Runestone Keeper
- March 1, 2015
- Blackfire
- 6h median play time
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Get on itch.io Store"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."
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Reviews
- Addictive gameplay with a unique twist on the roguelike genre, combining Minesweeper mechanics with RPG elements.
- Great art style and sound design that enhance the overall experience, making it visually appealing and immersive.
- Offers a variety of characters and strategic options, allowing for different playstyles and replayability.
- Gameplay heavily relies on RNG, leading to frustrating experiences where player skill feels diminished and outcomes can feel unfair.
- Progression can be grindy, with high costs for upgrades and unlocks that may deter casual players from fully enjoying the game.
- Several design flaws, including unclear mechanics, lack of tooltips, and a cumbersome UI that can hinder the overall experience.
- gameplay42 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mix of addictive mechanics and RNG elements, with tile picking as a central feature that some players find overly reliant on luck. While many appreciate the depth and variety offered by different characters and equipment combinations, others criticize the balance and the grindy nature of certain mechanics, leading to frustration. Overall, the game provides a satisfying experience for those who enjoy strategic roguelikes, but may not appeal to players seeking a more skill-based challenge.
“It's pretty addictive with its simple gameplay mechanics, awesome buy/trade system, multitude of equipment combinations, and a handful of characters to choose from.”
“Superb indie roguelike that is well balanced, allows steady progression after death, has decent random mechanics, and a proper dungeon exploring feel.”
“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.”
“Tile picking is the main game mechanic, and it is way too reliant on RNG (even for a roguelike).”
“You can play smart, manage your resources effectively, mitigate every risk, and yet still run into floors that are mechanically unwinnable.”
“However there are plenty of 'luck-of-the-draw' situations, so if you're the type to enjoy strategy over games of chance, you may be a bit frustrated or enraged at some of the randomization mechanics.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and poorly designed, often feeling forced to engage in tedious farming to progress. While some enjoy the initial exploration, many express frustration over the slow accumulation of resources and the lack of meaningful upgrades, leading to a repetitive and luck-based experience. Overall, the grinding detracts from the enjoyment, making it feel like a chore rather than a rewarding part of gameplay.
“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.”
“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.”
“The gist of my point here is that this game had a lot of grinding ahead of me and I just wasn't willing to put up with it.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 15 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the masterful and innovative pixel art style that enhances the overall experience, while others find them lacking in clarity and detail. Despite the varied opinions, many agree that the visuals serve their purpose well, complementing the gameplay without being overly demanding on the eyes. Overall, while not groundbreaking, the graphics are considered adequate for the game's genre and enjoyable for extended play sessions.
“While the gameplay is outstanding, the graphics are absolutely masterful.”
“I am generally not one to point out good graphics before I point out good gameplay, but here I am just blown away - I can't stress that enough.”
“(The artist has employed a 'dual-resolution' pixel graphic technique I have never seen before, and it works to absolutely breathtaking effect).”
“The graphics are far from crisp and clean.”
“At first blush, the interface itself looks like typical 'pixel' graphics which are all-too-common these days and can sometimes be a red flag indicating bad gameplay covered up with nifty retro slop - well this is not the case at all with Runestone Keeper.”
“Visuals - -/10”
- music9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many players describing the soundtrack as sublime and professionally composed. While some note the limited number of tracks, the minimalist and relaxing nature of the music contributes positively to the gameplay experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant highlight, adding depth to the game's enjoyment.
“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.”
“The musical score is fantastic and sets a great atmosphere.”
“Music and sound is very basic.”
“Music was very limited, maybe 3 or 4 tracks in the whole game but the devs were a small team so I understand.”
- story4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The story is considered interesting yet basic and difficult to follow, primarily due to disjointed narrative elements and random popups. While it features loot drops, a magic system, and various quest events with dialog choices, many reviewers feel that the overall narrative is lacking depth and coherence.
“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.”
“There is almost zero story here.”
“The narrative feels disjointed and lacks depth, making it hard to engage with the characters.”
“The plot twists are predictable and fail to deliver any real emotional impact.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers excellent replayability due to its variety of classes, unlockable characters, and numerous combinations of monsters, abilities, and gear. With ten characters to explore and a wealth of random events and hidden bosses, players find the experience engaging even after completing the game.
“Replayability is good, with quite a few classes, some unlocks, and hidden bosses to grind for.”
“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.”
“There is a good amount of random events and unlockables to be found, so it has great replay value.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its fantastic musical score and gorgeous pixel art, which together create a calming and immersive experience. The minimalist soundtrack enhances the overall ambiance, allowing players to remain focused and engaged.
“The musical score is fantastic and sets a great atmosphere.”
“The pixel art in this game is absolutely gorgeous, and the minimalist and atmospheric soundtrack helps to keep you calm and focused.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
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.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is appreciated for its lightheartedness, but the repetitive nature of starting over at level 1 after dying may deter players who prefer a more forgiving experience.
“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.”
“The humor in this game is spot on, with witty dialogue and hilarious character interactions that keep you laughing.”
“I love how the game incorporates absurd situations and quirky characters, making every playthrough a delightful experience.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
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 may introduce variability in the experience. Players may also face challenges that require troubleshooting throughout their gameplay.
