Inscryption: More Than Just a Card Game (Spoilers Ahead)

 

There aren't many games I have played that struck me like Inscryption. It's hard to talk about most of this game without delving into spoiler territory, so read at your own risk.

I'm probably not going to be going through a " What I Liked" and "What I Didn't Like" like I normally do since I really don't think there is much I honestly disliked about this game.  I also wanted to discuss this game and how it sets itself apart from a lot of other games I've played this year. Long story short, this game deserves your attention. 

This is how the game starts...Notice that the new game button can't be selected. 

First things first, Inscryption is a very addictive card game. They game has great mechanics right off the bat and it's eerily fun. Playing cards feels fun and gives a Yu-Gi-Oh! feel. The animations of each card are charming and detailed; they don't stagnate which is really cool. The mechanics are sound too. While the beginning acts like a rogue-lite, it's not as hard as some of the others feel. This isn't a knock on the game in anyway, but actually helps pull you in so that you stick for all the story that comes after. 

The Ominous Eyes of Game Master

At first, you're playing a card game that is reminiscent of most rogue-lite card battle games. It's a simple game that kind of reminds me of Gwent in The Witcher 3. You have to defeat the game-master (enemy) also known as a Scrybe. You play through his story and every time the main character dies, you have to start back at the beginning. But the game gives extra cards to help make the next attempt easier. And after the first death, the room that you're playing can be accessed. The first layer is peeled off, Inscryption seamlessly incorporates a card battle game to basically an escape room. There is no way to win against the Scrybe unless solve all he puzzles in the room. All trailers and other pre-launch media leads you to believe this is it. Once you can get to the end of the map, most would believe the game is over. 

I never really figured out what this guy was but it's okay, it was still cool!

But it's not...the game keeps going and layers of the game peel off once again. The game ends but then it cuts to what seems to be a desktop screen with webcam recordings. Watching the videos reveals that you (the player) were role playing as a trading card fanatic Youtuber, Luke. More layers are peeled back. The game adds a found footage mystery aspect to it's storytelling. I'll admit, this wasn't the biggest seller of the game but it does create a different perspective to the narrative. The other cool part is that it unlocks some flavor in the actual card battling game. There will be points where you create combos or do massive damage and the screen will pause and Luke says something relevant to the situation.  

Second Act Swaps the Graphics from 3D To 2D Pixel and It Works

Act 2 begins with a similar style of card battling but the graphics and playstyle change. Instead of being 3D, the game switches to 2D and also becomes more of a open world a la Pokemon Trading Card Game. The objective is simple, defeat all the Scrybes to reset the game. Act 2 of Inscryption allows you to freely explore the game with a bit of adventure mechanics sprinkled in. Another layer sort of gets peels back because this is the part where the game starts to let on that the game within in the game is sentient and knows Luke exists. 

Game Still Keeps Most of It's Mechanics But Changes Up Some of The Rules

Act 3 then brings you back to the escape room setting. It's not repetitive because the game you're playing within the escape room is now a dungeon crawler card battling game with save points and fast travel and everything! Also, we start to see the meta of the game's story and Luke's investigation weave together. It's at this point that the Luke is now being referenced to by the game. The characters start to speak to Luke by name, begging him to end the game. The game is hiding a secret and Luke figures it out but also must beat one of the Scrybes to be able to stop him from using his computer to upload his game to the internet so that he can take over(?) other people's lives. 

This Inscryption Boss allows players to make their own cards and pulls them from other people's games. Pretty sweet moment.

The video game...uh...game...in Inscryption ends with heartfelt conversations and some pretty sweet epic battles. The game is literally being deleted from Luke's hard drive as you're playing it. 

That don't look right

And all these...game modes and mechanics and art styles aren't just bare concepts. They are all well done and fleshed out just enough to keep your gaming interest piqued for the perfect amount of time. My mind was blown when Act 1 ended. And the ending somehow pulled my heartstrings. 

Hey look, it's Luke!

But there is even more. The entire live action portion of the game, those videos? There's actually a meta ARG aspect to it. Small clues to decipher that leads to a secret video on YouTube which shows the true ending of the game. The Scrybe that was trying to take over and upload the game? He might actually have succeeded. Not only that, but there are also references to other games from Daniel Mullins (the developer of the game) hinting that there are characters that truly transcending games in the real world as well. 

It's all clever, complex, and fun. And the best part? You don't need to peel back all the layers! The game is just fun to play as is. The mechanics are simple and tight. It's fun to combo and cards can be upgraded so they don't get stale. 

If you get a chance, just play it. You can get it for 6 bucks on the Epic Games Story until January 6th 2022 (use the 10 dollar off coupon).