Inscryption - "An inky black card-based odyssey"

[Alan Stock]

Re: your last statement, it is indeed. Often you just need one strong card or combo to help you out. Also the totems are very powerful (did you get them yet?). Make full use of overkill to get teeth, and don't forget your items, use 'em liberally as they are easy to replenish and some cards also get you items. But yes, you can expect to fail on most bosses the first couple of times, so don't be too discouraged. 

[Jamie John]

Progress!

 

Spoiler

I beat the third boss, then I got lucky and managed to get both of the boons on the way to the moon boss and was able to smash him first time.

 

Then things got really weird with the video clips and annoying Youtuber guy (that's the dev, right?).

 

Now I'm in top-down 2D land and some of the rules appeared to have changed. I've defeated the Prospector and Angler again, though it took me a while to figure out how to actually play since there don't seem to be any squirrels around for sacrificing. Thankfully, skeletons make a worth substitute.

 

Excellent!

[Jamie John]

Played a bit more this evening:

 

Spoiler

I defeated Leshy in the 2D world and have got as far as clearing the gravestones in front of the undead scrybe but haven't been able to beat her yet - I'm guessing I need to shuffle my deck a bit and get lucky. I've unlocked the way to the other two islands, however, and have spoken to Robo-Stoat and unlocked a few of the path ways.

 

It's all very clever, but it's kind of hard work at the same time. Failure is very much part of the game. You sort of have to be in the mood for it; it's not really the type of game that I can't wait to get back to. Hopefully that'll change once I'm through this 2D bit.

 

[Alan Stock]

5 hours ago, Jamie John said:

Played a bit more this evening:

 

  Hide contents

I defeated Leshy in the 2D world and have got as far as clearing the gravestones in front of the undead scrybe but haven't been able to beat her yet - I'm guessing I need to shuffle my deck a bit and get lucky. I've unlocked the way to the other two islands, however, and have spoken to Robo-Stoat and unlocked a few of the path ways.

 

It's all very clever, but it's kind of hard work at the same time. Failure is very much part of the game. You sort of have to be in the mood for it; it's not really the type of game that I can't wait to get back to. Hopefully that'll change once I'm through this 2D bit.

 

Spoiler

Yeah the 2D bit is a bit of a slog at times, especially if you have a mediocre deck to start with. If you are struggling it might be worth heading to the other islands to pick up free cards and diversify your deck a bit. I ended up beating her with a bones focussed deck.

 

[Jamie John]

I'll happily eat my words: I can't wait to get back to this!

 

Spoiler

I defeated all the Scrybes then went to the monoliths to choose one to take over (or that's what I thought I was doing, anyway). I chose the robot guy because I read in the mage's tower something about how he was up to no good, so I thought it would be a good idea to replace him. Turns out that might not have been such a good idea because he's now locked me up and I'm playing future Inscryption!

 

I like the little found footage interludes, too (although the acting by the woman who comes to the door was a little hokey). I'm looking forward to some freaky shit going down.

 

Anyway, to quote myself:

 

On 15/01/2022 at 23:35, Jamie John said:

Excellent!

 

[SMD]

is this coming to switchconsole? seen a lot of people bigging it up lately and that trailer looks interesting.

[Jamie John]

59 minutes ago, SMD said:

is this coming to switchconsole? seen a lot of people bigging it up lately and that trailer looks interesting.

 

It's been successful enough that you'd like to think so. However, there are several...things in it which are very PC-based, so if it was ported then those bits wouldn't come off as well.

[SMD]

37 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

It's been successful enough that you'd like to think so. However, there are several...things in it which are very PC-based, so if it was ported then those bits wouldn't come off as well.

 

Ah that sucks, cheers though

[Isaac]

1 hour ago, SMD said:

 

Ah that sucks, cheers though

 

It has fairly low requirements and a mac version is coming soon if you have a laptop.

[SMD]

2 hours ago, Isaac said:

 

It has fairly low requirements and a mac version is coming soon if you have a laptop.

 

I could, I just prefer it on the Switch for ease of switching from telly to portable.

[Davros sock drawer]

Yeah, it wouldn't work on console because...spoilers.

 

I absolutely loved it, and am kinda itching to play it again.

[Jamie John]

This is getting properly excellent now.

 

Spoiler

I've done two of the bosses in the robo world, including the one where you have to look through your actual computer files to turn them into cards. That was brilliant! Does the game actually delete files you lose in the game!? I managed not to lose any, so thankfully I didn't find out...

 

And the video camera bits are getting pretty damn freaky, too.

