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The Stone of Madness

The Stone of Madness innovates on tactical stealth and charms with the detailed art, but its survival mechanics bring too little to the table to sell me on this new formula.
The Stone of Madness Game Cover
72%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, optimization
77% User Score Based on 102 reviews
Critic Score 67%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

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The Stone of Madness Game Cover

About The Stone of Madness

The Stone of Madness is a single player tactical role playing game with medieval and historical themes. It was developed by The Game Kitchen and was released on January 28, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Take a deep dive into the amazing art and music of The Stone of Madness with the Special Edition! The Stone of Madness Special Edition includes: - Digital Artbook - Original Soundtrack - The Stone of Madness

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Reviews

77%Audience ScoreBased on 102 reviews
story16 positive mentions
stability7 negative mentions
  • Unique and immersive setting with a richly detailed 18th-century monastery atmosphere.
  • Beautiful hand-drawn art style and compelling soundtrack that enhance the eerie mood.
  • Engaging stealth and tactical gameplay with diverse characters having unique abilities and phobias that affect strategy.
  • Lack of manual save or quick save system creates frustration due to trial-and-error and long replay segments after failure.
  • Frequent bugs and technical issues including game-breaking glitches, poor pathfinding, input lag, and crashes.
  • Clunky controls, limited camera perspective, and difficult UI/UX detract from the player experience.

  • story

    71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    23% positive mentions, 73% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions

    The story is generally praised for its intriguing and unique premise set in a secluded monastery in 1799 Spain, with rich characters and an engaging narrative that unfolds through multiple campaigns, notes, and dialogue. However, some find it less compelling or somewhat obtuse, with storytelling occasionally hindered by technical bugs, clunky pacing, and unclear quest directions, though overall it adds meaningful depth to the tactical stealth gameplay.

    • “It promises an intriguing story in 1799 Spain on a secluded monastery and that's exactly what I got.”
    • “The characters and their strengths and weaknesses are well thought-out, and the story and gameplay are both about their cooperation to survive their traumas, escape the monastery, and discover dark secrets.”
    • “The premise itself is fascinating—exploring the prisoners’ phobias and unraveling the mysteries of the monastery keeps you invested in the story.”
    • “The controls are jerky and often don't respond in time, the storyline is non-existent, the characters aren't memorable and the gameplay loop gets old fast.”
    • “The story is delivered through admittedly excellent animated cutscenes or dialogue that's incredibly stilted because the characters are speaking for the benefit of the player, not to each other.”
    • “Jokes are often out-of-place and the storyline itself is... well, it is present and that's all I can say.”

  • gameplay

    70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    21% positive mentions, 70% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions

    The gameplay offers a thoughtful and strategic stealth experience reminiscent of classic real-time tactics like Commandos, with unique mechanics such as character phobias and sanity influencing play. While the game's challenging, trial-and-error style and severe punishment for mistakes create tension and immersion, technical issues like jerky controls and an intrusive autosave system can cause frustration and disrupt flow. Overall, it blends well-crafted tactical stealth with narrative depth, though some design decisions and bugs hinder the otherwise rewarding gameplay.

    • “The characters and their strengths and weaknesses are well thought-out, and the story and gameplay are both about their cooperation to survive their traumas, escape the monastery, and discover dark secrets.”
    • “✔️ Thoughtful stealth gameplay: every movement and distraction feels deliberate, creating an experience where careful planning and calculated risks are consistently rewarded.”
    • “The main gameplay loop is days split into day and night sections, each altering how you progress through the levels.”
    • “Its a bit more old school in the sense that mistakes are severely punished and you will just be repeatedly told to eat doo-doo if you run into a mechanic you can't solve with your current characters.”
    • “Which is why I find it so immensely frustrating that a handful of baffling design decisions and player-unfriendly mechanics, including a bizarre autosave system, could completely ruin an experience that held so much promise.”
    • “The controls are jerky and often don't respond in time, the storyline is non-existent, the characters aren't memorable and the gameplay loop gets old fast.”

  • graphics

    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    41% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions

    The game’s graphics are widely praised for their unique, hand-drawn art style that evokes classic animation and effectively captures its eerie, gothic atmosphere. The visuals blend surreal, muted colors and detailed artwork to enhance the game's oppressive tone and setting, making it stand out among indie titles. However, some technical issues and the lack of checkpoint saves can detract from the overall experience despite the stunning art direction.

    • “The isometric perspective and unique hand drawn painting style graphics bring the game's setting to life.”
    • “✔️ Striking art and animation direction: the game’s visuals are both eerie and beautiful, with a style that perfectly captures the madness and despair of the setting in a beautifully hand drawn style reminding me of 90s animation.”
    • “With its unique premise, stunning hand-drawn art style, and strategic gameplay, this is a title that stands out in the stealth genre.”
    • “Great game concept, interesting character design and artstyle ruined by hubris of developers.”
    • “On the technical side, bugs are very common, from crashes to broken quest progression, to graphical glitches.”
    • “Graphics and the UI are pleasing to look at.”

