delivering a payload of fourth-wall-breaking puzzles and dry wit. This is arch, meta, eyebrow-raising stuff. On the one hand, it’s inventive, imaginative, and generous. On the other, when characters and themes from one gameplay mode show up in another: so what? After somewhat limping to the end of the third act, the finale offers a fun rehash of Inscryption’s themes, and for me was the strongest section after the stellar first few hours. How much you enjoy the totality, however, will likely vary a lot with personal taste and, perhaps, how jaded you are with video games as an art form.

Praise has been heaped on Inscryption, and so you probably don’t need me to recommend it; though I do. Just be aware that – unlike Pony Island, which was short enough not to outstay its welcome – Inscryption’s meta-narrative may not be to everyone’s tastes, and if so, Inscryption can drag. For all that, this is well worth checking out if this is sounds up your alley, and is certainly a unique and well-realised spin on a familiar formula. Slay the Spire likely remains the CCG to beat for gameplay perfection, while in a similar vein I’ve recently also had a blast with Klei’s Griftlands and the terrifying compulsion of Balatro.

As a fan of card games such as Dominion and Slay the Spire, Inscryption does a fantastic job of using this genre to tell a trippy story. As Dunkey says: "This game gets crazy."

I could talk about the narrative and cool storytelling (what you see on the surface is very much not the whole story), but honestly the core card gameplay is really fun. ouroboros gaming

A psychological horror roguelike deck builder with a mix of escape room puzzles. Everything from story, the games mechanics, and game play loop make this one of my favorite games I could easily replay. 10/10 I couldn't recommend this game enough.

I'm very late to this game but wow was it great. Act is is 10/10, Act 2 and 3 are a mixed bag mostly because you get so used to Act 1 that they are pretty daunting.
Not much else to say. Fantastic passion project from Daniel Mullins. Play it, you won't be disappointed.

Is it healthy to have so many hours in a game like this? Most likely not but gotten all these hours I have and get all these hours once again I very much expect I will.

The main story that I played all that time ago I felt was well worth the one playthrough it got. It presents itself at first as mix of roguelite deck builder and escape room and in typical Daniel Mullins fashion, the rules change a bit over time as, also in Daniel Mullins fashion, we find ourselves slap bang in the middle of an extremely haunted video game with any number of character within trying to take advantage of and/or torment the player avatar. It can certainly be said of it that it is an experience. It can also certainly be said of it that as the game space and mechanics expand and become more elaborate, the more barren your surrounding and the more thoughtless your actions both coming, leaving you concerned all too much with just ending the damn thing. Act 3 seems to do this on purpose and as such I must give a word of advice: lampshading that the longest, most tedious part of your game is pure tedium the played must endure does not excuse the pure tedium that YOU made everyone have to endure. Suffice to say, on the second run, it did not really hold up.

As much as Kaycee's Mod (despite the name, a post-game extra mode) could be reasonably viewed as sort of an apology to all those who ultimately bought the game for its first act and was disappointed to discover the other two (they are, in fairness, more *interesting* than fun), it is the shot in the arm that can take all of the credit. As you might imagine, it's the first act of the game transformed into something more akin to the other roguelite deckbuilders you know - increasingly painful mutators, extra starting decks, rebalancing of the game's worst offenders (that's right Kaycee, what you did to the Fecundity sigil DID have to be done), increased buckwild randomness and so on. It is simultaneously wildly unfair, totally unforgiving and a power trip and those experiences come in just the right measures that I keep coming back again and again.

Give it a shot. And if you find yourself only wanting to play Act 1 and not the others: it's Shift + K + M - hope that helps.

Daniel Mullins is insane. I wish I could experience this game again for the first time. You really aren't prepared.

