Inscryption is a cryptic and complex indie horror deck-builder that has secrets hidden in every inch of its code, and many of its cards have more uses than are initially apparent. The Ring Worm card is one that seems particularly useless at first glance between its stats and blood cost, but even the game master, Leshy, hints that there’s more to it than meets the eye. Among all the cards with hidden abilities in Inscryption, the Ring Worm is unique, and players can take advantage of one of its special functions in Act I of the game.
The Ring Worm costs one blood to play, but it has the same stats as a basic squirrel card with only 1 health and 0 attack power. The card can be powered up with stat boosts and sigils, but the base card doesn’t have any special abilities in battle, which makes it a waste of a sacrifice. However, the Ring Worm’s best use is outside of battle, and it changes the mechanics of the spooky tabletop RPG that Leshy has roped players into.
Throughout Inscryption’s first act, players make their way through a tabletop RPG laid out on a scroll, with several different paths that can be taken on each stage. Occasionally, players will come across a campfire where they can power up one of their creatures by warming it by the fire, which will increase its attack power or health. Each campfire is also surrounded by a group of hungry-looking survivors that limit how much players can power up their creatures since the player will pull their creature from the fire to keep it safe before the survivors can eat it. However, as the game progresses, players can unlock Inscryption’s push-your-luck mechanic for the campfires, allowing them to risk losing their creature to strengthen it further.
How To Unlock Maximum Power-Ups At Inscryption’s Campfires
If players have died more than four times in Act 1 of Inscryption, they will unlock the ability to let their creatures warm themselves by the fire for more than one power-up. However, if the survivors eat the creature, it will be gone for good. This is where the Ring Worm’s first hidden ability becomes extremely useful, as players can sacrifice this card to the survivors by powering it up until they eat it for dinner. The Ring Worm will poison the survivors when it is eaten, removing them from all future campfires throughout the game. This allows players to maximize their cards’ stats without any risk, giving them the opportunity to significantly boost their deck’s power.
The Ring Worm also has another hidden ability that doesn’t become apparent until the final fight of Inscryption's first act. Just before entering Leshy’s cabin to face him, he’ll present the player with several trials that grant special boons when ed. One of these trials, the Trial of the Ring, will let players the first trial automatically if they are wearing a ring and give them a choice between three bonus abilities that will aid them in the boss battle. The ring can be found by solving the clock puzzle in Leshy's cabin, but the Ring Worm’s second hidden ability will allow players to this trial without it as the creature itself counts as a “ring.” However, if players have used its first ability and sacrificed it to the survivors earlier in Inscryption, they won’t be able to use it to this trial.
Inscryption is available for PC.
