Recent reviews by Crow

I expected a time loop rpg instead i got punched in the gut and started crying

This game... Oh, this game. How it has infested -- dare I say inscrypted -- on my brain.
There's a lot I can go through here.

SUMMARY: This game is deliciously well-made and a high recommendation if you like card games, escape rooms, and incredibly well-told stories. All aspects of this games scratch that part of your brain just right, where there's a lot of mystery that you can get into outside the game with the ARG, or you can settle on the ending within the game itself. It appeals to many audiences with the way it goes about things.

Gameplay: 10/10 (you can easily get some good broken and ridiculous cards with the right setup too, which is funny)
Story: 1000/10 (Loved this so bad I'm sick and crying and im losing my mind)
Characters: I love them all too much except for Luke. Luke gets a 1/10 (cause he's awkwardly funny) and everyone else gets over 10 easily

--- POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW. ----
I'll try to censor big plot spoilers or secrets, but don't be upset if I miss a smidge. I just have a lot to say.

GAMEPLAY:
The gameplay is very solid, especially during the first act where it's a almost "preparation" section for the next two acts in the game. But even then, Act I has it's challenges, especially during the boss fights, where certainly a first-timer would likely lose. It's all a process of learning the mechanics and gimmicks, and even if you start over, it's fun all around.

> ACT ONE : Focusing on beast cards and "sacrificing" to be able to play stronger, "better" cards. The tutorial allows you to get a grasp of the mechanics and how much is at stake with where you're at.
If you're missing something key to progressing the story, you will be forced back through forcefully losing boss battles; which isn't a totally bad thing! Plus, progressing the story also gives you a chance to get some nice goodies (including a very useful totem head). I like this because it will force players to properly get the story to piece together, where they can even reach the final boss of Act I and win, but be sent back because they're missing that one key item to beat Act I.
One con, however, I found while playing myself -- I'm sure many players would be confused on how to continue after beating Act I. I had a little issue where I kept trying to get out of the dark room you're in, then I realized that was the "new game" card we saw on that barrel. I might just be dumb if it was too obvious.

> ACT TWO: What a nice change of pace visually -- where you start getting into the gimmick of "this is a game" rather than "I'm under threat by this unknown figure at the end of the table".
I love that this is the introduction to the other scrybes' true selves, rather than being put inside those talking cards. Feels nice to be like, "Oh hey! You're the &!^@& who kept telling me 'total misplay'!!". Plus, all the ways the scrybes' cards work play into how different aspects of Act I & Act III work! It's a really cool detail, like the bones from Grimora's in Act I and Magnificus' gems used in Act III.

> ACT THREE: I'm just gonna put all of this under spoilers, but in summary it's very similar to Act I; sort of a parallel. (I don't know how to really give a summary of this act without spoilers... so take that, I guess.)
Act III focuses on the scrybe of technology, p03. The cards, rather than blood, focuses on how many batteries you have. This increases by one per turn (unless you have certain sigils on cards), and replenishes, meaning you can use cards with however many batteries you have or less in one turn. This part of the game is the most complex yet fun in the sense that it plays around with pretty much everything related to either your computer or pure gameplay mechanics. It's a really good balance, and many times during boss battles I would cuss like a sailor because I would keep losing. Play your cards even more wisely than what you had done in Act I, or you'll regret it.

(I'll probably come back later to dork over the story, I've gotten exhausted so please dont mind me <3)

Very relaxing and fun to challenge yourself to go through smaller gaps.