Gameplay is really engaging with fresh mechanics that build complexity. Game design is super creative, don't search anything up and play it!

i love this game omgggg i've been hyperfixed on it for a month i lowkey wanna make my own little board game version of it so my friends can play w me im actually obsessed the gameplay? the art styles? the storytelling?? im kissing the creators on the cheek i love yall AUGHHHHHHHHHHH

Very fun game, a lot of replayability, went in blind and would definitely say that's the best way to experience the story. This is such a masterpiece of a game, and I like how Kaycee's mod shifts up the gameplay a little bit. It was able to run at ~60 fps on my shitty laptop with low graphics settings, 10/10 would recommend.

the game is fabulous. if you are down to try new things and are interested in story, this is the game for you. i looked through the reviews of this game, only to find that all the negative reviews that i looked at were people who had expectations of what this game would look like. if you go into this game with an open mind and aren't expecting anything than a story card battler, then you will enjoy your time with this game. try it, the more invested you get into the story the better. i cant recommend this game enough.

Incredible game - Just finished it all minus kaycees mod section; this game has some amazing visuals that capture you at every new section as well as the game mechanics themselves, nothing is boring and each act has its own unique style that makes you feel like your immersed in an entirely new game, will undoubtably play again and again

Este juego es una experiencia única. No hay nada que pueda escribir que le haga justicia. Compralo, jugalo y después buscá en youtube la historia porque... wow.

Amazing game. Try it blindly and let it surprise you, you won't regret it.

Jesus，honestly , masterpiece far beyond expectation. completely no idea about the loop ....totally out of the box...
quiet good for brainstorm , little bit harshing , not for children

It's awesome! You think it's just a card game, but it's not. It's more than that, a lot more. It's dark and creepy and fun, with super cool effects and twists. Play it, if you dare. ;3

You already know this game's amazing. If you're on the fence, to help, I'd say definitely get this game if you're into mystery, storytelling, deckbuilder card games, (deck-based roguelikes), and if you're into games that play with your expectations. Definitely deserves to be in the pantheon of one of the best indie titles ever.

you play a card game with split parts of hitlers personality on a floppydisk the russians made from a code he put onto a deck of cards in an occult ritual that ended with his suicide to tie his soul to that code that a part of that same split personality released onto the internet after some dumbass plugged the floppy in and left his router plugged in.

gotta love indie game lore

Simple build but many stages and great for thought. Simple but fun. Lore is great and Always fun to play.

This game has some of the best storytelling I have seen in a game. Do not look up anything about this game and just start playing. You will not be disappointed

On a first playthrough, I was stunned by what appeared to be a labyrinthine concoction. On my second, I realized it had all been smoke and mirrors. Inscryption unfortunately contradicts itself in this regard. It basks in mystery, drawing you in as you must learn more. Once you've exhausted all of Inscryption's nooks, you'll wish you had never lost that feeling of wonder.

Interesting game, it's all card based with some easter eggs to other games.

It's all the more fun if you imagine the voices from all the dialogues you come across,

Loveable characters.

I was never into Virtual card-games but this one completely drew me in.
The story is amazing and is best if you go in blind. Please try this game!

Inscryption is a masterpiece of gameplay and storytelling

Few games manage to blend genres as seamlessly as Inscryption. Developed by Daniel Mullins, this psychological horror deck builder is not just a game, it’s an experience. With its unique fusion of escape room puzzles, roguelike deck building, and oppresive horror elements, Inscryption is a masterpiece that keeps players on edge from start to finish.

At its core, Inscryption is a deck building game, but it constantly evolves. The mechanics in each act bring fresh and unexpected twists, keeping the player engaged and challenged. From sacrificing creatures for stronger plays to the game manipulating your own files, using your steam friends as cards and even more. in Act 3, Inscryption continually redefines what a card game can be. Every new stage adds complexity and intrigue, making it impossible to put down.

Even though act 2 left me kinda underwhelmed at the beggining, I decided to play the game anyways and god, im glad i did. The game is a absolute masterpiece from gameplay and artstyle to storytelling, the plot twists and mechanics absolutely broke my mind. The last 40 minutes of the game and the ending got me speechless. I was like ,,what the hell just happened?!" when the credits started to roll.

Inscryption is more than just a game, its an absolute piece of art.
I give it a solid 9.5/10 and highly recommend it.

