Grindstone

About

Grindstone is a single-player puzzle game with great graphics and music. Your goal is to mine grindstones from Creeps while ascending Grindstone Mountain, completing 250+ levels filled with hazards and bosses. Craft gear, battle in boss-rush mode, test your luck at creepy carnivals, and compete in daily modes, all to the tune of Sam Webster's acclaimed soundtrack.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 201 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Grindstone features a unique and engaging puzzle mechanic that elevates the match-3 genre, allowing for creative combos and strategic gameplay.
The game boasts charming art design, fluid animations, and an outstanding soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
With over 350 levels and various unlockable items, Grindstone offers significant replay value and keeps players engaged for hours.

The gameplay can become repetitive over time, especially after several hours, leading to a sense of monotony.
Some mechanics feel overly grindy and reminiscent of mobile game design, which may detract from the experience for some players.
The difficulty balance can be inconsistent, with some levels feeling unfairly challenging due to RNG elements.

gameplay
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
64%
9%
Grindstone offers engaging and addictive puzzle gameplay with unique mechanics that challenge players through combo-based actions and evolving difficulty. While the art and soundtrack enhance the experience, some players find the repetitive nature and certain mobile-like mechanics detract from its value, particularly in a $20 game. Overall, it provides a satisfying gameplay loop with extensive content, though some quality-of-life improvements are needed.
- “The gameplay is very addictive, and for the price, it's quite a grab.”
- “No time pressure, super easy mechanics, and consistent game rules mean you can easily pick this up and play a few rounds whenever it fits into your day - during a boring Zoom call, before bed, or while your girlfriend is trying to explain something to you.”
- “With a ridiculous amount of content and varied gameplay, Grindstone is the total package.”
- “It was clearly designed to be pay-to-win, but with the microtransactions removed, you have to earn all those currencies through gameplay, and boy oh boy does that put the 'grind' in grindstone.”
- “The art, music, and basic gameplay are great, but it is very repetitive and has some odd, mobile-like mechanics that feel very grindy and not worth your time.”
- “On top of that, the new infection mechanic just makes everything worse and unfair because it snowballs so fast that your only choice will be to restart over and over until you get lucky.”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
39%
8%
The graphics of *Grindstone* are characterized by a unique and polarizing cartoonish art style, often compared to the contemporary "CalArts" aesthetic, which some find charming while others criticize as basic. The fluid animations and vibrant visuals enhance the gameplay experience, contributing to a fun and engaging atmosphere, complemented by a solid soundtrack. Overall, the game's art direction is praised for its quality and creativity, making it a standout feature despite mixed opinions on its stylistic choices.
- “This game has such quality and care put into its art style and animations!”
- “The graphics and animations are fluid and look amazing.”
- “The aesthetic of the whole game is fun and unique too, the character design and concept are solid.”
- “The art and animation style is probably going to be the most polarizing: it's modeled off of the contemporary Cartoon Network house style, often derisively referred to as 'CalArts style,' 'bean mouth,' 'thin line art style,' or occasionally as 'the downfall of western civilization' by the most terminally online people in the world.”
- “But the joke is on me for not seeing through the graphical polish to the empty core.”
- “Grindstone starts strong with a hand-drawn art style, and a video which leads you to believe there may be a story unfolding.”
music
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
26%
9%
The music in Grindstone, composed by Sam Webster, is widely praised for its meditative and dreamy trip-hop style, enhancing the gameplay experience without being distracting. Reviewers highlight its addictive quality and unique charm, making it a standout feature of the game that even non-players should appreciate. Overall, the soundtrack complements the game's art and mechanics, contributing to a pleasant and immersive gaming atmosphere.
- “Great art, fantastic music, heavily recommended!”
- “Heck, it's probably more the incredible soundtrack than anything.”
- “The original soundtrack, by musician Sam Webster, is a brilliant match for the title: meditative, dreamy trip-hop, unobtrusive enough that it can just melt into long hours of gameplay without distraction but distinctive enough that I always feel like I'm going 'ooh, it's this track, I love this track' when I start a level.”
- “It has an awesome cartoonish art style and a solid soundtrack that doesn't make you mad after playing for a few hours.”
