Inscryption's free "mini-expansion" makes the first act endless
The beginning of the game is like a proper roguelike now
Inscryption is, without a doubt, the best game I've played this year. It's creepy, surprising, and superbly fun, and now you can play the best part for as long as you please. Developer Daniel Mullins has released a "mini-expansion" in beta on Steam, which (minor spoilers ahead!) makes its animal-based card game a standalone roguelike experience. Named Kaycee's Mod, it's slightly tougher than what you might have played already, and adds new challenges too, so you can keep going back in for more.
Mullins says he's received "countless requests for an endlessly playable version of Part 1 that emphasizes Leshy's deckbuilding roguelike", and I'm not surprised. While Inscryption is fab as a whole package, that first section is addictive.
In his Inscryption review, Brendy calls it "a superbly designed card game" and a "beautifully cursed creation". I couldn't agree more.
Each time you start a run in the expansion, you can select a number of challenges that will make it more difficult (like reducing your backpack space, or taking away the ability to reroll cards). Complete a run with challenges active, and you'll go up a Challenge Level, giving you more challenge options, as well as unlocking new cards and dev logs "inscribed by the late Kaycee Hobbes".
Kaycee is a character (kinda like another you see in the game) who had been trying to uncover Inscryption's secrets. As you play, Leshy makes mention of her a couple of times, so it seems like there's a whole new bit of weirdness underlying this expansion.
The mini-expansion is currently in beta on Steam, and you can access it by going into the game's properties on your Steam client, and entering the code "givemeascensionmode". As the beta progresses, Mullins plans on adding new rare cards, items, the rest of Kaycee's dev logs, and a final encounter for folks who clear Challenge Level 12.
It's funny, I wasn't going to go back to Inscryption after my one playthrough, because I didn't want to spoil the experience for myself by overdoing it. But now I can just play the first act loads without dropping myself into the rest of the story, uh oh, I know what I'll be doing playing obsessively during the holidays.
If you're interested in finding out more about Inscryption, I interviewed Mullins back in October about the game's horror themes, and how it scares players by doing things games aren't supposed to.