Stones Keeper: King Aurelius

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Stones Keeper: King Aurelius is a single player and multiplayer tactical role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Valkyrie Initiative and was released on July 14, 2022. It received positive reviews from players.

Stones Keeper uses a turn-based combat system, which lets you use environmental objects as protection against your enemies. As well as the ability to break some of the environmental objects down to move faster, which, in turn, opens up a lot of strategic possibilities. You can customize your squad by recruiting new companions with multiple specializations, skills and weapon preferences. Missions …

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 71 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game features a visually appealing art style and engaging tactical battles with varied unit roles and abilities.
It's free to play, making it accessible for players who enjoy turn-based strategy games.
The gameplay offers a good level of strategy and character development, with the ability to upgrade a flying castle and recruit different units.

The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and combat management frustrating.
The game is quite short, with only about 30-40 minutes of gameplay, which may leave players wanting more.
There are balancing issues in combat, with some battles feeling unfair and mechanics not being clearly explained.

gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
58%
18%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it short and tedious, lasting only 30-40 minutes, and struggling with unclear mechanics. While the turn-based system is considered basic, there are varied and interesting skills for units and enemies, and the medieval setting adds charm. Overall, the game features a blend of complexity and accessibility, but some mechanics may not function as intended.
- “The medieval knight and magic vibe is great, and gameplay is more forgiving than Battle Brothers.”
- “The game mechanics, the different skills and utility for each of the team units and enemies are quite varied and interesting to use.”
- “There is quite a bit of complexity in the game; however, the turn-based gameplay itself is fairly basic.”
- “The game is very short, with only about 30-40 minutes of gameplay.”
- “Gameplay: it's such a tedious experience.”
- “Some of the gameplay mechanics don't feel like they work as intended.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
25%
19%
The game's graphics are generally praised for their clean, hand-drawn art style and impressive designs, especially considering it is a free-to-play title. However, some users noted that the animations are minimalistic and the overall graphics can feel outdated at times. Despite these criticisms, the visual presentation is often described as eye-pleasing and well-suited to the game's aesthetic.
- “Damn good art style, shocked this is a free-to-play game with the quality designs.”
- “Excellent turn-based RPG with eye-pleasing hand-drawn graphics.”
- “Outdated graphics.”
- “There are not a lot of graphics options, but Stones Keeper doesn't need them, as it's all hand-drawn artwork in an isometric view.”
- “The paper doll artwork is very reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon, and for the most part, the artwork is pretty impressive.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
27%
18%
The music in the game has received positive feedback for its quality and integration, with many players appreciating the composed background tracks that enhance the overall experience. However, some users feel that the music does not always fit the game's atmosphere, and there are minor issues, such as a persistent display of the current track even when music is disabled. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong aspect, complementing the game's visuals effectively.
- “The artwork is good, the music is solid, and each unit truly plays different than the others.”
- “The whole thing is accompanied by really nice music, which was integrated well and sounds great composed.”
- “+ very nice, composed background music”
- “Music just doesn't fit.”
- “Strangely, during play, a floating banner constantly shows the music track being played and the musician's name, even if the music is disabled.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The story is described as simple and undistinguished, with some reviewers finding it wearisome, while others appreciate its fantasy elements and varied missions involving undead invasions. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some players enjoying the art style and gameplay, rating the story around 7/10 for its interesting plot.
- “I like the art style, the story, and the gameplay.”
- “So interesting plot and drawing style.”
- “The story is simple, faded, elusive, wearisome, and undistinguished.”
- “About the story: one day more and more undead invade the areas of the border guard and attack villages, plundering and slaughtering innocent people.”
- “The missions and battles are varied.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unenjoyable, often detracting from the overall gameplay experience.
- “The gameplay is incredibly tedious.”
- “Grinding feels like a never-ending chore.”
- “The repetitive nature of grinding makes it feel like a slog.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
While the character design may be considered underwhelming, players appreciate the extensive character development in "Stones Keeper: King Aurelius," which enhances the overall experience of this turn-based fantasy strategy game.
- “extensive character development”
- “Stones Keeper: King Aurelius offers you a gripping, turn-based fantasy strategy game with lots of loot and extensive character development.”
- “Character design is kind of meh.”
- “The character development feels shallow and uninspired.”
- “I expected more depth in the character arcs.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, indicating smooth performance and efficient resource management across various systems.
- “Excellent optimization.”
- “The game runs smoothly on a variety of hardware configurations, showcasing impressive optimization.”
- “I appreciate how well the developers have optimized the game for both high-end and low-end systems.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is not directly addressed in the provided text, which focuses on gameplay mechanics rather than emotional engagement or narrative impact. Therefore, no summary can be drawn regarding the emotional experience from this specific input.
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is described as brutal and concise, contributing to an engaging experience that users highly recommend.
- “The game is very cool; the atmosphere is brutal and concise. I recommend installing it!”