Inscryption is full of twists, turns, and wild questions that celebrate games and the communities that spring up around them. It is also a game that’s designed to have a definitive end; eventually, you move on from that first table and card game to explore other parts of a mysterious digital world. The latest expansion, Kaycee’s Mod, is an endless run through the first — and most atmospheric — act, allowing players to enjoy Leshy’s card game infinitely. It’s a welcome return to the woodsman’s cabin, but it’s more of a novelty than a new obsession.
In Kaycee’s Mod, the player gets to run through Leshy’s card game of beasts and coins repeatedly. The deck-builder had been a fan-favorite element of the game, as players advanced up various paths on a map, similar to Slay the Spire. The mini-expansion gives players more options for replayability, like deadly modifiers that make things tougher: less backpack space or more expensive pelts from the trapper, to name a couple. It’s much tougher than the base game, because many of the little tricks and tools hidden around the cabin are gone. It’s just you and the base strategy of Inscryption (the card game within the larger game) against a merciless enemy.
With this in mind, a player returning to Kaycee’s Mod has a chance of either figuring out a clever strategy to break the game (like finessing their starting hand to always have a primo one-blood summon) or floundering against the new pirate boss and tougher encounters. This part of Inscryption is not finely tuned and particularly balanced; but this individual component is just one part of what made the entire game truly excellent. While Kaycee’s Mod takes some admirable balance steps, the game’s most ardent fans are already racking up full-challenge runs with absurd combos like ENDLESS BEES or absurdly powerful skunks.
It’s comforting to return to Leshy’s game, especially after seeing how Inscryption ends. There’s some extra lore hidden via GameFuna developer Kaycee’s journals that unlock as you play through the endless mode.
Overall, Kaycee’s Mod is more of a fun diversion than a real continuation of Inscryption. It’s worth checking out if you’re feeling nostalgic, but if you’re satisfied with the end of the individual scribes’ stories, you’re safe to move on. It’s a fun toy to tinker with, though, and it’s a great excuse to sink back into the dark, mysterious atmosphere of the woodsman’s cabin, and go back to ripping out my teeth and yelling at the Angler for his bullshit.
Source: Polygon