I wish there were more options regarding recommending a game on Steam... mainly for games like this. If you enjoy card battlers, you will love the first half of the game, I know I did. On the other hand... the second half of the game confused me and I've still not fully finished the game.

It isn't that the game is bad or not well designed. It is a superb game, but the juxtaposition between the first half and the second half is more than a bit jarring.

Overall I would recommend the game, but go into it with knowledge that the first half and the second half of the game are wildly different.

Inscryption is a good, but overrated, deck builder with some puzzles elements and some story portions to go along with it.

The game starts by introducing you to the basics. Cards have power, health, play cost and some have special abilities. There are 4 slots on each side of the board for placing creatures. At the end of each of your turns, all your creatures on your side of the board attack. If there is a creature opposing them, they damage/kill that creature. If nothing is there, they damage your opponent. Your opponent's turn works in the same manner as yours with two exceptions. First, he has a limited hand of cards that he will semi-regularly play for free. Second, he has 4 additional slots on his side of the board which allows you to see what he is going to play on the next turn. You can potentially kill these creatures before they get played and attack. The winner is the first to do 5 damage more than their opponent has done. The play cost for cards are represented by blood symbols. This is how many of your creatures on the board you have to sacrifice to play the creature from your hand to the board. At the start of your turn you either draw from your creature deck or a squirrel deck. Squirrels have no cost to play and are primarily used to sacrifice in order to play your creatures. After a battle is over, you select your path on a map which gives you several different upgrade options before arriving at the next battle. At any point while on the map, you are free to stand up and move about the room which has puzzles that you may be able to solve for benefits.

The card battle and deck building mechanics are solid. The puzzle and story aspects are good. Acts 1 & 3 are the longest and two best portions of the game. On the downside, puzzles and story make up only around 10% of the game. If you don't like card battles and deck building, this could be rough to get through as it is the main focus. Like most deck builders, there is plenty of luck involved. Act 2 is a bit jarring at first as it adds new mechanics and shifts to allow you to build your deck however you would like, but is too short to really be worth bothering to do.

Overall, it's a good deck building card battler whose puzzles, story, and atmosphere add a lot to keep you intrigued.

It has been such refreshing and memorable experience with this game i cant explain in simple short words and whats even better is that this was my 3rd time playing this game on different devices. Instead of going for a normal and long single campaign this game pulled many unique tricks which were welcome in my book no matter what people say. Despite finding it while sailing the seas i put money on it this time and it deserves every bit with that modest price great job developers. If i am alive in a decade or so i will return to it such a fun experience.

I LOVE THIS GAME. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I absolutely love the style, the look of this game. Maybe one of my favourite. The gameplay is so good. I loved the sort of Escape Room vibe too. Without spoiling too much, I love the different gameplay style, and I love that it also has Endless Mode. I know it has the label horror, but if you're easily spooked and nearly got put off by that, it is NOT scary and this is coming from a person who is SO easily scared by horror games. It's got that spooky thriller vibe but there isn't jump scares or anything like that,

This game forced me into a several week long hyperfixation where I eventually started playing the game in my head with scary accuracy to the actual game. 10/10!!

10/10 gameplay! for those that also like strategic, mind testing, and diverse card games, you will find this one helluva game. it has a good mix of action based encounters, mind boggling creativity and intense critical thinking situations alongside the cards themselves. the characters, albeit a little flat in forming a good voice (if that is what you do) for them, are full of personality. i would play this game for hours! Well done to the creator of the game for capturing the things necessary for making a game like this extremely enjoyable!

the greatest card game in existence.

I love card games and Inscryption is one of the most interesting ones out there with interesting mechanics, playstyle and story. Inscryption isn't just a card game though, its a puzzle game, work your way through to escape whatever place your stuck in by finding the answers you need through the card game. The game itself has a darker feel to it showing that sacrifices must be made, it will take jabs at you for mistakes and won't play fair, so it suggests to not play fair either by twisting mechanics in your favour. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys card games and wants a new experience. Inscryption is definitely worth the $29 price tag.

