If there's one thing Daniel Mullins is known for, it's surprising players. Between Pony Island, The Hex, and the newly released Inscryption, all of his games feature dramatic transformations as the player progresses.
Inscryption starts as a combination roguelike deckbuilder and escape room. The player is stuck in a deadly card game with a mysterious captor in a puzzle-filled cabin. While this part was the most advertised part of Inscryption, it's only the first act, and each following one plays very differently.
The third act sees the player caught in a new escape room with a different captor. While the first act had a rustic theme, this act is sci-fi themed, and the jump in technology is reflected in Inscryption's rising puzzle difficulty.
Inscryption Act 3's First Sliding Puzzle
Just like during the clock puzzle in Inscryption's first act, the third act features drawings guarded by sliding block puzzles. Each one is meant to simulate a single turn of the card game, and the player must arrange the pieces so they deliver 5 points of damage.
The third puzzle on the left drawer is meant to test the player's use of explosion cards and nano-shields. When an explosion card dies, it deals 10 points of damage to the card in front of it and the cards on its sides. Cards with nano-shields can absorb a hit for free, no matter how big the attack is. As seen above, the player needs to clear a path so the 1/2 card in the 2nd column and the 4/1 in the 4th column can attack directly.
Inscryption Act 3's Second Sliding Puzzle
The second sliding puzzle on the right tests the player on gems and gem detonator cards. They only need the 5/5 card on the right to land a hit, but an immovable 3/2 card is in the way.
When a player has a gem detonator card on the board, all their gem cards function like explosion cards. If the gem detonator dies first, then the gems revert to being normal cards. Inscryption's card battles resolve from left to right, so the player has to arrange it so the gem detonator in the 2nd column survives, and the gem in the third column explodes.
The Puzzle Rewards
The drawer to the left contains a detonator item that players can use during Inscryption's card game. It fills every empty space on the board with explosion cards.
The second drawer contains the Lonely Wizbot card, one of the talking card companions in Act 3. Unlike Act 1, it's not strictly necessary to collect them, but they can be useful in battle.
Inscryption is available now for PC.