Horror can be an incredibly subjective experience, so it's no surprise to hear that the horror genre has to be incredibly flexible to account for the varied tastes of its audience. However, certain trends, archetypes, and story beats often surface in horror games again and again, which can add even more tension to a title that doesn't always adhere to the path laid down by its predecessors. Daniel Mullins' recent indie game Inscryption is a game that rarely does what its player expects of it, resulting in an intense, nail-biting experience. Then the title's many hidden horrors and meta elements kick in, transforming this indie game into an unforgettable journey into the dark.
Technically speaking, Inscryption isn't a horror game — it's part horror game, part retro pixel art RPG, and part suspense-driven game. All three parts are most obviously connected by Inscryption's primary mechanic, the titular card game. That said, the cards are far from the only thing linking the game together. Also present throughout is the theme of making sacrifices to survive, paired with a shadowy and often grimy visual style, with puzzles that require the player to go backward in order to progress. Finally, the most deceptively important link across the game is the player. Mullins spoke to Game ZXC about the meta elements and hidden horrors of Inscryption.
Inscryption: A Story Told in Layers
Inscryption is a game that combines mediums and genre, so it's no surprise to learn that it contains multiple storylines as well. The first layer is simple: the player finds themself trapped in a cabin with a shadowy figure who challenges them to a card game. If they win, they can live, but failure will be met with lethal punishment. As the player continues to die, die again, they gradually learn the secrets of their opponent and solve puzzles scattered throughout the cabin.
Solving all the puzzles will take the player to the second layer of the story, which takes the form of a retro 2D pixel art game. It's unlocked after hitting the New Game button and it really does feel like playing a new game, complete with an introduction and worldbuilding that were absent in part one. This layer of the game requires the player to master more card game mechanics, solve more puzzles, and gradually figure out that this is what the in-universe game Inscryption is meant to be like. The third layer brings the player back to 3D with a new purpose: To escape from a new shadowy opponent who doesn't play fair, even if that means breaking the game permanently.
However, there is a fourth layer threaded through the others in the form of short, found footage-style videos, and it focuses on the man gamers are playing as while they delve into Inscryption.
"This is obviously a spoiler, but I really wanted to take a turn where Inscryption gets de-rezzed and downgraded to a pixel art game and have fun with that. Certain things just flowed from that, like going back to 3D after, and then the video stuff — it just felt like it needed one last little thing to tie those three disparate parts together"
The Lucky Carder
Luke Carder is a card game vlogger who discovers a mysterious game disk in the woods and finds himself embroiled in a deadly mystery. The game he finds is Inscryption, and as gamers make their way through the game, they're taking on his role. This is hinted at early on, with Carder's voice heard at various points before being confirmed when the player gains access to Carder's camcorder videos. Discovering Carder's true role in the story puts everything in a new perspective, especially since this means the events of Inscryption part one are no longer a life-or-death struggle — they're depicting a self-aware video game character putting on a show for a player.
A new group of unlockable videos is found after each major advancement in the plot. These videos show Carder filming videos for his card game vlog, The Lucky Carder, featuring booster packs for a number of fictional card games. Things go awry when Carder shows off packs of Inscryption cards containing cards featured in the actual Inscryption game. One of the packs he bought has been opened and a set of coordinates have been scribbled on a card. When he goes to the location, he digs up the disk, which he goes on to play.
"The video stuff came in later, and it felt like — you’re making a soup and you taste it and it’s missing a certain spice, and it just was the last spice needed in that soup. That’s the best way I can say it. Just felt like the final layer to complete it."
As it becomes clear that many NPCs within Inscryption are self-aware, Carder's vlogs become increasingly tense and he begins reaching out to the company behind Inscryption for help. Unfortunately for him, this leads to a representative of the company breaking into his house and shooting him dead after he appears to stumble on the true horrors buried in the disk. Between the sometimes disconcerting acting, the uncomfortably good special effects, and the sudden turn at the end, the found footage segments may be the most disturbing element of Inscryption.
The Allure of Meta Horror In Inscryption
There's yet another layer of narrative that players can explore after going over the plot of all three parts of the game and the video. As of writing, there is an in-depth alternate reality game that fans are currently participating in. This ARG explores some of the plot threads left hanging by Carder's abrupt and unceremonious death as well as the deletion of the game itself, which Grimora set off to prevent the dangerous and unknown OLD_DATA from seeing the light of day. Inscryption may not feature hunting mechanics like some modern horror games, but the dread surrounding its ending presents players with another kind of fear.
"I can say that there are fans right now who are trying to solve passwords to decrypt a hidden file in the game. The hidden file reveals the dark secret that is at the bottom of the disk, the reason why people are trying to get the disk back — are even willing to kill for it."
Inscryption isn't a horror game--or rather, it isn't just a horror game. The game offers brave players a plunge into a winding labyrinth of dark secrets and terrible fates. As of writing, a group of fans is hard at work on cracking Inscryption's final codes, which will reportedly give them access to information about the OLD_DATA and the circumstances surrounding Carder's murder.
Inscryption is available now for PC.