[@BrokenPromise] Heh. Well it's better and borderline way too easy with friends. Just wished I would've played with friends from the beginning. (Instead of completing it solo first.) Though I really should finish Elden Ring for the DLC.

[quote]What are some deck builders that you've played?[/quote]

I've certainly played more card games than roguelike deck builders. But, Deep Sky Derelicts, Slay The Spire and Hand Of Fate (all have deck building elements.) [s]And I very briefly tried Roguebook recently. Do not recommend.[/s]

[quote]Welcome to roguelite/like games, enjoy your stay.[/quote]

You're not wrong. The problem is, I usually don't enjoy how Roguelike's keep you trapped in the same gameplay loop through RNG and incredibly slow progression. (If Dead Cells wasn't a roguelike. It probably could've turned into one of my favorite games.)

[quote]My third eye has opened.[/quote]

Well finding nerds and cute animal pictures is about all Reddit is good for. So take advantage of what you have.

[quote]The cards you unlock in the puzzle box are largely irrelevant for progression, and more are added to the current game and can be found again in later runs. The talking cards (and items for getting the talking cards) will always be in your hand on a fresh run and are the only thing that's essential for progression. You'd know that if you played more than a handful of runs. But it doesn't sound like you enjoyed it, so you probably shouldn't. I'd find a nice Metriodvania to snuggle up to, or something in the vein of "Dust: An Elysian Tail."[/quote]

[hider=I've played that one already.]
[quote]Dust An Elysian Tail: It was a decent experience. Despite having an easily exploitable combat system, and a story that wasn’t particularly engaging. This felt nice to complete after it kept crashing on my PS4. (Though the f*cker still hard crashed on me after a near end game cutscene, and nearly soft-locked me when it respawned me inside of the floor.)[/quote]
[/hider]

Though Metriodvanias are certainly more in line with my tastes. I'm sure backtracking can annoy some. But at least there's always something being accomplished. (At least in good ones.) 

But I understand that the game is purposefully wasting your time in the early game. (Since you *can't* solve everything in the cabin right away, the game doesn't let you.) So worrying about losing and winning a run isn't really the point. More so than "experiencing the narrative". I just don't find that concept terribly appealing. (But maybe the mods you played it with, make the actual deckbuilding part more substantive.) 

I think Inscryption has plenty of elements that help it stand out. (That ARG puzzle sh*t that it included, certainly helped market it through FOMO.) But you can experience it's art style and music (its general aesthetics that make it unique) in a Let's Play. Least in my two cents.

How many deck builders (or meta games) have you played / how would Inscryption rank amongst them?