Stoneshard: Prologue

83%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,414 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • story
Stoneshard: Prologue Game Cover
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Stoneshard: Prologue is a demo to Stoneshard, an open-world roguelike RPG currently in development.Key features: Familiarize yourself with the basic mechanics of the main game. Learn the backstory of one of Stoneshard's main characters, Verren. Explore the dark catacombs of the abandoned abbey. Try out a variety of skill trees, from two-handed sword and bows to pyromancy and geomancy. S…

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Cloud
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,414 reviews
gameplay120 positive mentions
grinding24 negative mentions
  • Engaging and challenging gameplay with a deep tactical combat system.
  • Atmospheric pixel art graphics and good voice acting enhance the experience.
  • Unique mechanics for managing character's health, injuries, and status effects add depth.
  • Lack of save points or checkpoints makes progress frustrating after dying.
  • Randomized loot and enemy encounters can lead to unfair situations.
  • Clunky controls and inventory management detract from the overall experience.
  • gameplay286 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics and overwhelming complexity, with many players noting that the abundance of systems—such as hunger, thirst, and various status effects—can detract from the overall experience. While the turn-based combat and survival elements are praised for their depth and challenge, the lack of a save mechanic and some clunky controls have led to frustration among players. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of old-school RPG elements and modern mechanics, but it requires careful navigation of its intricate systems to fully enjoy the experience.

    • “Set in a gritty, low-fantasy medieval realm, the game offers a taste of its brutal combat system and unforgiving survival mechanics.”
    • “The prologue showcases the game's core mechanics, including inventory management, skill trees, and a unique pain/injury system.”
    • “The gameplay is streamlined because the flow of combat is heavily dictated by the more realistic setting — more specifically, the fact that everyone is limited to taking one action per turn (which includes moving).”
    • “There are a few good ideas here and there, and overall it could be a great game, but the developers tried to achieve a higher level of micromanagement or engagement with the game, and ended up adding too many game mechanics, systems, and sub-systems that only increase the complexity of the game without adding anything to the gameplay itself.”
    • “In my opinion, the game suffers from far too many statuses and mechanics. Not only do you have to deal with equipment, combat, and strategy, but you also have to manage hunger, thirst, wounds, debuffs, etc. These extra mechanics dilute the strengths of the gameplay, leaving the management of hunger and thirst a chore and punishing you for it if you forget.”
    • “The main issue for me is that the gameplay—more specifically the combat—is poorly explained.”
  • graphics132 mentions

    The game's graphics are predominantly praised for their atmospheric pixel art style, which effectively enhances the overall experience and immerses players in its dark fantasy setting. While many appreciate the charming aesthetics and detailed environments, some critiques mention a lack of animation in character sprites and a personal preference for different graphical styles. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing to the game's appeal despite some mixed feelings about their execution.

    • “Definitely not for everyone, but if you like a challenging game with survival mechanics and cool character progression with a beautiful pixel-art aesthetic, then I would highly recommend this game.”
    • “The graphics, easy-to-learn gameplay, and customization are well-rounded and lead to an immersive experience.”
    • “The artwork is beautiful, the inventory management is akin to Diablo, and the turn-based mechanics are well thought out.”
    • “I don't like the graphical style.”
    • “The graphics are bad; they are not quaint and trying to be pixelated for style.”
    • “The art style is drab and dreary; everything is pale and sad.”
  • story105 mentions

    The game's story is described as engaging and intriguing, with a promising setup that leaves players wanting more, particularly due to its cliffhanger ending. However, some players find the narrative minimalistic and feel that the repetitive gameplay detracts from the overall experience. While the prologue offers a solid introduction to the lore and character development, many reviewers express a desire for a more fleshed-out story in the full game, as well as concerns about the game's punishing mechanics impacting narrative progression.

    • “The story is very refreshing and begs players to learn more and more about its lore, environments, and ways to improve gameplay strategies.”
    • “The story is somewhat minimalistic at first as the main character has a single goal in mind which eventually evolves into something much larger once you face (and beat) the boss of the dungeon and leaves you on a good cliffhanger that entices you to purchase the full game and continue the story.”
    • “The story has potential, companions are an interesting idea for the genre, and the game's complexity is enough to be intriguing, rather than overwhelming.”
    • “Without heavy emphasis on story, there isn't any motivation to get through the same stage three times over to beat it.”
    • “The prologue presents a hand-crafted experience and story, while the actual game is a much more boring 'open world' experience where you spend hours killing animals in the forest to grind for money.”
    • “The story and characters are already boring, though.”
  • atmosphere45 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, gothic, and immersive qualities, enhanced by atmospheric pixel art graphics, high-quality voice acting, and a compelling soundtrack. Players appreciate the attention to detail in the environment and character design, which contribute to a captivating and sometimes eerie experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, effectively drawing players into the game's world and enhancing the gameplay experience.

    • “This was dark and atmospheric and felt really fun to play.”
    • “The atmosphere is nice and dark, which is a point I personally heavily enjoyed about Diablos 1 and 2, and the UI is clean and easy to understand at a glance.”
    • “Stoneshard has a really gloomy and dark atmosphere, and despite being a pixel game, it put a lot of effort into the detail of both its environment and surroundings as well as its character design.”
    • “The exploring and looting, the creepy atmosphere, the touches of beauty like the underground waterfall cavern....”
    • “Stoneshard, which is a turn-based RPG game, has a cold and dark atmosphere.”
  • music41 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the tension during combat and contributing to the overall immersive experience. While some players noted a sparse soundtrack, particularly in non-combat scenarios, many appreciated the fitting voice acting and the memorable boss music. Overall, the combination of sound effects, music, and voice acting is seen as a strong point, adding depth to the gameplay and atmosphere.

