Inscryption: Where Pokemon Meets Psychological Horror
By Jacob Guynup
Staff Writer
With no shortage of trading card games nowadays, some are more iconic than others, like Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering. Others are far more forgettable, like Disney: Lorcana and Star Wars: Destiny. It seems like there’s a new trading card game every year, and many of them feel too similar. None of them stand out; at least, not like the way Inscryption does.
Inscryption is a rogue-like, deck-building trading card video game launched in 2021 by Daniel Mullins Games and published by Devolver Digital. It was released on all platforms, including macOS. This along with its very reasonable installation size of 3 GB makes Inscryption very easily accessible to anyone. The game itself takes inspiration from several popular card games; most cards (at least in Act 1) are animal inspired like Pokemon, the strength/health layout on the cards and combat system are inspired by Magic: The Gathering, and many of the unique card abilities feel exactly like what you would find in Yu-Gi-Oh!
So far this sounds like a normal, run-of-the-mill TCG, but what really makes this stand out from the crowd is the very fact that it’s a video game. What I mean by that is that usual trading card games use a secondary outlet to give fans backstory about the world their cards are a part of.
The best example is Pokemon, which you can play by itself, or play the game AND watch their TV shows and movies to learn more about the world of Pokemon itself if you’re interested. You can enjoy Pokemon with or without the show, but you will miss out on information about the world if youchoose not to watch it. Inscryption opts to do things differently. Due to its format as a video game, it’s able to intricately tie their cards to the story it wants to tell.
The game begins on the menu screen, but the atmosphere already feels strange. You can’t click on the “New Game” button, so you are forced to “Continue” a game you didn’t start.
You appear in a dark and gloomy cabin in the woods. You sit at a table with a map and a deck of cards. Across from you, there is a pair of piercing yellow eyes in the darkness, watching you. This man explains very little about your situation and forces you to play his game. Only in progressing through the game will you pick up on small details in the cabin that will help you piece together the story of Inscryption.
Overall, this is an incredible indie-game that tells a unique and engaging story. It absolutely nails its dark and grimy-looking atmosphere with its 3D pixelated models, and it creates a fun card game with interesting mechanics that push your strategies to the limit and forces you to optimize your deck. Personally, I have already completed the story mode of the game, but the extra post-game content “Kaycee’s Mod” is proving to be a real challenge so far.
All in all, I would highly recommend this game to anyone who is interested in card/strategy games, rogue-likes, or just wants a fun story that doesn’t overstay its welcome in its run-time. Inscryption is an underrated gem that deserves way more recognition than its received.