The similarities with Loop Hero are not limited to the headline that you have on these lines and, in fact, they are almost inevitable. Both are from Return Digital, are an ode to the roguelike with cards as protagonists, and have everything you need to sneak into the best indie games of 2021. The only big difference is that to convince you of the bombshell it is Inscryption no chafaros anything, I’m going to have to do even more cartwheels.
In fact, if there is anyone in the room who blindly takes my word for it – or walked up to Loop Hero thanks to me and he was delighted with the experience-, that he went headlong for him without reading or seeing anything at all. Don’t even trust the demo on Steam because, to my surprise when I got to the end of the game, Inscryption it is so much more than meets the eye.
Another madness from the creator of Pony Island
Unfortunately for the spoilers -and as it happened with the other great success of Daniel Mullins, Pony Island-, the Inscryption it goes way beyond what you can see in a trailer or promotional images. But don’t worry, at least that helps us to pull the thread. We’ll take care of the rest later.
Let’s start, like good stories, at the beginning.
Inscryption It is a roguelike that mixes the games of letters with the puzzles in the style Escape room. Yes, I’m well aware of how weird that sounds, but it’s easy to land where the shots go. Let’s just say you wake up on a table in front of a mysterious opponent.
He asks you to play a game – a classic of evil horror – and gives you a handful of cards with which to start the game. In front of you, a board with four holes. In your hands, a handful of animal cards with the usual numbers to represent the strength and life of each one of them.
You know how this goes. You place the card on the table and it will fight against the bug that your rival has placed. If in your attack round the force is greater than the life of the bug in front, your beast will kill his. If not, it will either undermine you enough to beat you in the next attack, or you will be left at the mercy of the defense round battle.
So far so good, the hackneyed resource of animals sticking bites to see who has the biggest teeth. But then Inscryption starts squirming with strange ideas. For example, the regulars of card games will have already noticed that I did not talk about mana. Well, in order to play your creatures you have to sacrifice others.
A twisted card game
Being able to draw from a pile of simple squirrels or the pile of cards in your deck, the game puts you in the position of having to draw apparently useless cards to be able to sacrifice them later and, with the blood received, play better cards. That or, if you prefer, take advantage of the bones that remain after the sacrifice to summon creatures let them use it instead of blood.
Sacrifice a blood-sealed goat so I can get the three drops of blood I need to play a wolf? It is an option. Letters from Inscryption They constantly tinker with skill stamps to put a twist on gameplay that’s essentially pretty simple.
The goat that gives you more blood than it should is one of them, but you can add other more typical ones such as flight -to attack avoiding possible obstacles- or the rat seal that will make each card played generate an identical copy in your hand .
Frankly yeah Inscryption If it were limited to that, it would be a very entertaining game, but it is time to twist the formula a little more. Let’s say that, for example, that aforementioned rat seal for the cards to reproduce uncontrollably could adhere to the squirrel cards that you need for sacrifices.
You have the option of a squirrel card per turn, and with this, it is normal that you stay without drawing one of yours, or without being able to play those that require more than one sacrifice. Unless…
Unless with the proper seal – that of duplicating cards placed on the squirrels – you can steadily draw from the main deck and squirrels down ruthlessly. It is what you have that every time you play one you have another one in your hand. And to be able to fill the table with squirrels, sacrifice the four that occupy your side, and take advantage of those four drops of blood to lower a bug with seven points of damage and another seven points of life.
All that in the first shift. Did I already say that both you and your opponent have five life points? Come on, before he can do anything you are already taking his entire life and adding two more counters for when you need them. Too easy? Good, try and see.
Another unimportant note, which had completely passed me by. Stated to be twisted, by counters I mean teeth.
Sorry, but did you say teeth?
Yes, teeth. Each hit that a beast does not receive and goes to you or your opponent ends up on a scale that is in the center of the table. If their side ends up with five more teeth than your side, your opponent will be eliminated and you can continue with their macabre role-playing game.
Let’s say that your mysterious friend is a kind of master who, with maps and paths included, invites you to move forward to face different bosses while stopping you at certain points of the route to perform special actions.
A sacrifice of a stamped card for another card to receive that power. A backpack from which to extract special objects that serve as bonuses during the game. A shop where you can spend your teeth to buy skins that you can later exchange for better cards. The ability to put two duplicate cards together into one to create a more powerful card.
You choose the path to follow or, if you prefer, you move with the arrow keys to get up from the table and take a walk around the cabin in which you are locked. Do you remember when I told you that this was also a Escape room?
A short space in which you will find different puzzles related to your games and the cards you play in them. Maybe if you put certain cards in a certain order, something will happen. Using a certain item at some point in the game may open your eyes to a new reality. Perhaps, action after action, attempt after attempt and victory after victory, you begin to discover that Inscryption it is much more than meets the eye.
But does it have an end? Yes, but when you think you’ve reached him you’ll see that Daniel Mullins does whatever he wants with his games with the sole intention of breaking your brain. So that ending could be followed by another or, for that matter, even another game. And then? Well, you make sure you stay until the credits roll.
VidaExtra’s opinion
Being much more than a simple card game, Mullins turns what for the first few minutes seems like a simple mechanic into a superb design exercise not only video games, but also board games. Rarely had a game surprised me so much with so little.
Inscryption It may be twisted or wanting to lengthen the wick more than necessary in certain sections, but the set is so good that it is impossible to put a single hit on it. Without a doubt, it is one of those experiences that you have to play. Especially if you are one of those who enjoys plots with constant twists that you don’t see coming.
Inscryption
Platforms | Pc |
---|---|
Multiplayer | No |
Developer | Daniel Mullins Games |
Company | Return Digital |
Launching | October 19, 2021 |
The best
- A superb exercise in video game design
- The countless surprises that await you
- Fully translated
Worst
- Some sections can be a bit tough until you figure out the trick
- Have an ending