Inscryption

Inscryption is a card roguelike wrapped in a dark horror atmosphere, which arrived on PlayStation consoles some time after its original PC release. The player finds themselves in a mysterious cabin across from an enigmatic opponent and must build a deck of cards, sacrifice their own creatures on altars, and use card after card to survive battles whose rules keep changing as the game progresses. Behind what seems like a classic deckbuilder lies a much bigger and darker story, which the game gradually reveals through fourth-wall breaks, hidden mechanics, and transitions between entirely different game layers. The card battles themselves function as a full-fledged tactical system with animal cards of varying strength, sacrifice mechanics, and gradually unlocked abilities that would hold up even without its narrative depth.

On PS5, the game benefits from its atmospheric audiovisual presentation — dim lighting, creaking wood, and an uncomfortably intimate camera that keeps the player close to the card table. The sound design and the voice of the mysterious opponent are among the things that make Inscryption an experience that works best in silence, with headphones on, and the DualSense controls manage to carry over even the small interactive elements outside the card battles themselves.

Upon its original release, the game earned great acclaim for its courage to break genre expectations and for how it managed to combine card strategy with narrative horror and puzzle elements into one unforgettable whole. Inscryption's influence is evident in a number of later card and horror indie titles that tried to emulate its unexpected twists. Even years later, this title remains one of the most original entries in its genre, and its console version lets you replay the experience comfortably on the big screen. Precisely because the game relies heavily on first impressions for much of its charm, it's recommended to go into it with as little prior information as possible.

Why play it: Because of the originality with which it combines card strategy, narrative horror, and puzzle elements, Inscryption is worth playing with as little prior information as possible, so its unexpected twists can land at full force.