Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts Review (PC)

Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts confirms just about everything that a local priest once told me. It must’ve been back in September of last year, when I visited a cathedral. Bewildered, I spotted a strange collection of etchings beneath the cloister benches—of monks in their skivvies, with their backsides covered in all sorts of questionable excrement. The priest, who happened to clock on to my amusement, leaned out from behind a pillar and informed me that “monks were awfully mischievous.” And not only monks, but most medieval transcribers and illustrators, for that matter.

Waltzing into Scriptorium was a lot like having an a-ha moment. True enough, medieval illustrators had a lot to convey in their small pieces of parchment. The game wasn’t just a slight tilt of a hat to abstract art; it was a fever dream of various patterns and peculiar artistic concepts, some of which featured paupers with mythical companions, others with naked princes and platoons of orchestral rats and vengeful rabbits. For the life of me I couldn’t comprehend “the message” that each piece of art vied to convey — but I could, on the other hand, appreciate the small details and the creative expression. I just had no idea what on earth I was dealing with, much less what I was getting myself into.

If you can excuse the cheekiness and turn a blind eye to the lack of context behind each illustration, then you shouldn’t have an issue with appreciating the creatively constructed conundrums of Scriptorium and its vast array of inkblot etchings and nonsensical interpretations. A creative canvas at heart, the game itself invites you to take on various requests from key individuals during the medieval period, and complete commissions in your workshop. Think Sticky Business meets Inkulinati, and you should have a vague idea of how this world chooses to spill its ink.

The idea isn’t all that difficult to understand. As the curator of thousands of medieval set pieces, you find yourself with the opportunity to weave various canvas designs together to fulfill commissions, some of which require you to depict ravenous battlefields and deadly plagues, some of which allow you the creative freedom to explore vast worlds and abstract designs. In Story Mode, you’ll find dozens of projects to explore and requirements to fill, whereas in Sandbox Mode, you’ll unlock an open-ended workspace that allows you to unleash your wildest creations. Fortunately, there are no timers, and there are no slaps on the wrist for mistaking your mice from your feline. It’s just you, a canvas, and a world of utterly bizarre drawings.

Similar to the likes of Sticky Business and other “cozy” decoration sandboxes, Scriptorium offers fledgling illustrators the freedom to peel and place a wide array of objects, characters, and questionable items onto a canvas. With a textbook UI that’s incredibly easy to navigate, the game allows you to freely explore an enormous range of creative possibilities. It might not always make sense, but that’s sort of the point. Also, it’s true to the source material of medieval texts — so there’s that.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t really need to know your medieval text, much less the illustrations to understand how to craft wondrous works of art in Scriptorium. Thankfully, there’s a neutral ground here that doesn’t necessarily shun bad ideas. Instead, it encourages you to take full advantage of a thousand different stickers to embellish your own interpretation and experiment with all sorts of combinations. While there are, of course, requests to complete, at no point does the game make it a pain in the backside to truly capture the subject matter. Frankly, it can be as authentic or as bonkers as you want — as long as it fits with the spirit of the source material.

In addition to its primary story and sandbox modes, Scriptorium also opens up the opportunity for you to create and manage your own workshop—a place in which you can implement fresh decorations, stained glass windows, and furniture between commissions. It might not offer a huge amount to experiment with, but it does make for a cozy side quest to help curb your boredom between creations. Moreover, as you have a generous collection of commissions to take on and a a fully-fledged sandbox suite to fool around with, you should find more than enough to keep you plugging away at the parchment. Add the fact that you can also design your own creative maps and even print them out for external activities—tabletop board games, for example—and you have quite the weighty manuscript on your hands.

With a generous amount of tiles, stickers, and creative ways to bend the medieval world to your own peculiar tastes, Scriptorium ought to give you a good run for your money. Granted, it’s an unusual game that falls into a rather unusual category—a field that might not appeal to the mainstream. That being said, if you wish for creative freedom and comical infusions, then you should definitely consider checking out Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts the next time you’re itching for a good old-fashioned medieval laugh-a-thon.

Verdict

Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts sews a peculiar tapestry of medieval-inspired illustrations into a complete and utterly bizarre sandbox suite in which oddball scenarios and ungodly creations wax poetic with weird fever dreams and unfathomable ideas. If you’re a fan of old-fashioned medieval scripture and all of the eccentric artwork that tie in with them, then you’re probably going to enjoy weaving your own collection of parchment here. Granted, it’s still a niche concept that might not appeal to the whole world. But, if you’re all for the kookiness and mischievous nature of questionable art, then there’s a good chance that you’ll find a home away from home in Scriptorium.

While there’s no denying the fact that Scriptorium is a sheep amongst other creative wolves, I can certainly vouch for it and say that, oddball concept aside, it is a delightful little experience with a lot of comical fodder to share. Is it the best game of its kind? No. But then, given the idea that it chooses to build on, it’s also rather difficult to compare it to anything else, weirdly. That’s an extra point for originality, I guess.