One of the most important parts of any horror game is the atmosphere, and while Daniel Mullins' recent indie game Inscryption may be lacking in deliberate scares, it has atmosphere in spades. Between ominous card game mechanics that grow increasingly brutal, low-fi retro graphics that make the game's world uncomfortable to explore, and a sudden turn into the genre of found footage - one usually restricted to film, this indie game has something that can get under anyone's skin. The result is an unsettling ride into darkness that combines the creativity of Internet horror with inspiration from Slavic myth and pure, unrelenting dread.
According to Mullins, he had the mood of the game in mind from Inscryption's very beginning. Inscryption is an expanded version of Mullins' previous game jam title Sacrifices Must Be Made. The two start on similar notes: players find themselves trapped in a dark, isolated cabin in the woods, where a shadowy figure challenges them to a card game. If the player wins, they may survive the encounter, but a loss will result in a lethal punishment. Aside from length (Sacrifices Must Be Made takes under an hour to finish), the biggest difference between the titles is the amount of detail and depth put into the world of Inscryption. Mullins spoke to Game Rant about how he built the mood, graphics, and meta elements of Inscryption.
A Journey Into Darkness
Described as an "inky black card-based odyssey" in marketing, Inscryption is a game that uses its limitations to its advantage. According to Mullins, the combination of low-fi visuals, deliberately discordant audio, and gameplay that actively strips choices away from the player combine to create an unsettling mood. While card games may not seem like the most intimidating genre, Inscryption uses its heavy theme of sacrifice - specifically, making sacrifices to survive - to turn the simple act of playing a card into a nerve-wracking experience. Mullins said he was inspired by existing card games, particularly Magic: The Gathering, which also contain mechanics where cards can be sacrificed.
"I was like, 'Oh, it would be cool if there was a card game with sacrificing being central to it,' and so the squirrels being sacrificed for other creatures kinda came to mind there. Then I took the idea of sacrificing further - what if at one point in the game, you have to sacrifice your own body parts, and if you cut off your hand, what implications would that have?"
Sacrifices Must Be Made took the core of this sacrifice-based horror card game and added dark, grimy low-fi 3D visuals along with a soundtrack pieced together in GarageBand using synthesizers. According to Mullins, he would press 10 keys down at the same time and create a horrific noise alongside chilling visuals. After Sacrifices Must Be Made gathered more attention than any other jam game the creator had worked on, he decided to expand it. Inscryption took the visual style further by incorporating a shader that posterized dark colors without affecting the light colors. This created the game's signature look of hard shadows and softer light colors while still keeping the text on Inscryption's many cards legible.
Genre-Blending Fear
However, as effective as the 3D card game segments of Inscryption are, they're just the beginning of what this game has to offer. The cabin sequence taken from Sacrifices Must Be Made is only the first part of Inscryption, and the second and third parts put a new spin on the game's atmosphere and oppressive visuals. The decision to incorporate found footage video, as well as different styles of gameplay, may be even more memorable - especially as the video segments introduce a new element: meta horror.
The decision to introduce the game's player, Luke Carder, as a distinct character who is struggling to solve the mystery of Inscryption changes everything. Suddenly, Inscryption isn't just a horror/adventure card game filled with mind-bending puzzles - it's a medium-blending experience modeled after Internet horror genres like creepypastas and Alternate Reality Games. The found footage portion was also given a deliberately retro look designed to evoke the grainy look of a camcorder rather than the smoother footage recorded by a modern smartphone.
"The aesthetic on the video was partially to obscure it, to make it a little creepier and feel more found footage, but also to explain that it’s a camcorder and not, like, high-rez cell phone footage."
The game portions of Inscryption are deliberately low-rez, with part two even taking place in a 2D pixel art setting inspired by the old Pokemon Trading Card Game for Game Boy Color. It's not surprising to see the video portions following suit, especially when the story of Inscryption is all about digging up the mysteries of the game's past.
The Subjective Nature of Horror
Despite Inscryption being a very creepy game, its creator has expressed uncertainty over whether the title counts as a true horror game. In fact, he described it as more of a strange adventure than a horror game. Inscryption features few jumpscares and no threats that aren't thoroughly telegraphed to the player in advance. Unlike the intentional panic and confusion of most horror games, the game's goals are relatively straightforward, while the story is so intricate that fans are still trying to uncover its final secrets.
"I definitely like the vibe of a creepypasta and this idea that you’re seeing things that you weren’t meant to see or that were private for someone else. I definitely was trying to capture something like that."
A creepypasta is a form of short Internet storytelling where a spooky occurrence is usually presented as though it actually happened, often in first person. That could explain Inscryption's prominent meta elements; Mullins believes that most of the fear and tension of Inscryption comes from its uncanny mood, low-fi visuals, and disturbing soundscape. He feels he created the game to be a creepy and intense experience, but didn't necessarily intend for it to haunt players or make them scream. Despite this, the inclusion of distinctly unsettling imagery such as heavily glitched video, blood spilling across the floor, and live sacrifice before virtual altars may get under players' skin.
Each individual part of the game has its own scares, from the shadowy uncertainty of the cabin in part one to the stark simplicity of part two and the obvious deceptions of part three. The narrative conveyed through found footage segments adds another layer of tension by reminding gamers that the player is also part of the story, and if he can't solve the mystery of Inscryption, he may not survive to the end of the game. All in all, Inscryption is a chilling adventure that blends mediums and genre in a way players aren't likely to forget any time soon.
Inscryption is available now for PC.