Goblin Stone
- March 12, 2024
- Orc Chop Games
- 12h median play time
Get on Steam"Goblin Stone" is a turn-based roguelite where you lead a party of goblins in their quest for survival against human adventurers. Customize your party with different classes, abilities, and genetics, and experience a unique combat system where positioning determines the order of actions. Manage a thriving goblin colony, build your lair, and breed your goblins to create the perfect party. The game features nostalgic storybook-inspired visuals and an epic soundtrack composed by Peter McConnell.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Charming art style and engaging narration that enhances the overall experience.
- Unique gameplay mechanics that combine base building, breeding, and turn-based combat.
- Fun and addictive gameplay loop that encourages strategic planning and resource management.
- Numerous bugs and glitches that can lead to game-breaking issues and loss of progress.
- Repetitive gameplay and lack of variety in enemies and resources, leading to a grindy experience.
- Clunky user interface that makes navigation and management cumbersome.
- story170 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "Goblin Stone" is generally well-received, praised for its charming narrative, engaging characters, and unique perspective on traditional RPG tropes by focusing on goblins as protagonists. However, many players express frustration with the execution, citing issues such as repetitive missions, grindy progression, and bugs that hinder the overall experience. While the art and voice acting enhance the storytelling, some feel that the narrative could benefit from more complexity and less linearity.
“Goblin Stone is a turn-based adventure game with roguelike elements, base building, a compelling story, great sense of humor, and fantastic narration.”
“The art and voice acting are fantastic, the storyline is entertaining, and the use of goblin deaths to propel the game forward was a pretty fun mechanic.”
“The story reverses the roles of goblins and adventurers, telling the tales of the lowly mob in typical RPGs and how greedy and cruel human adventurers are toward the monster folk.”
“There's no rich story to explore here.”
“The overall lore/story is quite minimal and I think would benefit from being sped up or introduced in other ways, for example, item/place descriptions that can be explored in the player's own time.”
“All the fun stuff in Goblin Stone is undone by the undercooked economy and bloated number of quests required to progress through the chapters.”
- gameplay138 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Goblin Stone has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its charm and engaging mechanics, particularly the breeding and turn-based combat systems. However, criticisms highlight a lack of variety and depth, leading to repetitive gameplay and a slow progression, especially in the late game. While the art and story are praised, bugs and shallow mechanics detract from the overall experience, leaving players hoping for future updates to enhance gameplay diversity and polish.
“The gameplay is intuitive, and honestly, the goblins are super cute.”
“This game oozes charm and has a very fun gameplay loop that is supported by fantastic visuals and vibes.”
“Goblin stone is a neat game that immediately captivates with its charming aesthetic and engaging gameplay.”
“Too much same gameplay, slow tedious base build progress, not enough variation.”
“When the player uncovers the last classes, soon thereafter maxes out their base, the gameplay becomes entirely redundant.”
“The gameplay can become repetitive over time, as players find themselves engaging in similar encounters and tasks with each playthrough.”
- graphics84 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, hand-drawn art style and beautiful artwork, which enhance the overall aesthetic and storytelling experience. Players appreciate the cute and endearing visuals, often describing them as relaxing and engaging, though some note technical issues like memory leaks and a messy UI. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, making it visually captivating despite some gameplay flaws.
“Endearing graphics, a story that challenges norms, and familiar-yet-novel gameplay.”
“The game has a charming hand-drawn storybook aesthetic that fits the game well.”
“Absolutely beautiful game, great art style and narrative additions.”
“Despite its endearing premise and charming art style, the game is not without its flaws.”
“There is a memory leak in the game; the only thing I can think of is that this game will max out my 2090 Ti, even though this game isn't some graphically intensive game.”
“The UI is messy and unintuitive, the graphics are underwhelming, and the music is lackluster.”
- grinding51 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that "grinding" in the game is a prevalent and often tedious aspect, with players expressing frustration over repetitive gameplay, slow progress, and a lack of meaningful rewards. Many feel that the extensive grinding required for resources and upgrades detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than a fun challenge. While some players appreciate the aesthetic and story elements, the overwhelming consensus is that the grind is excessive and unbalanced, leading to a diminished sense of accomplishment.
“The game is slow, grindy, and lacks any feeling of progress.”
“This game has a lot to offer aesthetically, but otherwise, it is a letdown due to the ridiculous amount of grinding that must be done to accomplish anything.”
“There is little content and progression is very slow and grindy.”
- stability32 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and freezes that disrupt gameplay and lead to frustrating experiences. While some users express hope for future patches to address these issues, many feel the game is currently too buggy and unfinished to recommend. Overall, the stability concerns significantly detract from the enjoyment of the game.