    • “Love the aesthetics and fitting music.”
    • “The music and sound add atmosphere, and the little voice acting I heard didn't sound cheap.”
    • “Stunning graphics and atmospheric music are intriguing and motivating to explore dungeons.”
    • “The soundtrack is pretty sparse as there are only songs for combat, but they are quite fitting and initially add to the tension of combat until you get used to the system.”
    • “There is no music, it’s just undulating tones.”
    • “Music is almost absent.”
  • grinding25 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and overly complicated, with players expressing frustration over slow progression, cumbersome inventory management, and a punishing healing system. Many reviewers noted that the need for excessive grinding detracts from the overall enjoyment, making gameplay feel like a chore rather than fun. While some appreciate the game's potential and production value, the grinding mechanics are seen as a significant barrier to fully engaging with the experience.

    • “Overall, it's just a very tedious system that sacrifices fun and smooth gameplay for realism.”
    • “It starts to get tedious when I have to keep going through 3 floors just to get to the boss again.”
    • “I have not beat the prologue, but got tired of grinding the same 2 maps over and over to have no health for the final boss.”
  • replayability12 mentions

    The game boasts high replayability due to its randomized elements, including procedurally generated dungeons and diverse skill paths, which keep each playthrough fresh and engaging. Players appreciate the balance of challenge and enjoyment, making it a worthwhile experience even in its prologue form. Overall, the combination of rewarding loot, engaging mechanics, and a well-designed environment contributes to its strong replay value.

    • “The replay value of this prologue is astounding.”
    • “Even here there's a good amount of replayability too: the dungeons and items are random on each run, and you can choose different skill paths to follow.”
    • “Freaking amazing mechanics, gorgeous pixel art, grim & dark ambiance and theme, perfect difficulty (not too easy, not frustratingly hard), engaging lore, nice music, great replayability (procedural dungeons), rewarding loot and skill system, fun condition management.”
    • “Replay value: it's short but it's also free.”
    • “The two dungeon floors are procedural and offer a large amount of replayability, while the boss is a challenging and well-designed encounter not for the faint-hearted.”
    • “Skill tree is straightforward, randomly generated floors so it's replayable.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous bugs and crashes reported, particularly in its early access phase. Players have experienced frustrating issues that can abruptly end runs, leading to a loss of progress, although many still find the core gameplay enjoyable and promising. Overall, while the game shows potential, its current state is marred by instability and glitches.

    • “The game runs smoothly without any noticeable bugs.”
    • “I've experienced very few issues; the stability is impressive.”
    • “So far, the game has been remarkably stable and reliable.”
    • “I had a ton of fun playing, but it annoys me how buggy this demo is that I can't even finish a run due to the crashes, and the fact that a single crash aborts your entire run and causes you to lose everything.”
    • “At the moment, your fun can be completely ruined by bad programming and glitches.”
    • “The turn-based mechanics are buggy as hell, but the overall game and the idea are amazing!”
  • humor6 mentions

    The game is praised for its humor, featuring hilarious voice acting and amusing moments throughout, particularly in its dungeon crawling and boss encounters. While players find it genuinely funny and enjoyable, some express concerns about gameplay elements like checkpoint placement. Overall, the humor significantly enhances the gaming experience, making it a standout feature.

    • “Seems to be a funny dungeon crawler.”
    • “The hilarious voice acting is worth the download, but that's about it.”
    • “It will be a really good game, had real fun with this beta, and will probably get the full game on release, a really funny hardcore classic RPG.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received criticism for incorporating intrusive ads during gameplay and for being perceived as a promotional tool for a Kickstarter campaign, raising concerns about its potential as a cash grab rather than a fully developed game.

    • “The left statue also has an ability that causes ads to enter the battle, which again has a 2-3 second animation.”
    • “Stoneshard: Prologue is a little promotional game for the studio's Kickstarter (which ended by the time I found out about this, go figure) and exists as a standalone advertisement that shows off a vertical slice of the final game's gameplay.”
    • “Good luck to all the Kickstarter backers, hopefully it's not just a cash grab.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Stoneshard features a richly detailed pixel art style that enhances its dark and gloomy atmosphere, contributing to the depth of its character design. Players appreciate the effort put into creating distinct and immersive characters that complement the game's overall aesthetic.

    • “Stoneshard has a really gloomy and dark atmosphere, and despite being a pixel game, it puts a lot of effort into the detail of both its environment and surroundings as well as its character design.”
    • “Character designs lack depth and fail to evolve throughout the game.”
    • “The character development feels stagnant, leaving players wanting more growth and progression.”
    • “There is little to no emotional connection with the characters, making it hard to invest in their journeys.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game is reported to be well-optimized, particularly on Linux, with users experiencing excellent performance even on lower-end hardware, such as an i5 ultrabook with integrated graphics.

    • “I've only played this on Linux (specifically MX Linux), and have had zero issues at all - performance is excellent on an i5 ultrabook with only integrated graphics.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

5hMedian play time
11hAverage play time
4-13hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs

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