I imagine most people coming to look at reviews for Inscryption aren't actually coming to see if they should buy the game. It's most likely people who have beaten the game who want to see what others thought. If you are someone who wants to know if you should play the game, the answer is yes with a caveat. Don't have any expectations going into it, no matter what you've heard, and don’t use a lack of hearing anything as a sign that you should play. Spoilers from this point on.

Inscryption is an insanely fascinating ride. I was truly caught off guard by the shift in gameplay as going into it, I thought the whole game would take place in the cabin as that was all I ever saw in trailers and from screenshots. Keep that point in mind for later. It really is fun getting to see all of the small differences between the different types of modes. Act 1 doesn’t have a hammer, while act 2 and 3 do. Act 3 has reusable items, while act 1 has single use items, while act 2 doesn’t even have items. Act 1 and 2 have 4 lanes, while act 3 has 5 lanes. These gameplay changes are small, but they make the game feel fresh every act. Though even if the game never changed, I still wouldn’t have a problem. The card game itself if fun all on its own. I will say that the act 2 version is easily the worst version, as you can’t decide to pick a random useful card or a squirrel like card. They’re instead randomly given to you with the upside being that you prebuild you deck before going into a fight. I much prefer how combat was handled in act 1 and 3.

The environmental aspect of the game is also insanely strong. Getting up from the table, both in the cabin and P03’s room (I’ll call it the factory), is a really cool mechanic. Early on you get sensory overload, with tons of little things all around that you have no idea what to do with. The joy of watching them all get solved and earning not only story progression, but in game rewards to help with combat makes solving these so satisfying. It also is a simple case of nailing the atmosphere. Both the cabin and the factory felt isolated and really pack a lot into a small space. I prefer the cabin, but both are still a joy. I won’t dwell on the story, as it’s wildly complex with a lot of out of game lore. It even had a full ARG that seemed cool.

However, I want to address something that I can’t say I’ve seen anyone really comment on. It’s a problem with the game that I don’t have, but some may. Remember the point I said to keep in mind? I thought the whole game took place in the cabin. I went into it with no expectations and that worked out for me, because when the game completely shifted into a whole other game, I wasn’t disappointed. But someone else might have been. Imagine a player who saw the trailer for the game and went into it looking for a card game where you unravel puzzles while exploring a weird cabin. Only to be told a 1/3rd of the way in that the game they paid full price for is over and now you’re playing a 2D adventure game, and then you’re no longer in a cabin with a strange man, but instead in a factory with a robot. They would rightfully be upset because everything talking about this game only shows the cabin section. If that’s what made a player want to play it then there’s a chance that the other sections won’t interest them. I think this a serious flaw with the game. I’M giving the game a thumbs up because I didn’t mind the shift in the game. However, I can’t say someone is wrong if they bought the game thinking it was something else and were disappointed when they found what it really wasn’t.

Inscryption is a great game that will easily be towards the top of my best games list. It has fun gameplay, a great atmosphere, an enticing story, and is overall a great time. But the game is fundamentally flawed at a marketing level, because what makes the game great is the surprise shifts. But those surprise shifts might be a less than welcome surprise for some, as the marketing leads them astray.

TL:DR Great game, read paragraph 4