Inscryptionis a strange hybrid: board game, CCG, escape room simulator, and meta nightmare. The game is as complicated as it is fun, and half the joy of it is discovering the sometimes convoluted, often strange solutions to the game’s various puzzles. One of the most difficult puzzles of all is that of escaping the Dark Room.
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Escape from the Dark Room is difficult for two reasons. First: a long chain of puzzles, not all of them intuitive, stands in the player’s way and must be completed in a particular order to advance. Second: the last step before escaping breaks the mold of every other puzzle in the game, causing many players to falter at the very last second, unsure of where they are supposed to turn. With the following guidelines in mind, however, the player will be able to break free of Leshy’s game and see Act 2 ofInscryptionat last.
To escape from the Dark Room and Leshy’s clutches requires the player to complete a complicated series of puzzles. ThoughInscryptionhas no shortage of difficult brain teasers, these are arguably the hardest, especially without guidance.
Within the cabin is a tutorial book that explains the function of every Sigil. Step one is to open it and browse.Within the book, the player will find a page with a safe combination scrawled on it in blood.At the back of the cabin, beside the wooden figurines, is a safe which the combination opens. Take the Stinkbug card and the key from the safe. Using the key, unlock the cabinet on the side of the cabin.
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Within are four locked drawers, each of which is a puzzle in itself, challenging the player to deal an exact amount of damage. The locked drawer puzzles are based on the same mechanics as the rest ofthe game’s card combat,so discerning players with a good deal of patience will be able to crack them on their own. In short, the pieces must be arranged so that five total points of damage are dealt to the opponent. In doing so the drawer will open, allowing the player to proceed to the next puzzle step.
3The First Three Puzzle Drawers
To open the cuckoo clockand escape the Dark Room, the player must first complete four puzzle drawers. The first one is simple. All the player needs to do to progress is to move all of the pieces into the attack row. Upon hitting the bell, the puzzle will be completed. The player can collect a card as a reward and advance to drawer two. The second locked drawer puzzle introduces more complicated Sigil mechanics: Airborne and Loose Tail. The solution is as follows (from left to right):
Once the player rings the bell, they can advance to the third drawer. The key to this drawer is to remember the way that Ants' Power is calculated: the more of them there are, the more Power they have.
Ringing the bell will complete the third puzzle,allowing the player to move on to the fourth and final drawer.This puzzle is truly fiendish, using two ofInscryption’smost complicated Sigils for the purpose of damage calculation: Birfurcated Strike and Sharp Quills. There is serious complexity here, but with some careful tinkering, it can be overcome.
2The Fourth Puzzle, Wolf, And Knife
There’s only one puzzle drawer left to complete, and it’s the hardest yet. Here is the solution:
The first reward for completing the fourth puzzle drawer is a Squirrel totem head. While this totem piece is powerful, it pales in importance compared to the second reward: the Caged Wolf card. The player must now resume Leshy’s game, playing until they reach a sacrificial altar and sacrifice the Caged Wolf. There is a loud noise in the cabin to confirm that the event triggered. When the player gets up and checks Leshy’s shelf, they will see the broken cage that once imprisoned the wolf statue.
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The player must then bring the wolf statue to the mechanism to the right of Leshy’s locket cabinet, placing it in the indentation on the shelf (next to the carving of a squirrel). Setting the statue down causes the squirrel’s arms to open, allowing the player to grab the knife it was clutching. Bring the knife over to Leshy’s table.The player can use this knife during the game to pluck out their own eyeball,dealing four points of damage to Leshy in the process. Essentially, the knife acts asa far superior version of the Pliers.
The next step is simple: the now one-eyed player must lose the game and create a new Deathcard. They will then be rewarded with a cutscene: the dagger being painted by an unknown figure. Escape from the Dark Room is almost at hand.
1The Magic Eyeball & Cuckoo Clock
The player must now use the dagger again, this time winning the match. As a reward, Leshy will fish out a chest full of eyeballs from which the player can select a replacement for their missing eye. One eyeball glows with strange glyphs. Picking it reveals the messages that have been hidden throughout the cabin but are invisible without the arcane eye.“Find salvation in the cuckoo clock,“reads the clue on the chest, and that’s just what the player must do.
Back at the cuckoo clock, the player will discover painted marks, revealed by the magical eye. Bymoving the hands of the clock until they are alignedwith these markings, the player can open a compartment on the clock. Within are two rewards: the Stunted Wolf card and a roll of film.
After all the puzzle-solving and eye-plucking, the player can be forgiven for being a little skeptical. They have now arrived at the most difficult part:completing their run and defeating Leshy in the last boss encounter.Doing so causes a cutscene to play in which the player traps Leshy within the camera.
The final step is at hand, but the solution is meta and strange, a big reason that many players get stuck at this stage.Restart the game, and select “New Game” from the start menu. At last, the player is free of Leshy’s cabin and the foreboding Dark Room, but the mysteries ofInscryptiononly get stranger from here.
