Recent reviews by Wyldbill

First things first, let me establish that if Steam allowed for a Neutral recommendation that's how I would be rating this game when at full price ($20). The best way for me to rate this game is with two separate vague scores, if you've looked at the trailers and haven't played previous games from the developer I suspect you'll lean more negatively while if you are familiar with the previous games (The Hex, and to a lesser extent, Pony Island) you'll probably enjoy this one more. It is difficult to elaborate further without potentially spoiling sections of the plot so this is your warning.


The game has three acts. What you see in the trailers make up only the first act of the game. That isn't to say it suddenly changes genres like with the Hex, but you completely lose the tone and atmosphere which is what originally sold me. The story that follows isn't bad and if it followed the same style as what came before (Or at least kept the general setting) I would be all over the game. The problem is I think this is a game where the story is detrimental to the entire experience. I was having fun playing a hybrid of Slay the Spire with the actual card game being this four lane puzzle game of momentum. The artwork on the cards, the macabre nature of the card game (if you didn't know the original concept of the game was called "Sacrifices must be Made" and this idea is in everything you interact with) the mystery of the possibly unhinged person across the table essentially functioning like an unstable dungeon master, all of these things were enthralling. Then you finish that section and move on for around another five hours of gameplay. If you liked the card game for what it was you shouldn't mind the transition too much but I was mostly disappointed to find that the game has moved on from what initially brought me in.


Firstly I'd like to point out I think the major problem with the game is the store page heavily advertises act 1, and while I was expecting something coming out of left field like with "The Hex" I think that game got away with the twist more because it was sold as a mystery and the mystery is solved in the last moments of the game, unlike with Inscryption where at best the first half of the game is what's shown and the rest of it is mostly different with a dramatic change to environment. The Pokemon trading card game section really only exists to demonstrate the the "floppy" that contains the game didn't contain this advanced first person perspective of a card game and in reality was the corruption created by whichever master managed to overpower the other three and the sad truth is anyone coming in completely blind was sold on the Act 1 and everything else (With some exception to Act 3, as long as you ignore traveling on a map) was too dramatic a change.

I'm sure you've heard this before on things like Reddit, but during the finale when you play short games with the remaining masters was sadly exactly the sort of game I would have loved to have. The "story" when starting a new game would have worked fine. You enter a dark room with these three sets of eyes and a monitor staring down at you as you challenge one of the masters. Depending on who you picked would essentially set your starting deck (Think selecting a character in Slay the Spire) and change the room you compete in. If you lose each of the characters dispose of you in their own way (Such as Leshy taking a picture or Grimora writing your epitaph). Clearly there will have to be some additional cards to fill out the game and increase randomization and I suspect exploring the room would have to be expanded on for unlockables (Such as trying to manipulate what cards are on the field to unlock a new card for future runs) but making a tight space for all four characters with multiple puzzles is an incredibly daunting thing and I wouldn't really blame anyone if it was cut in lieu of an expanded card game with essentially four modes of play.

I think it's telling that even with the small variety in Act 1 people still spend lots of time there just to see what little quirks can be discovered such as the multiple uses for Ringworm and the weird interactions with things like which eye you pick and while I have no hope that such a spinoff will ever come out I would absolutely spend 30 dollars for a fully expanded on version of the card game that focuses less on an extended universe and more on the stylish card game featuring four curious eclectic opponents as portrayed by the end. It's weird to say but from a "gameplay" perspective the game peaks in the first act with everything else afterwards just not as interesting or nuanced as the semi randomized deck builder the game opens with.

Also on that note, this hypothetical game would essentially use Leshy's style of map progression. Act 3 with P03 was interesting but pretty much nothing was gained from awkwardly walking around a map to start battles. Lastly, and this is something I just wanted to bring up, having each of the masters shake your hand during the finale was just heart wrenching because once again it alludes to a game that doesn't exist as well as personalities we don't get to explore. moments alone changed the characters from relatively predictable archetypes to personable opponents that feel like they should have had more time to shine as themselves and not as whatever they were turned into.

Ultimately, while fun and intuitive during the moments the game lets you experiment, it goes and does its' own thing after a while which only really affects the game negatively.

Personally, I give this game a 6/10. If you're part of the community surrounding this game and enjoy that aspect I can see it going up to 8/10 but for anyone that's just interested in the game itself I'm sorry to say the story doesn't actually facilitate fun If the game goes on sale for $10 I'd say the price is worth it just to play the Cabin sections but understand the game has a story to tell and it doesn't seem to care if you're having fun while it's doing so.

It's fun