INSCRYPTION: A CARD GAME THAT WATCHES YOU BACK
9.0 of 10 bananas. A deck building card game in a dark cabin, an escape room, and a creeping horror story folded into one. Daniel Mullins built one of the smartest indie games of the decade. Go in blind; the less you know, the better it bites.
By the Alpha. Steam listing. Updated Oct 22 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: PC on Steam (Windows, Mac, and Linux), plus PS5, PS4, Xbox, and Switch versions that came later (Daniel Mullins Games and Devolver Digital, PC release October 19 2021). The button on this page is the Steam store page. On Amazon US at my Oct 22 check the only physical PS5 listing I found was currently unavailable, so there is no Amazon button.
Get Inscryption on SteamSit with me a moment. An old ape once told me never to play cards with a stranger in a dark room. Inscryption seats you at that table, across from a stranger whose face you cannot see, and the stakes are your life.
What It Wants To Be
Inscryption starts as a roguelike deck builder. You play cards against Leshy, a figure in the dark of a cabin, sacrificing squirrels to summon stronger creatures and tipping a scale with damage. Between hands you can stand up from the table and explore the cabin, solving escape room puzzles that change the game. That is all I will tell you about the structure, because the game has surprises it wants to show you itself.
What Works
The card game alone would be worth the price: tight, clever, and full of strange cards that break the rules. Then the cabin puzzles, the found footage style mystery, and the shifts in tone turn it into something you will tell friends about. It won Game of the Year at the 22nd Game Developers Choice Awards and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the 2022 Independent Games Festival. Its Steam page showed Overwhelmingly Positive, about 97 percent of 149,483 user reviews, and a Metacritic score of 85 at my Oct 22 check.
What Breaks
Listen well. Some later sections are less sharp than the first act, and a few players feel the ending stretch drags. The horror is creeping and psychological, with some jump scares, so it is not for the youngest troop members. If you dislike card games, the core loop may not hook you no matter how clever the wrapping is.
Who Should Play
Play it if you love card games, puzzles, or stories that play tricks on you. Skip it if you want pure action or hate learning card rules. And do not look up spoilers.
STRENGTHS
- A sharp deck builder
- Escape room puzzles in the cabin
- Unforgettable mystery
- Strong atmosphere
HONEST COSTS
- Later acts less sharp
- Card game core is not for everyone
- Creepy for younger players
- No Amazon listing in stock at my check
Store note: the troop still needs an Amazon referral for this one. At my Oct 22 check the only Amazon US physical listing I found was currently unavailable. Steam is the only button until a fair listing is real. This is not an affiliate link.