‘Inscryption’ is a tabletop trading card game that takes inspiration from D&D, escape rooms, and titles like ‘Hand of Fate’. Developed by Daniel Mullins Games and published by Devolver Digital, I got to try this game out, and being a TCG lover of such titles as Magic The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and Duel Masters, Inscription stood out and really challenged my small tactical brain.

Playing against all odds, you must defeat the creepy and mysterious Leshey and the puzzles hidden in his cabin. Leshey is a demented dungeon master who takes the roles of the bosses and strangers as you venture the path through the game. Gain valuable cards, discover secrets in Leshey’s cabin hidden by other survivors, and power up your deck with buffs gained at campfires or sacrificial altars.

You can also find items along the path to assist you in your card battles, and listen to the advice from the cards! In a Deathloop style, each loss rewards you with the progress you have made with secrets found around you, and a “Death Card”, a special card created by Leshey as a memento to your loss with costs, powers, and abilities picked by you from cards gained in the previous playthrough.

Armed with an eerie and gloomy soundtrack and a hard outline with hand-drawn art style plays hand and hand with the dark and twisted narrative offered by the demented master of the cabin. The graphics are also split up with other graphical flairs and scenes, but I will leave that up to encounter yourself.

After losing over and over again, structuring my deck, and earning important items to assist me, I finally took down the first boss, and instantly wanted more! Alas, the demo had ended and I needed more. I wanted to see where this story led, why I was where I was, who this mysterious entity was that was playing games with my life, and why the cards were talking to me and how?!?!

Available on Windows, Linux, and Mac, you can pick this game up from the Steam storefront when it’s released on October 19. If you are a fan of card games, narrative games, or games like Hand of Fate, I definitely recommend keeping an eye on Inscryption.

Written by: Bigfoot