Inscryption Reviews
Inscryption is refreshingly unique. With all the roguelike deckbuilders popping up these days, they can all start to blend together. Inscryption manages to stand out from the crowd in all the best ways. Complex card strategies blend with escape room puzzles far better than should be possible. And the whole package is wrapped in such wonderfully creepy trappings that it’s perfect for the Halloween season. Just remember: don’t ever assume you’ve reached the end.
Inscryption is one of the most mesmerizingly unnerving games I’ve ever played. A constant, unsettling experience that never lets up and dares you to make sense of it.
Inscryption is an utterly demented piece of software in the best of ways. I don’t remember the last time I played a game that made me go “what the hell am I looking at” with such frequency and intensity.
Everything Inscryption does culminates into a gruesome and harrowing tale told through a simple but rewarding card game. Creator Daniel Mullins had a clear and concise concept for this game executed on the highest level.
Inscryption is an amazingly well-put-together piece of work. The atmosphere presented…well, I’ve already doted on it multiple times. And I’ll do so again: it’s unsettling, occasionally oppressive, and always keeps the player on their toes. It could easily carry the work on its own, but luckily the card game mechanics are solid and sound as well. It’s easy to pick up, but with a ton of variables to allow customization and multiple viable approaches to the challenges provided.
While the more complex story doesn't completely gel, Inscryption has plenty of gripping CCG gameplay and unsettling horror setpieces to keep your attention.
Though uneven in its middle section, Inscryption is a clever and refreshing horror-adventure card game.
Inscryption turned out to be a small surprise, an indie title that breaks the rules of card games offering players something more elaborate and exciting, by adding in a mixture of roguelite, puzzle and horror. A pity that the game has no voiceover: it would have made its particular setting feel even more alive.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Inscryption manages to combine an expertly-crafted card game, a nail-biting tale of horror and enjoyable escape room adventures into another genre-defying gem and easily one of the year's best games.
All in all, Inscryption is a great–and spooky–game that is constantly expanding and re-inventing itself, and I recommend it to anyone who loves horror. As long as you approach it with an open mind, a strong stomach, and the willingness to keep trying, you should have a great time with this title. Just remember: if you think the game is over in the first few hours, it’s time to hit the New Game button and see what you’ve unlocked.
Go into Inscryption as unspoiled as possible, and trust in the game. You will find a deeply enjoyable card game, wrapped in a series of dark mysteries, wrapped in…well…other stuff. Part CCG game, part escape room puzzle game, and part bonkers gonzo whirlybird lunacy, Inscryption is one of the best games of the year. They should charge more for a game this good.
Inscryption is a great creepy experience to get your skin crawling with some thought provoking depth in its gameplay.
On top of all of that, Inscryption’s arrival in mid-October makes for a perfect Halloween game. What seems most vital for the game's success will be to casually get it to people who won’t know what to expect, like fans of deckbuilders just looking for another to add to their pile. Still, even if players go into Inscryption expecting the unexpected, there’s entertaining depth to its mechanics and narrative, a form of storytelling that could only exist in a video game.
Inscryption's twists and turns are hit-or-miss, but the game's oddities are worth experiencing for yourself.
It’s true that the game’s card-based randomness may allow some players to stumble through boss encounters without properly solving them. But what is the proper way to come at most things is a social construct. Allowing players to find their own, occasionally lucky, way through the game is a brilliant way to demonstrate Inscryption’s cards-as-life theme. There’s no one right way to live, and despite all your preparation, sometimes you may draw an unlucky hand.
Fun, addictive and mysterious. It superbly mixes concepts from card games with roguelike and escape rooms. A continuous surprise that sneaks among the most interesting independent games of the year.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
As a love letter to card games, it’s cunningly crafted, and full of fascinating twists. As a pool of secrets, it’s deep enough to drown in. As a hybrid of the two, it’s one of the best games of 2021.
Inscryption boasts solid deck-builder-style gameplay supported by excellent writing, sound design, and overall atmosphere. While some puzzles were too easy, and the puzzle-like nature of the deckbuilding itself hurts replayability, it's still easy to recommend Inscryption to anyone who finds its aesthetics and tone appealing.
A sinister and excellently crafted card game with a darkly comic underbelly
With that said, I did enjoy Inscryption. Part of me is tempted to dive back in to see if I can scrape any more secrets out of its cracks. Really, that’s where it excels: not the misdirection, but the hidden crawlspaces where it hides all the bodies. At its best, it feels like you’re actually uncovering a deeper plot. At its worst, it feels like you’re watching a magician pull handkerchiefs out of their sleeve. It’s cool, I guess, but you know they’re just screwing with you.