Spoiler warning: if you have not played the game yet, do yourself a favour and stop reading this post, don’t look up anything about the game, and give it a go. You will not regret it.
Last warning. For real. :D
I tried the game out a couple of years ago when it was free on PS+ Extra and liked it a lot. Didn’t end up playing all too much and once my Extra subscription ran out, I lost access to the game. I still wanted to keep playing it so I bought the game on sale for I think 10€? Still didn’t keep playing the game further than Act 2 because I wanted my SO to play the game with me and experience all the twists and turns of this awesome game. We haven’t played it further together still, and what better way to try out my new PC than with Inscryption. :)
I had watched a playthrough by Northernlion back when the game dropped and was amazed by the depth and complexity of the game but also of all the kinds of different genres that were blended into tight package. Act 2 distilled the already basic premise of the game down to its core and introduced all the different mechanics the rest of the game would be showing. The inclusions of the ARG component made the game even more special.
The ending when Grimora deletes the game and all the bosses reappear for a final battle was amazingly done, and I even teared up a little when Leshy showed up for the final time for another battle. It just felt so heartfelt when he even went so far as ignore the health points just so we could play a little longer before everything vanishes.
The ending was a little open-ended, I feel like. Luke is killed by an agent of GameFuna, but ultimately, the video game equivalent of the physical card game Inscryption still exists, so maybe a sequel would make sense to tie up the few loose ends? Then again, maybe it would invalidate the experience as a whole if a sequel is shoehorned into existence.
I havent’t really thought about what to write exactly - just wanted gush about the game a little and maybe inspire some people to give it a try too if they haven’t yet.
How did you like the game? Did you enjoy the different genres mixed into it? Any act that you especially liked? Act 3 is probably my favourite gameplay-wise.
I‘m gonna try to avoid reading any of this or the comments cause I have it in lib unplayed and don‘t wanna spoil myself…
BUT I have a question: I‘m really bad at handling horror games, Alan Wake had me uncomfortably tense with enemies being able to sneak up on me and it’s arguably not even much of a horror game. Is this game playable for me?
It’s more of a thriller than horror. No jump scares or anything.
You should be fine. It’s a card game first and foremost, so no enemies sneaking up on you per se. There are some creepy things happening and, without going too much into detail, a lot of fourth-wall breaks - you’ll know when you see. That can take you by surprise a little, but if you’re fine dealing with that, you should be ok.
There can be some minor body horror involved that can be a little gross. There is one action you need to take to progress the game eventually.
Overall, it’s not full of jumpscares - it’s just scary atmosphere and creepy vibes. I myself am usually rather easily scared by video games, but I’ve been fine throughout. Give the first hour or so a try to get a good feel for it. The rest of the creepiness will unfold itself later on
Its a bit psychologically tense, but the “classically-scariest” thing is when you lose a game and he reaches out to grab you.
It gets a bit conceptually intense, but theres no super-scary monsters or jumpscares or anything. Nothing ever comes up right behind you while the violins intensify.
Been a while since I played it, but I don’t think there’s any jumpscares, and definitely no deadly things that follow you around. It’ll get tense, but it won’t screamer you. It’s the overall vibe that’s scary, very existential, much dread.
I just want to add that I found it pretty tame as well.
If you’ve tried Doki Doki Literature Club, it has a similar vibe and is arguably much less tense. If you haven’t tried that game, I recommend it if you like Inscryption.