 

Can't wait to see what shit this game tries to pull next.

[Alan Stock]

1 hour ago, Jamie John said:

This is getting properly excellent now.

 

  Hide contents

I've done two of the bosses in the robo world, including the one where you have to look through your actual computer files to turn them into cards. That was brilliant! Does the game actually delete files you lose in the game!? I managed not to lose any, so thankfully I didn't find out...

 

And the video camera bits are getting pretty damn freaky, too.

 

Can't wait to see what shit this game tries to pull next.

 

Spoiler

Yeah I didn't lose my computer file cards either, but even if you know in the back of your head they would never do that to you, it does make you a bit paranoid! Anyway, when reading up about it afterwards, it turns out (at least based on what a player comment said), that the bot says he can't delete the file. But hilariously, and I hope this is true, the game apparently creates a text document in the same location as the file, and in the text the bot asks you to delete it for him because he doesn't have access, saying something like "it's only fair". Brilliant. And there's even an achievement for if you do delete that file whilst you are still battling him, although that sounds like bullshit, surely the game wouldn't be tracking file status? Anyway, how cool is that!   

 

[Jamie John]

Inscryption blog #369

 

Spoiler

I beat the magic boss equivalent in the robo world tonight, the one where you have to make up the different rules. That was pretty hectic: I had a setup where every time a card died a Leap Bot was played, then another rule where every card took damage at the start of a turn, or something like that. Anyway, both rules combined led to this endless chain reaction where Leap Bots kept getting played and then immediately getting killed, only to be replaced by another Leap Bot, then killed, over and over and over again. This stopped, eventually, but only because the boss had to scrap the rule and told me off for breaking the game, ha! I managed to get him by the skin of my teeth in the end, playing the item that turns all empty spaces into Explode Bots, but it was pretty damn hairy.

 

I'm now up to where I'm playing the game in the non-game world, if you get me - the robot room within the holo-world. I've unlocked the door to the trapper's room and have handed over a couple of rabbit pelts to learn some secrets, but I don't really know what they mean yet, though Kaycee's name is coming up a lot... I'm guessing she was the game's first victim 

 

I only get a couple of hours to myself in the evenings, and that's if I'm lucky, but this has completed monopolised my leisure time. It's 'triffic.

 

Can anyone give me a non-spoilery indication of how much more I've got left to go? It feels like I've been playing for a while now and things are coming to a head a bit more, but then again

Spoiler

that was the case too when I beat Leshy, then the game entirely pulled the rug out from under me, so it's difficult to tell.

 

[Alan Stock]

Not long now!

[Jamie John]

And done. Very, very good

 

I've just read back through the thread. I definitely agree with some of the comments that have been made already:

 

@Retroid - yep, definite Undertale vibes.

 

@Alan Stock - yes to everything you've said about the ending:

 

Spoiler

SUPER SPOILERS!

Spoiler

It's cool, but I was also slightly disappointed that there's so much stuff I could never hope to figure out by myself (I thought it was quite similar to Fez, in that respect). From looking at the Google Doc you posted on page 2 of this thread, there are lots of things relating to the ARG that I noticed and made a note of as I was playing, expecting to be able to find more clues about them later. It was a shame, therefore, when I only realised after seeing the credits that most of these things are all but unsolvable unless you look at guides, or they're linked to the ARG, which I'd never have been able to figure out, and which has got an entire community of people still trying to solve.

 

For example, I took a screenshot of the post-it note in one of the videos with the Mycologist code on it, thinking I'd need it for something; I found one of the symbols for the totem with the three symbols on it in the robot lair, but not the others; I found all six rabbit pelts to unlock the Karnoffel cards, but couldn't really make sense of what the Trader was saying about them, and I couldn't get him to repeat his lines, either. I also found the four hidden files in the holo-world with the pictures attached to them, which suggested something about Luke's sister dying and how he used his obsession with cards as a way to escape his grief, but this story thread didn't really go anywhere, and I couldn't figure out whether his sister's death was related to the game, or whether it was just incidental.

 

Ultimately, like you, I wanted a bit more closure from the story and a little less ambiguity to give me a proper gut punch at the end, which this didn't quite deliver. If it had pulled something like that off then it really would have been special. As it is, it's merely great.

 

 

Separately, I've got the Epic Games Store version so I don't think I can install Kaycee's Mod, but I take it the fundamental card game is quite similar to Slay the Spire's? I've had that on Switch for three years now and have never properly checked it out, and seeing as I loved the the card game in this, I should probably rectify that...