“Dev's released a buggy and unfinished game.”
“There are a lot of small glitches that can be really annoying/frustrating.”
“Experienced freezes, glitches, and all sorts of issues, and in the end refunded the game.”
- music20 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as relaxing and charming, enhancing the overall atmosphere and complementing the art style. While many players appreciate the chill vibe and quality of the soundtrack, some find it less memorable and repetitive over time. Overall, the music contributes positively to the experience, though it is occasionally overshadowed by other gameplay issues.
“The music and art style is very relaxing, and it saves along the way so you can jump in and play for a while without stressful 'make-it-to-x-to-save' mechanics like Stardew's day-end mechanic.”
“The music is very good, the graphics charming, and it breeds fun, although quite limited and level gated.”
“The art is nice to look at, but the music isn't that memorable and the narrator has a good voice but gets repetitive after a while.”
“The UI is messy and unintuitive, the graphics are underwhelming, and the music is lackluster.”
“The music is often matching my mood for encounters and general exploration.”
- optimization11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 45 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is widely criticized, with many users reporting significant performance issues, bugs, and clunky mechanics that detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the game's premise and small download size, the poor optimization hampers enjoyment and leads to frustration. Despite potential for a good game, it is currently overshadowed by these technical shortcomings.
“Runs smoothly, small download size.”
“They tend to also be very optimized.”
“Bugs and performance issues aside, which will be hotfixed eventually.”
“Normally I would love spending time on a breeding system like this as a sort of management style optimization, but it’s so clunkily done that I dread it as much as I enjoy it.”
“That being said, there is a good game here but it's buried under bugs and poor optimization.”
“Unfortunately, Goblin Stone feels very unoptimized.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by a friendly narrator and a sympathetic portrayal of goblins as underdogs, creating a fun and heartwarming experience. Players appreciate the unpredictable and chaotic comedic elements that poke fun at RPG tropes, complemented by stellar art and voice acting. Overall, the humor enhances the enjoyable gameplay loop and adds depth to the narrative.
“I love the humor that sympathizes with the goblins being attacked by everyone else; so playing the underdogs in a fantasy RPG setting is fun.”
“To start, the style, narration, and overall humor has been very enjoyable.”
“Art, story, and voice acting is stellar - this is a story that is funny, heartwarming, and totally unexpected!”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
"Goblin Stone" is praised for its heartwarming narrative that follows the last surviving goblins, blending humor and emotion in a unique way. Players appreciate the stellar art, story, and voice acting, which contribute to an unexpectedly touching experience, despite some frustrating bugs. Overall, the game is described as addictive and wholesome, offering a charming perspective on the goblin experience.
“Goblin Stone invites players to embark on a heartwarming journey alongside the last surviving goblins, who are on the brink of extinction thanks to those pesky adventurers.”
“Art, story, and voice acting is stellar - this is a story that is funny, heartwarming, and totally unexpected!”
“It's addictive, challenging, and surprisingly heartwarming (in a weird goblin sort of way).”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its colorful and whimsical world, complemented by relaxing music and charming narration. While some players appreciate the beautiful art style, others feel that control issues detract from fully enjoying the experience. Overall, the pleasant and engaging atmosphere appeals to fans of the genre despite some shortcomings.
“With its colorful world and whimsical atmosphere, it's a game that is sure to leave a lasting impression, bugs and all.”
“The game itself is a little simple, but nevertheless the pleasant atmosphere and beautiful style will appeal to fans of the genre.”
“A charming game that offers great atmosphere, superb narration, and cute gobbos.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is currently uncertain due to its linear story progression, but players note that it offers varying paths and a light-hearted turn-based combat experience, suggesting potential for enjoyable replayability. Overall, the art style is also appreciated, adding to the game's appeal.
“A light-hearted version of turn-based combat/adventure with varying paths and seems to have good replayability... love the art style!”
“At this point, the game is definitely in a much more playable state.”
“At the time of this review, I can't attest to the replayability, but right now, due to the progression-locking of the game, it seems like the game follows a linear story.”
- character development2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its exceptional design, receiving a perfect score, but it faces criticism due to balance and difficulty issues, unexplained mechanics, and some repetitive gameplay. Additionally, a few character designs are noted as needing improvement.
“The character design is 100 out of 10.”
“The depth of character development truly makes you feel connected to each character's journey.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making their stories feel authentic and engaging.”
“The character design is 100 out of 10, but the character development feels shallow and lacks depth.”
“Some character designs need improvement, and the overall character development is lacking.”
“While the character design is impressive, the character development fails to engage the player.”
