Ruzar: The Life Stone

71%
Game Brain Score Based on 136 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Ruzar: The Life Stone Game Cover
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Ruzar - The Life Stone is a sci-fi first-person shooter game set in a futuristic world. Players must navigate through various levels, using an array of weapons and abilities to fight off alien creatures and protect the Life Stone. The game offers a single-player campaign, as well as multiplayer modes for up to 8 players, with a variety of game modes to choose from.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

71%
Audience ScoreBased on 136 reviews
story7 positive mentions
stability8 negative mentions
  • The game offers a solid dungeon crawling experience with a good balance of exploration, combat, and puzzles.
  • It features a decent character progression system with multiple skill trees, allowing players to customize their play style.
  • The atmosphere and graphics are well done, providing an enjoyable environment for fans of the genre.
  • The game suffers from a clunky interface and poor inventory management, making it frustrating to navigate.
  • Combat is often too easy, with enemies lacking variety and challenge, leading to a lack of engagement.
  • The story is weak and lacks depth, resulting in a generic experience that fails to immerse players.
  • story51 mentions

    The game's story is criticized for being simplistic and underdeveloped, often feeling like an afterthought in the overall gameplay experience. Players note a lack of immersion due to minimal NPC interaction and a linear quest structure, although some appreciate the initial backstory and the potential for character development through quests. While the narrative may not be groundbreaking, it offers enough intrigue to keep players engaged, especially for those who enjoy dungeon crawlers.

    • “The game opens with a written backstory over some high-quality hand-painted scenes telling the story of the Life Stone, a powerful gem that is said to grant eternal power.”
    • “But then I discovered a solid dungeon crawler with a nice enough story.”
    • “Very good in so many aspects: story, levels, art.”
    • “A depressingly primitive plot even for a dungeon crawler, designating the player character as a gladiator specially trained for an expedition to a lost city, but dumping him in the first location with no clothes, no weapons, and no skills.”
    • “Not enough storytelling and NPC interaction, resulting in a lack of immersion.”
    • “The story feels tagged on and not really relevant; it doesn't seem to affect anything.”
  • graphics31 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the art style and atmospheric details, while others find them average and lacking polish compared to better alternatives like Legend of Grimrock. Complaints include clumsy interface interactions and occasional graphical glitches, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the ambient sounds and character portraits are noted as positive aspects.

    • “Art style is well done, and small touches (like snowflakes at the edge of the screen when in snowy areas) really lend to the atmosphere.”
    • “The graphics and ambient sound are awesome.”
    • “Improved graphics without changing the principles of the genre.”
    • “Having played quite a lot of Grimrock (I or II), I had a tough time liking it for the first hour, merely because Ruzar is not quite as polished (yet?), both in terms of the visuals and in terms of the interaction design.”
    • “Played the game, normally I play these types of games for hours, but the snowy atmosphere left me with such blinding headaches that I asked for my money back. That was only after 2 hours of play. I think the game has potential; increase the graphics, make loot easier to find, as I had to buy gear not find it. I think I found a shield in the whole 2 hours.”
    • “There are some glitches in the graphics and it is a pain when trying to push buttons on the walls which don't respond immediately or well.”
  • gameplay27 mentions

    Gameplay in Ruzar: The Life Stone features basic dungeon-crawling mechanics with familiar movement and attack patterns, but suffers from a lack of depth in spell variety and uninspired level design in the latter half. While the first half offers engaging environments and a solid pace, the overall experience can feel repetitive and clunky, especially with missing information on mechanics. Despite its flaws, the game shows potential for improvement with balancing and UI enhancements, appealing to fans of the genre.

    • “Gameplay is paced well.”
    • “I liked the gameplay and different environments.”
    • “So far I am greatly impressed with the game and its familiar but welcome mechanics. Please try this one out and have fun! My useful tip to you adventurers out there: not all pits are traps.”
    • “The mechanics are your basic crawler: left, right, up, down, side steps left, side steps right, attack, and wait for cooldowns on skills.”
    • “There are just two spell mechanics - damage and damage with a chance to stop the enemy for a bit; different elemental types differ pretty much by graphics.”
    • “The price is a bit high for 7-8 hours of gameplay. It offers New Game Plus with harder mobs and a higher level cap, but it gets boring quickly.”
  • atmosphere11 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is praised for its polish and immersive qualities, with well-crafted ambient sounds and environmental details enhancing the experience. While some players find it captivating and reminiscent of classic dungeon crawlers, others feel that despite its atmospheric strengths, the overall gameplay lacks depth and excitement, leading to a sense of boredom. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature that appeals to fans of the genre, though it may not attract newcomers.

    • “Art style is well done, and small touches (like snowflakes at the edge of the screen when in snowy areas) really lend to the atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is perfect for the style of game and the dangers that haunt the dungeons. Some might say it is similar to Legend of Grimrock, which is similar to Eye of the Beholder, which is similar to Dungeon Master; you get the idea.”
    • “This game has a ton of atmosphere. I have only played for a couple of hours and can't wait to jump into the finished game.”
    • “Honestly, it's all of these things - easy combat, weird role-playing system, constant overload, boring puzzles, and an aspiring atmosphere make this game just plain boring.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The game exhibits several stability issues, including bugs, visual glitches, and unresponsive controls, which can hinder gameplay. However, the developer is noted for being helpful and responsive, providing assistance for encountered problems. Overall, while stability is a concern, support is readily available to address these issues.

    • “Visual glitches here and there and the auto-saves override the last save game loaded.”
    • “Camera freezes up and you can't maneuver.”
    • “Some glitches in the graphics and it is a pain when trying to push buttons on the walls which don't respond immediately or well.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Reviews indicate that grinding in the game can be tedious, particularly due to excessive backtracking and large areas lacking engaging content. Players with a moderate tolerance for frustration and who are not completionists may find it manageable, but those seeking a more dynamic experience might be disappointed.

    • “Some areas are too large and do not have enough interesting content in them, sometimes making backtracking and exploration tedious.”
    • “If you have a medium tolerance for frustration and you're not a completionist, the quests are tedious backtracks, making the experience less enjoyable.”
  • music4 mentions

    The music in the game is highly praised, with reviewers highlighting its quality and the excellent integration of the music theme and artwork.

    • “The music theme and artwork is excellent.”
    • “The music theme and artwork is excellent.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game is criticized as a cash grab, with users noting a limited feature set and a lack of engaging content.

    • “With a limited feature set and basically a non-existent story, it's undoubtedly a cash grab scheme.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    The game is praised for its excellent optimization, delivering outstanding performance across various systems.

    • “Excellent performance”
    • “Excellent performance”
  • replayability2 mentions

    Players appreciate the strong replayability of the game, highlighted by the New Game+ feature, which includes scaling loot and monsters, as well as a variety of achievements to pursue. This combination encourages multiple playthroughs and keeps the experience fresh.

    • “New Game+ with loot and monsters that scale to your level, along with a good assortment of achievements, makes for great replay value.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

10hMedian play time
11hAverage play time
8-14hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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