Inscryption: Console Guide

Inscryption starts as a deck-building / rogue-like game in a disquieting setting. You're forced to play the card game with.. well.. all you can see is a pair of eyes and.. maybe if you get close enough..

Despite the near-critical mass of card collecting/battling games inundating the indie gaming world, Inscryption takes the extreme familiarity of the genre and uses it to lull you into a sense of security that is immediately stripped away by the narrative. Yet, even without the incredible under-the-surface iceberg nature of this game, the gameplay is still surprisingly solid. Of course, as you may already be aware, it’s all about exploration, discovery, and a mysterious story.

The core of Inscryption’s mechanics revolve around the card game you play throughout. There is certainly a decent amount of content beyond the cards and the game you play with them, but the single unifying factor is the card game that grows as the game progresses. In general, it’s not extremely complex, and it moves along at a pace that makes it fairly easy to pick up and play well. Given the lack of any kind of difficulty settings, that’s a good design. However, don’t let that trick you into believing it’s not well designed and enjoyable.

Most battles are relatively quick compared to other card battling games. Some can resolve in a matter of a handful of turns. You face off against your AI opponent by playing cards (initially) by using a ‘sacrifice’ system where killing one card produces the resources to play another. These cards then automatically attack into their lane and, if no opposing creatures are in the way, they do damage to your opponent. With a standard ‘power’ and ‘toughness’ design, this was very easy to pick up. The only notable difference was the way player/opponent health was handled.

Here, instead of having hit points, both players tilt a scale toward one another. Each damage point weighs it down until it hits the end and that player loses. It makes for an enjoyable kind of tug of war – and one where a single wayward turn can end the match instantly. The mechanics within this are augmented by a decent collection of methods to deal ‘direct damage,’ buff or protect your cards, or just give yourself a fighting chance. Some of these even play into the strange nature of this twisting and mysterious story...