- “The drawing and animation are top notch, the characters and mobs have heart and humor, the music and sound design are - *chef's kiss*.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
64%
21%
While Grindstone features a visually appealing hand-drawn art style and hints at a narrative, players note that the story is minimal and does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience. The game includes a story mode with boss levels and various challenges, but the lack of a compelling narrative contributes to a sense of repetition. Overall, the focus is more on gameplay mechanics and replay value rather than a rich story.
- “There is a story mode with boss levels, daily grind modes, dungeons introducing new gimmicks, and enough power-ups and consumables to give the game a huge replay value.”
- “Tons of levels and lots of variety, a great match 3 now that Puzzle Quest has gone to the horrible, at least for me, freemium model.”
- “But there really isn't a story.”
- “If there were a story, it would help remove the repetition of doing the same thing over and over again.”
- “Grindstone starts strong with a hand-drawn art style, and a video which leads you to believe there may be a story unfolding.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight that while the game's art, music, and core gameplay are enjoyable, it suffers from excessive repetition and grindy mechanics that detract from the experience. Players find the lack of variation and the need to grind for resources, especially after failing puzzles, to be tedious and frustrating. Suggestions to reduce grind include removing optional and cave levels to streamline gameplay.
- “The art, music, and basic gameplay are great, but it is very repetitive and has some odd, mobile-ish mechanics that feel very grindy and not worth your time.”
- “Grindstone is simply too long for no reason and gets tedious and repetitive very fast because there is little to no variation to the content.”
- “On paper this is not a bad feature, but because the items need resources to use them and if you get stuck at the puzzle, you need to grind the resources back, which is horrible and tedious.”
character development
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While Grindstone excels in character design and animation, creating a charming and unique aesthetic, the reviews do not indicate significant depth in character development. The focus remains on the visual appeal rather than the evolution or complexity of the characters themselves.
- “The art and animation is very charming, and the character design is so good.”
- “The aesthetic of the whole game is fun and unique too; the character design and concept are solid.”
- “Cool character designs and animations.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its lighthearted yet dark humor set in a fantasy world, complemented by high-quality animation and character design. Players appreciate the charming and humorous personalities of the characters and mobs, along with excellent music and sound design, making it a delightful experience for those seeking fun.
- “Well recommended for a gamer who wants some light fun and enjoys dark humor in a fantasy setting.”
- “The drawing and animation are top notch, the characters and mobs have heart and humor, the music and sound design are - *chef's kiss*.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players highlight the game's high replayability, driven by its engaging adventure time-esque art style and diverse gameplay modes, including a story mode with boss levels, daily challenges, and dungeons with unique mechanics. The abundance of power-ups and consumables further enhances the experience, encouraging repeated playthroughs.
- “The adventure time-esque (aka Cal Arts) style and the high replay value keep me coming back for more.”
- “There is a story mode with boss levels, daily grind modes, dungeons introducing new gimmicks, and enough power-ups and consumables to give the game a huge replay value.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game, originally designed for mobile, is well-optimized for touchscreen controls and performs smoothly on the Steam Deck's joystick. However, it tends to prioritize quantity of content over quality, which may affect the overall experience.
- “The game originated as a mobile title, and it shows: it's optimized for touchscreen (although it also handles beautifully with the Steam Deck's joystick) and prioritizes quantity over quality of content.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized for resembling that of a mobile game, with players feeling pressured to either spend money or invest excessive time to avoid watching ads. This approach detracts from the overall experience, leading to frustration among users.
- “Feels too much like a mobile game where they want you to spend money or hours playing it just to watch ads.”
- “The monetization model is frustrating and makes the game feel more like a cash grab than a fun experience.”
- “It's disappointing how much the game pushes for in-game purchases, overshadowing the actual gameplay.”