This game traps you with their unique mecanics and playstyle, everything is changing all the time and you have to enjoy every moment. the graphics are amazing and characters as well I will miss them so much, really wished that I had more time to meet them

Inscryption is worth the hype it receives. The story is fascinating, and the horror and meta elements to it only enhance the immersion and delight in uncovering the plot and its secrets. Gameplay is easy to pick up, especially if you have a lot of experience with deckbuilders, though can get difficult in the last third of the game (at least in my experience). There were moments my jaw dropped to the floor and other moments that made me laugh, so after having completed the main story, I would definitely recommend to other players, especially those who don't mind a little bit of spooky vibes. Really looking forward to exploring more of this game, trying some challenges, and going back for achievements I missed the first time.

It's good. The best of the game is in the first 3rd. after that it feels more like a slog. I wish the first part was more expanded into and more fleshed out like slay the spire.

The story can be pretty compelling a times. And if you've been spoiled on the story, the game still stands on it's solid game mechanics. Would recommend.

I highly recommend this game to anyone who has a bit of time and loves a thrilling, mysterious game. The story here really makes you think and the game play is challenging and really enjoyable. I give this game a 10/10
the only problem i've encountered is finding games similar to this. i fear i may never :(

The game is really mind blowing.The lore,the plot,the gameplay is insanly good.Defenetly a great strtegy game!

It's been a minute since I found a game that made me enjoy gaming and to think about it during the day.

It's one of those.

How in the fuck have I not written a review for the game that's changed my brain chemistry forever?

I adore Inscryption to bits and pieces. This game has done wonders for how I think about characters, I was there for every ARG related piece of media and while I am sad to say good bye to some of my favorite characters in fiction, Inscryption really has it all.

It has a great set of mechanics and easy to learn combat, it has fun and interesting characters who have such wonderful personalities, and I really wish we just got more. I love every character and I love every world this game explores and goes through, even the end, and I simply wish I had more time with them.

That said, however, time is fleeting, and sadly, I can only return, not discover more.

I cannot wait for Pony Island 2: Panda Circus and where ever Daniel Mullins takes his complicated lore next (Though, preferrably with less references to historical german figures, please.)

Okay this game was peak. Everything from the level design, the story running through the game, the developments, and the ending was just the cherry on top. The game for me was a great hit in the first act, but the tonal shift and the way the game changed and worked through the different acts caught me off guard and happy with the experience.

Great game can't to put more hours into the game figuring out all it's secret.

This game is the biggest love letter to card games I've ever experienced, every part of this game cares so much about the magic of playing with friends, breathes fresh air into simple mechanics, and has the ability to impact your emotions in the best kind of way.

As an artist that loves card games, I could not recommend an experience better than this one.

game is incredible. for its price you will 100% get your moneys worth and more. great deck building roguelite

The game was great in teh first act. That is what is advertised in the trailer. That part is truly engaging, and I really enjoyed it. However, the game takes a u-turn after that, and the game play became so bad that I dropped it in act 2. Whereas the game mechanics are introduced VERY WELL in the act 1, act 2 drops you into basically a whole new game with 3 times the mechanics, which are unknown and you have to figure them out basically. Instead of feeling connected to my cards and deck, I just felt overwhelmed and didn't care about ma cards because I basically couldn't see them well! They are like 10x6 pixels large! Yeah, I know there is kaycees mod, which is basically act1 endless mode, but it didn't feel good after the rest of the game. I am baffled as to why the developers did this. They had an awesome formula for a roguelike to sink hundreds of hours into, with a super cool mystery twist and escape room mechanics, but then they just decided to not continue with that! Oh well, at least I had fun in the beginning

Great game overall. No real issues or glitches. Fun and has a lot of content to offer. It does take some trial and error but that's for any good game.

I'm literally so bad at this game but to be honest. It's so fun that with every loss I just feel more encouraged to play.

Cool card game that goes into the toilet once the game stops being a cool card game. The first few hours are really good though. Buy it on a sale, 10 dollar or less.