Inscryption: I Thought It Was Just a Card Game…

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you had sleep paralysis and was forced to sit in a musty dark cabin playing solitaire with your psycho grandpa? 

No? 

Just me?

Well, in case that description did manage to snag you like it did me, that’s the horrifying world of Inscryption, a single player game developed by Daniel Mullins Games. Inscryption was released in October 2021 and takes roughly 17 hours to complete. You can find it to play on Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Windows. 

At its core, Inscryption is a role playing card game, and a pretty decent one. But there’s much more to this game than you realize. So let's venture into the woods, sit down at grandpa’s table, and start this campaign of life or death.

Luck of The Draw

In Inscryption, you find yourself trapped in a shack and forced to play a card game against your captor, who’s basically a Dungeon Master. In this game, you build your deck from nothing, like you would a Pokémon deck or Magic: The Gathering deck. 

But the card game isn’t the only thing you need to pay attention to. The player can get up and move around to find puzzles and riddles in need of solving. Once solved, you can get special cards that make it easier to fight for your life and figure out what’s actually going on. 

Left of The Dealer Goes First

The card combat is extremely interesting and easy to understand thanks to the rule book you can reference at any time. Not only is the mechanics of each card unique, they’re also customizable as you progress further into the game, which keeps the player interested and engaged. 

Between matches you build your deck and move your figure through maps. Through movements you can find special locations on the map that allow you to do all sorts of things, like combine two cards, sacrifice a card, or stumble across a camp of people who may or may not be cannibals. 

Poker Face

The horror in Inscryption is done masterfully. While not a blatant in-your-face horror game, like so many others, Inscryption has you sit in a spooky atmosphere and lets your thoughts wander enough to make yourself scared. 

The music adds to this and is one of my favorite elements to the game. You never hear anyone speak, but the sound designs help set the atmosphere and add to the setting that you never notice the lack of voices. 

Ace Up Your Sleeve

Your captor is your narrator through subtitles. As you progress, he explains most things to you, minus a few things that help him remain your captor. But those gaps in explanation are filled by your trusty companions, the Stout and Stink Bug—gross I know, but you’ll come to love the little guy, just as I did. 

There are multiple boards you must progress through and at the end of each one is a new boss to face. Each boss introduces a new mechanic to the game, keeping it fresh and interesting. The boss fights challenge you to have both a good deck and a good strategy, otherwise you’ll fail and find yourself starting from the very beginning. 

But don’t worry, your captor takes some pity on you. 

If you can call it that…

In your final moments, he lets you create a card using elements from the deck you just created, then he lets you name it anything you please, and in one last big flash of light he takes your picture. When you resurrect, that card you just created is now obtainable, you just need to find it. This happens every time you die, meaning dying is actually beneficial because you can create stronger cards.

Lay All Your Cards on The Table

Let's talk about the story outside of  the card game. To avoid spoilers, I can’t tell you much more than I already have. The story is an odd one to say the least and definitely is compelling, but there’s not much more to it then you’re held hostage by this weird man who makes you play a life or death card game. Besides a few other details that I won’t spoil, because they were genuinely interesting, I just wish they were executed differently. 

In fact, I wish most of Inscryption was executed differently…

Dealt A Bad Hand

My problem with Inscryption is the fact it lies about its premise. I went into the game almost blind. All I knew was that it was a rogue—like a card game where you built a deck to fight for your life and hopefully survive. 

That's what Act 1 of Inscryption is. Yes, you read that right. Act 1 of 3. Act 1 is a game you learn to love and get obsessed with the mechanics. Then everything you know is ripped out from beneath you without warning. 

That's my issue with Inscryption. 

While I love games that flip the script and aren't as advertised, this was different. I spent hours playing Act 1 and getting used to how the mechanics worked. For five hours you learn to love this card game you’re playing. As a player, you are excited to see where the story goes and what cards you'll get to add to your deck next. 

Then you're ripped away from the game you're used to and thrown into a game that's almost comparable to the early Pokémon games. While still an interesting time, I found myself longing for the original game, which makes the remaining gameplay (10 hours) drag. What doesn't help is five hours into getting to know this new game—Act 2—you're ripped away once more and thrown into Act 3. 

Act 1 is by far the strongest point of the game, which sucks because as a player you're left wishing you could go back to it and you can't without starting a whole new game. 

Dealer’s Choice

So let's ignore the parts of the game I don't like (Acts 2 & 3), and focus on the almost perfect game that is Act 1. If I could just rate Inscryption on Act 1, my rating would be a 4.5 out of 5 Cyclones; but once you add those other two acts, my thoughts on Inscryption plummet, which is a damn shame due to how much fun that first act is. 

If you dare to venture in those woods, don’t ever leave them. Stay in Act 1 with grandpa. You’ll thank me for it.

My Rating