Runestone Keeper

About

"Runestone Keeper is a roguelike dungeon crawler with turn-based combat and randomly generated elements for a unique experience. Equip your hero with diverse loot, including prefix and suffix based equipment, and use surrounding items, traps, and devices to your advantage. Choose your hero's attributes and receive blessings from mighty Gods to aid in your fight for glory."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 384 reviews

gameplay30 positive mentions

grinding28 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of Minesweeper mechanics with RPG elements, making it engaging and addictive.
There is a satisfying sense of progression as players unlock new characters, abilities, and upgrades through gameplay.
The pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack enhance the overall experience, creating an enjoyable environment for players.

The game heavily relies on RNG, leading to frustrating moments where players can die unexpectedly due to bad luck.
Progression can feel grindy, as players must repeatedly play to accumulate gold and runes for upgrades, which can detract from the enjoyment.
Some mechanics and item effects are poorly explained, leading to confusion and a lack of clarity in gameplay.

gameplay
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
65%
3%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of casual and strategic elements, requiring players to learn mechanics and plan their moves carefully, despite some reliance on RNG. While the game offers a variety of characters and equipment combinations, leading to diverse playstyles, many players find the gameplay can become grindy and luck-based, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the mechanics are engaging and addictive, but the balance between strategy and chance leaves room for improvement.
- “Casual gameplay, but challenging at plenty of points that require you to learn some strategy in order to maximize your chances of survival.”
- “The game mechanics will take a couple of hours to learn, but from there the fun begins as you start unlocking new characters and debating what playstyle fits you best, with around 10 characters to choose from, each with its own unique spells and preferred builds.”
- “The gameplay is simple enough and borderline addictive, with a multitude of equipment combinations and a handful of characters to choose from.”
- “The weird armor mechanic that's never explained.”
- “Tile picking is the main game mechanic, and it is way too reliant on RNG (even for a roguelike).”
- “Gameplay is simplistic, just tap on squares etc... very little strategy or skill, mostly RNG dominated.”
graphics
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
42%
9%
The graphics of the game are primarily in a well-executed pixel art style, reminiscent of 16-bit era games, which some players find charming and fitting for the gameplay. While opinions vary, many appreciate the simplicity and polish of the visuals, though they may not meet the expectations of those seeking high-end graphics. Overall, the graphics serve the game's mechanics well, contributing to its nostalgic appeal rather than competing with modern AAA titles.
- “The graphics are in pixel art and are very well done.”
- “While the gameplay is outstanding, the graphics are absolutely masterful.”
- “(The artist has employed a 'dual-resolution' pixel graphic technique I have never seen before, and it works to absolutely breathtaking effect).”
- “Finally, I really find the art style with squares and pictures for monsters to be really bland and uninspiring.”
- “The graphics are far from crisp and clean.”
- “My friend recommended me to play this poor graphical game; at the very beginning, I was like 'who will play this crappy game?'”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that the game features excessive grinding, particularly for gold and upgrades, which can detract from the overall experience. Players often feel forced to engage in tedious farming to unlock essential abilities and items, leading to a repetitive and luck-based gameplay loop. While some find the grind manageable or entertaining initially, many express frustration with the lack of meaningful progression and the overwhelming amount of time required to achieve significant upgrades.
- “At some point, you feel like the game's difficulty has been calibrated with these in mind, and failure to have unlocked these really is just a mechanic for pointless grinding.”
- “The gold grinding is absolutely horrendous, and the permanent upgrades you get from it are negligible.”
- “This might have been more acceptable had the roguelite progression system been quicker and more impactful, but grinding gold for incredibly minor benefits takes an excruciating amount of time.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
50%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the soundtrack as sublime, calming, and atmospheric, while others find it limited and repetitive. Despite the small number of tracks, many appreciate the professional composition and overall polish of the audio design. However, a few players noted that the main music can be grating, leading them to turn it off during gameplay.
- “It's a fun game... and the soundtrack is sublime, I love it.”
- “Extremely addictive and very fun, I've played it for over 800 hours on GOG, and like it so much that I even bought it again on Steam during a sale so that I could also obtain the soundtrack, which is quite professionally composed and an absolute pleasure to listen to.”
- “Pixel art in this game is absolutely gorgeous, and the minimalist and atmospheric soundtrack helps to keep you calm and focused.”
- “Music and sound is very basic.”
- “The soundtrack is... spotty.”
- “There are some moving and technically sound pieces, but the main music you'll always hear is grating and will probably make you turn it off.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's story is largely minimal and often feels non-essential, with many players noting its basic and hard-to-follow nature due to random popups. While some charm emerges as players progress and unlock more characters and events, much of the narrative remains in the background, overshadowed by gameplay mechanics and a heavy reliance on luck. Overall, the story is considered weak and not a significant draw for the game.
