I haven't written a review in forever. This is also one of the first games I've finished on my own in such a long time that I wanted to share my quick thoughts. This game is worth finishing to see the story. It goes some wild places, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it.

I had read some reviews of this game beforehand that talk about this game blending genres, and how different the gameplay gets. I actually felt like that expectation detracted from my enjoyment of the game a little bit. This is a deck building, card ass card game, and it doesn't deviate from that genre at all really. It changes things up a little bit as you go, but ultimately, it's a card game. If you don't like deck builders, I don't think this is going to change your mind.

There are tons of secrets and cool little easter eggs you can get if you're super into that kind of thing. Apparently there was some kind of wild ARG to get the "true" ending. I don't have time for any of that, but I love reading about it all. I did accidentally stumble across a legit use for the Ringworm card in Act I, and it was just a cool little thing that made me realize that this game probably goes super deep with some of the one off events you can make happen.

It dragged a little for me in the end, but I enjoyed my playthrough quite a bit. I think the card game is decent, and it was totally worth it for the story.

This review will have spoilers, but the most prominent will be hidden.

Very, very interesting game. A roguelite deckbuilder, with DnD elements and a terrific horror atmosphere. If you enjoy any of these elements, you will spend hours trying to get better and progressing.

There are very interesting characters and puzzles to keep things fresh, rewarding the curious and attentive player. Every progress is exhilarating and reaching the final goal is a great moment.

To discuss why the game does not get the 5 * rating, I will need to get into spoilers (but if you are familiar with Daniel Mullins Games, you might have a hint about it).

The ending of act 1 and then everything that happens as you move to act 2 is an amazing twist, that keeps you on the edge of the seat and really comes out of nowhere. However, the quality of act 2 and act 3 is not to the same level of act 1. And, although the ARG elements seem to be very interesting and led to a nice community effort, just researching them afterwards and feeling like there is something to be explained/explored in the main game left a bit of a sour taste after the really nice written and emotional ending to the game

Daniel Mullins has little to nothing to prove that he is a brilliant game developer and designer, where the key strengths in his games are the meta factor and an unpredictability that engages players with questions to find answers for. I got sold with Pony Island, got further impressed with The Hex and allowed myself to pre-order Inscryption.

Without giving away spoilers, I can safely say that your character finds himself in a dark shack facing a strange man, who plays a card game with you that might decide your life and death. Inscryption's gameplay core lies in DnD-style RPG adventure, reminiscent of the video game Hand of Fate, with the card dueling as a medium for battle. There are times you'll be getting off the table to run quick errands or check your environment for something that will help you reach your goal. But as you progress along, you'll notice bit by bit that nothing is what it seems... (duh)

Even though the premise changes as the game progresses, the adventure/card gameplay core remains and evolves, which I think helps keep Inscryption fresh through-and-through. My least favourite experience would be in the middle part of the game which, while not as punishing as the initial part, the wide range of cards makes it less appealing to me to sort out which makes the best deck for me to progress. But after finding my preferences, it is smooth sailing onward to the end, even with some trials-and-errors involved.

If you are interested in checking Inscryption out, why are you still reading? Go play it or check Mullins' other games I've mentioned in before-hand, if you like out-of-the-box games done right!

I mean, to be honest, the game that the game is pretending to be (though the menu gives it away, and I'm really starting to love diegetic menus, we should have more of those) is actually a fairly compelling game on its own. Trapped in a creepy cabin and battling for your life against an unseen figure, you become so hardened to the thought of death that you're even willing to sacrifice your own body parts in pursuit of victory? Sounds like a story to me. A bit anticlimactic when I deathtouched The Moon first go, but still. With all the little aesthetic flourishes like the map and the masks, the mix of familiar and novel play mechanics (love the scale-based damage system), the slow addition of new possibilities of tools and locations on each run, and just how incredibly well-built and satisfying it all is. Great game.

And then, of course, there's the two more games after that. And what ends up being quite a compelling story. And again, it is impressively well-constructed, from the pieces in the first act that aren't paid off until the 2nd or 3rd acts (the diegetic menu, The Failure, Kaycee's death card) to the fact that each act has its own fully-fleshed out take on the mechanics and they all work, to the fact that despite the first act being essentially just a setup for the rest of the game it's still fun enough that now I'm playing "Kaycee's Mod" instead of Slay the Spire(I've discovered the wonders of Remote Play so I'm just playing it on my phone while I watch Frasier—Truly, et in Arcadia ego.)

And while at first I wasn't sure about the live-action bits, I ended up liking them, and almost entirely because of Kevin Saxby's performance, which manages to maintain the sort of B-horror vibe I think they were going for while still staying grounded enough that you don't have to laugh at it if you're not jaded and irony-poisoned.

That being said, I did feel a little disappointed by the ending, but only a little, and I think probably it was the right choice. Still kind of hoping there's more story to uncover in Kaycee's mod though.

Anyway, neat little card game with nothing at all remarkable about it.