Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 344 sampled Steam reviews (327 positive / 17 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing22% mention it
- World & exploration5% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing24% mention it
- Difficulty & balance18% mention it
- Grind & repetition18% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
81%
27 reviews
5-15h
94%
104 reviews
15-40h
96%
138 reviews
40-100h
98%
55 reviews
100h+
100%
20 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 86 | 68 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 97% | 92 | 1171 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 90 | 223 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 97% | 93 | 276 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 789 total reviews in window · weighted 251.6 up / 6.6 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (99)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Turn off the lights and go into your play of Inscryption knowing you will experience a narrative like no other. The gameplay is well done, but the story that lies under it is perfect. If you are a horror fan, do not skip this one.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Inscryption is easily one of the best card battlers I have ever played, with tons of gameplay layers, cool escape-room style puzzles, and a creepy story tying it all together.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Inscryption is excellent; at the beginning of the game, you have a deck of cards that you improve as you progress through the campaign. At one point, the campaign will start again with other mechanics, and your package is not the same as it was. The campaign is also somehow different, but it still acts as an Inscryption. What's happening? I'm taking off my hat.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Inscryption tears apart all of the clichés and finds unique ways to break the obstacles between itself and the player. And succeeds in the creepiest way!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The game is an unholy hybrid of a roguelike deck-builder and first-person escape-room experience that reveals itself to be a grand reflection of and meditation on lives lived within a bubble.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“Inscryption is a mysterious card game that surprises you in every possible way. Its dark story transforms the game several times as the player tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding it. While the gameplay isn’t exactly groundbreaking, it never gets boring for a single moment. The entertaining gameplay, original story, and setting, combined with a dense atmosphere, create an experience that stands out from the vast majority of games on the market.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“It's hard to talk about the specifics of Inscryption without diluting some of its magic. However, its ingenuity is mind-boggling, its mood is devilishly haunting and its presentation is first-rate. As a deck builder, it's stretched about as far as it can go, and by jumping around between concepts it sometimes asks for a lot of from the player. The pay-off, however, is one of the most impressive feats of video game storytelling there is. If you're new to Daniel Mullins Games then you're in for even more of a treat, but existing fans, too, shouldn't think they have the measure of what awaits on Inscryption's dusty old floppy disk.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“In an industry that operates so heavily under tradition and expectations, games like Inscryption come along and shake you awake, reminding you where games can go and what they can be.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“This game has layers that I won’t go into in this review, because the moment that you get to peek behind the curtain deserves to be experienced first hand. It’s an experience that I didn’t see coming and will likely never forget.”
read full review ↗ - 91
“The deal offered by Inscryption is like a two-faced coin: on one side we have a disturbing plot, told through an intricate narrative full of mystery, while on the other side we have a deep, elaborate and fun card game.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Inscryption asks itself questions about its genre and uses us as a mirror to carve a path within itself and see what there is at the bottom of a card game. It uses various game styles as a camouflage, mutates in order to peek at itself from another point of view and ends as any movie should end: giving a certain answer to the player and, at the same time, leaving him/her thirsty for the whole truth.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Inscryption is an amazingly well-put-together piece of work. The atmosphere presented…well, I’ve already doted on it multiple times. And I’ll do so again: it’s unsettling, occasionally oppressive, and always keeps the player on their toes. It could easily carry the work on its own, but luckily the card game mechanics are solid and sound as well. It’s easy to pick up, but with a ton of variables to allow customization and multiple viable approaches to the challenges provided. If only it didn’t stumble literally right at the finish line, I’d call this a near-perfectly designed game. Unfortunately, that last moment soured me on the experience…not enough render the whole thing moot (a la Mass Effect 3), but I just can’t shake it off. Despite that, Inscryption is a game that I can recommend highly. Even if you’re not typically a fan of deckbuilding games (just as I used to be), if you want some unsettling vibes for the season, this is your game right here.”
read full review ↗
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Patch history
- Inscryption V1.10 - Now on Mac and Linux!Jun 22, 2022
- Kaycee's Mod V0.34Mar 17, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.33Mar 16, 2022
- Kaycee's Mod V0.32Mar 15, 2022
- Kaycee's Mod V0.31Mar 10, 2022
- Kaycee's Mod V0.30Mar 7, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.29Feb 16, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.28Feb 3, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.27Jan 27, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.26Jan 19, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.25Jan 12, 2022
- Kaycee's Mod V0.24Jan 4, 2022
- Kaycee's Mod V0.23Dec 28, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.22Dec 21, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.21Dec 17, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.20Dec 16, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Kaycee's Mod V0.19Dec 15, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- V1.08 patch!Nov 5, 2021
- Another lil patch: V1.07Oct 27, 2021
- Second patch! V1.06Oct 22, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- First patch after launch! V1.05Oct 21, 2021