- “But once you push past the basic grind, more characters and boosts unlock, a story begins to unfold, and it finds its charm.”
- “There are loot drops, a magic system, gods to worship for various bonuses, and random quest events, which are always a series of dialog choices that can result in good or bad outcomes.”
- “A lot of the story is in the background, and tends to crop up in random events.”
- “There is almost zero story here.”
- “There is no story in this game.”
- “And the story mode's story is not good enough.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
36%
27%
The game boasts high replayability due to its variety of unlockable characters, gods, and strategic elements, encouraging players to explore different combinations and strategies. With a challenging difficulty level, random events, and a robust RPG system, players find themselves drawn back for multiple playthroughs. Overall, the game offers a rich experience that remains engaging even after completing it once.
- “There's 10 characters in total (one starting hero and nine unlockable heroes), and a lot of combinations (from monsters to runestones, abilities, gear, etc.), so the replay value is awesome and the game is still intriguing after you beat it for the first time.”
- “Also, there is a good amount of random events and unlockables to be found, so it has great replay value.”
- “It has massive replayability value because, as you play, you unlock additional options like new starting heroes, new gods to worship, etc. You unlock these features by using in-game currency which you can acquire only by playing (there is no in-game shop or any such nonsense).”
- “This is a dungeon crawler that can be played with a touchpad; every action is based on one click, and yet it gives what I love about roguelikes: replayability and strategy.”
- “Turn-based dungeon crawler with robust RPG elements, interesting loot drops, and a variety of skills with a difficulty mode that keeps it replayable.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by a fantastic musical score and gorgeous pixel art, creating a nostalgic and immersive experience. While the minimalist soundtrack effectively maintains a calm focus, some players feel it may detract from the overall immersion. The combination of art and music, along with a simple interface, contributes to an engaging and atmospheric gameplay experience.
- “The musical score is fantastic and sets a great atmosphere.”
- “Pixel art in this game is absolutely gorgeous, and the minimalist and atmospheric soundtrack helps to keep you calm and focused.”
- “The music is nice and atmospheric, the art is effective, and the simple click-to-explore interface removes a lot of the tedium.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a charming sense of humor, highlighted by amusing conversations and unexpected encounters that can elicit genuine laughter. However, the challenge of starting over at level 1 after each death may deter some players. Overall, it's a lighthearted experience for those who enjoy a comedic twist in their gameplay.
- “It's a funny little game, but since you always start at level 1 after dying, it's only for people who aren't afraid to begin again without anything from their last run.”
- “There are many funny conversations and unexpected encounters that can make you laugh to tears.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game is generally solid, allowing players to achieve 100% completion in approximately 50 to 70 hours, though some achievements depend on RNG and skill, which can introduce variability in the experience. Players may also face challenges that test their troubleshooting abilities throughout their gameplay.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's optimization is praised for its variety of playable characters and unlockable buffs, which enhance gameplay and encourage replayability. The inclusion of rune words to increase difficulty and score adds depth to the experience, making it engaging for players seeking to improve their performance.
- “With a half dozen playable characters, unlocks for buffs, and rune words to increase your difficulty (and score) for heightened performance, this is a roguelike that will have you coming back again and again.”
- “The optimization options in this game are fantastic, allowing players to tailor their experience and maximize their performance based on their playstyle.”
- “I love how the game encourages experimentation with different builds and strategies, making optimization a rewarding and engaging part of the gameplay.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization model of the game is free-to-play with in-app purchases, offering more features compared to similar titles, and is perceived as fairer and less random by users.
- “The gumball ripoff is free (with in-app purchases), has more features, and feels a lot more fair and less random.”
- “The monetization model is overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I feel like I'm being pushed to spend money at every turn, which ruins the overall experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development in this tile-based game is minimal, with players noting a lack of meaningful progression or growth for the characters. However, the game's design is acknowledged to be effective within its own context.
- “The character development feels shallow and uninspired, leaving players wanting more depth and growth.”
- “There is a lack of meaningful choices that impact character progression, making the development feel linear and unengaging.”
- “Despite the game's potential, the characters remain one-dimensional and fail to evolve throughout the story.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is praised for its dual impact, combining stunning visual beauty with a deeply functional design that resonates with players on an emotional level.
- “It is effing genius because it works on an emotional 'looks beautiful' level and also on a gorgeously functional level.”