Inscryption's First Act is Perfect
A Masterclass in Player Progression
Inscryption is by far one of the best games to be released in 2021 and is personally in my Top 10 games of all time solely because of its first act. Act one’s unsettling and periodically horrifying atmosphere, immersive and cinematic soundtrack, and wonderful gameplay loop come together to create a perfect blend of engaging fun. Unfortunately, I think the game is let down with its second act, which acts as a long, drawn-out breather in between the horror of act one and the more gameplay mechanic overload focus of act three. Regardless, Act one of Inscryption to me represents its perfect design by accommodating three different styles of play based on how well the player performs from the get-go.
A “normal” player may get past the first few bosses before potentially hitting a built-in “8 Fucking Bears” situation in an attempt to prevent a first playthrough “win.” This however can be avoided through strategic play
and a player can “beat” act one on their very first playthrough with a bit of luck and planning. The triggered event acts not only to prevent a player from skipping narrative elements but to also forcibly introduce the Deathcard mechanic, which
is unlocked after the first failure of act one.
A “struggling” player is one that continuously loses through their playthrough of act one. Inscryption is designed with many anti-frustration and arguably “cheating” mechanics built in that
can only be unlocked by repeatedly interacting with various set pieces in the cabin. These mechanics ultimately allow a player to have better default cards; more lives in boss fights; and other various bonuses that significantly reduce the
chance of failure over time. Players who enjoy solving puzzles or unlocking more “secrets” to the cabin will also find enjoyment in obtaining all the potential bonuses that allow the player to have an overwhelming advantage as a reward.
What’s clever about the design is that a player who doesn’t struggle or excels at the game will not even know about these mechanics as they will not repeat act one enough times to unlock the bonuses. A “proficient” player
will only have to playthrough act one about two times (i.e. start, lose, restart). One to unlock the Stinkbug and the second to unlock the Knife, Stunted Wolf, and Film. Even with a few more runs, a player would not have enough opportunities to
unlock all of the bonuses available in act one, forcing the player to beat act one with a more limited moveset.
Overall, while many other games would force all players to repeat act one a certain amount of times in order to progress,
Inscryption caters to players of all types while simultaneously not letting on that the game is fundamentally different depending on how proficient a player is. More games would benefit from utilizing this approach especially as the idea that
“games should have clearly defined difficulty levels” continues to be a popular topic of discussion.
Last Updated: 04/18/2022
Published On: 04/06/2022
