Inscryption's Second Act Was Inspired By Pokémon TCG On The Game Boy

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Inscryption, the surprise hit deckbuilding roguelike by Daniel Mullins Games, was inspired by popular tabletop collectible card games like Magic: the Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, but its genre-changing second act had some retro influence from the Pokémon Trading Card Game on the Game Boy. The Devolver Digital-published game combines its overarching narrative and roguelike mechanics with the familiarity of popular card games.

Deemed Screen Rant’s 2021 Game of the Year, Inscryption begins with the player in a cabin filled with escape room puzzles and its host wanting to play a card game. However, once the first act is completed, the game changes and replaces its escape room setting with a top-down adventure with low-resolution pixel art, much like the classic Pokémon games. The narrative unfolds as the player continues to learn more about the core card game.

Related: Inscryption Review: A Horror Deckbuilder Like No Other

In a recent interview with The Escapist, Daniel Mullins described his influences and game design decisions. There, he revealed he is a fan of card games in general, particularly Magic: The Gathering. The Hex and Pony Island developer attempted to make both physical and digital card games in the past. He developed Inscryption in a game jam where he utilized his card game knowledge and merged it with clever storytelling. Design Delve’s hosts JM8 and Marty remarked that the game changes genre in a fluid way and asked Mullins where in the development did he decide to have a completely different experience that would continue Inscryption's narrative in an interesting way. Mullins explained he originally wanted Inscryption to be part of a three-game collection. "But then I was really enjoying making Inscryption. Then