[Jamie John]

Also,

 

Spoiler

do the numbers beneath each section in this screenshot indicate the secrets you've missed, or something else?

 

 

There's an awful lot this game doesn't tell you.

 

[Alan Stock]

2 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

Also,

 

  Hide contents

do the numbers beneath each section in this screenshot indicate the secrets you've missed, or something else?

 

 

There's an awful lot this game doesn't tell you.

 

 

Spoiler

I believe it's the dates that Luke was playing them, they don't change.

 

[panda_t]

I'm playing Kaycee's Mod and had a very fun geck run just now:

 

Spoiler

With the apple sigil on insects via a totem that turned into a 20/11 dire wolf the next turn. Very enjoyable the way this allows/encourages wild combinations

 

 

 

 

[Andy_Why]

Just finished this. What an incredible experience. I know I missed some stuff but just adored it throughout. Love a game that keeps me on my toes and this is that. I have a question though-

 

Spoiler

Does the third act have to be P03's world? I picked his deck at the start of Act 2 and was wondering if there were equivalents for Magnificus or Grimora (other than the quick sections at the very end).

 

Rare I want to play a game again so soon, but I think I may take another run through this straight away!

[strawdonkey]

17 minutes ago, Andy_Why said:

 I have a question though-

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Does the third act have to be P03's world? I picked his deck at the start of Act 2 and was wondering if there were equivalents for Magnificus or Grimora (other than the quick sections at the very end).

 

 

Spoiler

I picked the magician one and still got P03's world in act 3.

 

[Siri]

Regarding the above:

 

Spoiler

I did see someone on YouTube showing off a mod they're doing to expand Grimmora's version of the game, it's probably a ways off mind.

 

But otherwise, I think it's always supposed to be a 'what if' glimpse, I'm guessing Dan Mullins had a few ideas but didn't have enough for a full concept.

 

Sliding them in during a point in the game where everything is falling apart is a decent way to show some concepts without going too deep into it, in comparison to having a straight story arc based across Leshy's 'all GM storytelling, no metagame' ethos and P03 playing off as the polar opposite.

 

[Jamie John]

The Watch Out for Fireballs guys (same as the Bonfireside chat duo) have done a deep dive on this, which I enjoyed:

 

Big spoilers, obviously. They're not 100% fawning on it, but I agree with a lot of the criticisms.

 

Worth a listen.

[Made of Ghosts]

I'm really enjoying this but the final (or apparently not?) boss is really kicking my arse. He just hits me with absolutely everything at once and I barely survive a few turns.

 

Spoiler

I *think* I've done everything in the cabin, film canister, cuckoo clock, painting, wolf statue, puzzle box, etc. The only thing that niggles me is the mention of a ring in the run-up to the boss, which I don't seem to have. 

 

[LaveDisco]

Hey, if you’ve played this can you help? In wondering if I’m missing something or it’s not working properly on the deck. 
 

Spoiler

I’ve been told to pick up the figurine by the safe. I can see 4 or so, with one front of centre but clicking on it won’t let me pick it up. I can’t seem to do anything else  

Thanks! 

[Jamie John]

3 minutes ago, LaveDisco said:

Hey, if you’ve played this can you help? In wondering if I’m missing something or it’s not working properly on the deck. 
 

  Hide contents

I’ve been told to pick up the figurine by the safe. I can see 4 or so, with one front of centre but clicking on it won’t let me pick it up. I can’t seem to do anything else  

Thanks! 

 

IIRC, you should just be able to pick it up. Does the cursor change, like in the picture below?

 

Spoiler

 

[LaveDisco]

Spoiler

yep think that’s the same. But can’t pick up…

 

thanks anyway @Jamie John

[Jamie John]

Just now, LaveDisco said:

  Reveal hidden contents

yep think that’s the same. But can’t pick up…

 

thanks anyway @Jamie John

 

Ah, that's a shame. To be honest, though, playing this game on the Deck will become a struggle due to...things that happen later, in the same way that you can't really play it on the Switch or any other console.

 

If you've got a desktop PC capable of running it, however, it's definitely worth playing.

[LaveDisco]

I’ve just quit and got it working. A reboot unstuck it. Thanks! 
 

but ahh. That’s sounds not great. Only got a deck though so it’s this or nothing. 

[Jamie John]

43 minutes ago, LaveDisco said:

I’ve just quit and got it working. A reboot unstuck it. Thanks! 
 

but ahh. That’s sounds not great. Only got a deck though so it’s this or nothing. 

 

Keep playing and see what happens when you get to the bit I'm alluding to. I'll be interested to hear about it...