  • atmosphere

    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    63% positive mentions, 37% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The Stone of Madness is widely praised for its immersive, unsettling, and distinctive atmosphere, blending eerie and surreal visuals with a captivating setting of a secluded, medieval asylum. Players highlight its superb art design, haunting soundtrack, and the strong emotional depth that enhances the overall experience, despite occasional bugs and challenging difficulty. This unique atmosphere is a central strength, drawing fans of atmospheric stealth games into a tense and memorable adventure.

    • “The stone of madness pulled me in with its unsettling atmosphere and didn’t let go.”
    • “A lot of talent also shines in this with the art design, animations, overall setting and atmosphere.”
    • “The stone of madness is a masterfully crafted real-time tactical stealth game that immerses players in the eerie and oppressive atmosphere of an 18th-century Spanish monastery.”

  • music

    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    47% positive mentions, 53% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The music and sound design are widely praised for creating a superb atmosphere that enhances the game's setting and emotional impact. The soundtrack, featuring melancholic and expertly arranged pieces, effectively complements the visuals and narrative, making moments feel more intense and immersive. Overall, the audio is considered a standout feature that enriches the game's world.

    • “The environments are beautifully crafted and the music does a lot to evoke a sense of time and place.”
    • “From nice piano pieces to lovely string arrangements, the whole soundtrack is expertly tied to the setting on screen.”
    • “The game’s soundtrack deserves special mention—it’s a haunting blend of orchestral and ambient tones that perfectly complements the sense of dread and urgency.”

  • stability

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game shows promise with its ambitious concept but suffers from frequent bugs, glitches, and technical issues such as crashes, unresponsive controls, and unreliable autosaves. These stability problems significantly impact gameplay, leading to frustrating experiences and occasional broken quest progression. Overall, the execution falls short due to poor polish and insufficient playtesting.

    • “Really good idea within a commandos stealth tactics game genre, but ultimately riddled with too many bugs and game-breaking glitches.”
    • “On the technical side, bugs are very common, from crashes to broken quest progression, to graphical glitches.”
    • “Intriguing, ambitious concept, but the execution is not there yet: terrible (non-rebindable) control scheme, very buggy, heavy micromanagement, unreliable autosaves.”

  • character development

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 25% negative mentions

    Character development is praised for its detailed and immersive design, effectively capturing the 18th-century setting and the mysterious asylum atmosphere. However, some players feel that despite great concepts and art style, developer choices may have undermined the overall experience.

    • “The environment and character design is pretty good and does invoke the atmosphere of a secluded asylum that hides a lot of mysteries behind its many locked doors and secret passages.”
    • “- Awesome art, environments and character design.”
    • “The meticulous attention to detail in the environments and character designs brings the 18th-century setting to life.”
    • “Great game concept and interesting character design ruined by the hubris of the developers.”

  • optimization

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    33% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions

    The game's optimization generally performs above average, delivering smooth gameplay, though some minor performance issues and occasional clipping detract from the experience. Certain aspects feel overcomplicated or unfairly punitive, but overall the performance meets player expectations.

    • “Performance or gameplay surpasses the passing mark and stands out from the average.”
    • “- Weird performance issues and clipping.”
    • “[Overcomplicated, unfairly punitive, minor performance issues]”

  • emotional

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game delivers a rare, emotionally engaging experience through its atmospheric stealth gameplay and challenging difficulty. Players become deeply invested in the diverse, troubled protagonists, whose unique abilities and personal struggles enhance the emotional depth throughout their journey.

    • “For players who appreciate atmospheric stealth games with emotional depth, demanding difficulty, and a distinctive visual identity, it offers a rare and memorable experience.”
    • “Yet it's the diverse cast of troubled protagonists, each with their own unique abilities and personal demons, that adds a layer of emotional investment as you guide them through the monastery's many perils.”

  • monetization

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game features microtransactions through in-game purchases, allowing players to buy additional content or advantages.

  • replayability

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users highlight that the game offers strong replay value, emphasizing its longevity and lasting appeal for multiple playthroughs.

  • grinding

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding is criticized for feeling tedious due to character combo gating, where progress requires specific character combinations that limit strategic options and turn advancement into busywork.

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Critic Reviews

67%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Stone of Madness is a tactical role playing game with medieval and historical themes. Common tags for The Stone of Madness include indie, psychological, gaming, isometric, difficult and others.

The Stone of Madness is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

The Stone of Madness was released on January 28, 2025.

The Stone of Madness was developed by The Game Kitchen.

The Stone of Madness has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked The Stone of Madness for its story but disliked it for its stability.

The Stone of Madness is a single player game.

Similar games include Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, Partisans 1941, War Mongrels, We Are The Dwarves and others.