Witching Stone

About

Witching Stone is a single player tactical puzzle game with a anime theme. It was developed by tayl1r and was released on September 16, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Witching Stone" is a unique blend of puzzle, roguelite, and deckbuilding gameplay, where you draw paths on a stone board to cast spells against enemies. Your objective is to battle deeper into procedurally generated dungeons, upgrading your spellbook with new spells, enchantments, and abilities. Watch out for enemies that retaliate with damage, harmful status effects, and alterations to the stone grid. The game features persistent upgrades and rewards strategic planning to build the perfect spell book.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 117 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Witching Stone offers a unique blend of roguelite deckbuilding and spatial puzzle mechanics, providing a fresh and engaging gameplay experience that rewards strategic planning and experimentation.
The game's charming visuals and immersive soundtrack create a delightful atmosphere, enhancing the overall enjoyment and making each run feel rewarding and satisfying.
With a variety of characters, spells, and modifiers, the game boasts high replayability, allowing players to explore different strategies and combinations, making each playthrough feel distinct.

The game's methodical pace and complexity can lead to longer turns, which may frustrate players who prefer faster-paced gameplay or more immediate action.
Some mechanics and spell interactions are not clearly explained, leading to potential confusion and frustration, especially for new players trying to grasp the game's depth.
The randomness of the board and enemy effects can sometimes feel punishing, making it difficult to recover from unfavorable situations, which may detract from the overall enjoyment for some players.

gameplay
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
70%
7%
"Witching Stone" offers a unique blend of roguelite deckbuilding and spatial puzzle mechanics, encouraging strategic planning and adaptability. While the gameplay loop is engaging and features a charming art style, some players may find the randomness and complexity of the mechanics challenging. Overall, it provides a rich experience with depth and replayability, appealing to those who enjoy thoughtful gameplay.
- “Witching Stone, developed and published by Alexander Taylor, is an inventive blend of roguelite deckbuilding and spatial puzzle mechanics that delivers a fresh take on both genres.”
- “What makes the game stand out is how it transforms what might seem like a basic match-based mechanic into a thoughtful, strategic system that rewards planning, experimentation, and adaptability.”
- “Although Witching Stone combines puzzle-solving, strategic planning, and roguelike elements, it truly delivers a rich experience for gamers who love deep, strategic gameplay.”
- “For those who prefer fast-paced or reactive gameplay, this methodical pace may feel like a slowdown.”
- “The core gameplay of finding sequences of certain icons to cast the corresponding spells is a neat idea, but in reality, it isn't that fun and most of the RPG/roguelite elements are poorly implemented.”
- “A problem I didn't first expect when I started this game was the way the randomness of the core gameplay works out.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
41%
The music in the game is widely praised for its charm and catchiness, enhancing the overall experience with ambient tunes during exploration and intense tracks during boss fights. Players appreciate the atmospheric soundtrack, which complements the pixel art style and adds to the game's immersive quality. Overall, the music is described as fantastic, memorable, and a significant highlight of the game.
- “Music and sound design complement the pacing well — ambient tunes during exploration and more intense tracks during boss fights create an immersive and appropriately magical atmosphere.”
- “Witching Stone's pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack create a visually stunning world that draws players in and keeps them engaged.”
- “The absolute banger of a soundtrack on the other hand is immediately apparent.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and nostalgic art styles, blending elements of retro aesthetics with modern design. Players appreciate the attention to detail in the visuals and sound design, which enhance the overall experience, while the customizable options allow for a personalized gaming experience. However, some users have expressed mixed feelings about the graphics, indicating that while they are appealing, there are areas for improvement.
- “The retro graphics and memorable soundtrack have some great, early-90s appeal, too!”
- “My main issue with this game are the graphics.”
- “The popcap roguelite trend started by Peglin continues with a sort of twisted-bejeweled-meets-slayers aesthetic.”
- “Witching Stone's pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack create a visually stunning world that draws players in and keeps them engaged.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
14%
29%
Overall, the game offers strong replayability through customizable experiences, a daily run mode, and multiple achievements, encouraging players to refine their skills and explore different strategies. While some character balance issues and spell effectiveness may detract slightly, the mechanical depth and variety keep players engaged and returning for more.
- “These elements greatly enhance replayability, allowing players to customize their experience and test their mastery in increasingly demanding scenarios.”
- “The inclusion of 12 achievements and a daily run mode makes the game more replayable, giving players extra goals to achieve.”
- “Elegantly designed with lots of replayability, this reminds me of other greats of the genre like Dicey Dungeons or Slice and Dice!”
- “Not all spells are created equal-- some seem to be borderline useless-- but all available spells, items, and boons/banes pay some favor at the altar of replayability.”
- “Some of the characters are way stronger than others, and there's one baffling design choice the dev put in for the late game, but those are minor flaws when compared to the mechanical depth and replayability.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's story features a unique method for unlocking hidden characters and elements, which is cleverly integrated into the quest system. While the narrative and its accompanying art and soundtrack are enjoyable, some players find the overall story to be somewhat lacking in depth, suggesting that the primary appeal lies in the engaging puzzles and strategic gameplay rather than the storyline itself.
- “Truly unique method of unlocking hidden characters and story elements.”
- “Outside of just combat, the story is cute, the art is great, and the soundtrack is fantastic.”
- “I love the way to unlock the secret characters too; it's implicit and integrated smartly into the quest system to find it out!”
- “The story, fluff, and flavor of the game are a bit thin, but that's not really why I showed up, and chances are it won't be for you: the real draw is some fun puzzling and strategy.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive quality, with a well-crafted combination of ambient music during exploration and intense tracks for boss fights. The pixel art style, alongside the atmospheric soundtrack, contributes to a visually stunning world that captivates players and enhances their engagement.
- “Music and sound design complement the pacing well — ambient tunes during exploration and more intense tracks during boss fights create an immersive and appropriately magical atmosphere.”
- “Witching Stone's pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack create a visually stunning world that draws players in and keeps them engaged.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that the game's progression is rewarding and avoids excessive grinding, with each run offering a mix of unexpected successes and challenges. The clever integration of spells and puzzles enhances the experience, drawing favorable comparisons to similar titles while maintaining a more streamlined approach to grinding.
- “The progression feels rewarding without being grindy, and every run carries the potential for both surprising victories and humbling defeats.”
- “The blending of spells and puzzles is clever and reminds me of Puzzle Quest, but much less grindy.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find humor in the contrast between the limited enemy variety and the impressive diversity of bosses, highlighting this disparity as a notable shortcoming compared to similar games that offer more engaging regular battles.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the optimization aspect of the game engaging, as creating an optimized build is both enjoyable and rewarding, especially when discovering new abilities that significantly alter their strategies.
- “It is a really fun time trying to make an optimized build, and it is exciting when you come across a new ability that changes your build completely.”
- “The optimization options in this game are extensive, allowing for a truly personalized experience that keeps gameplay fresh and engaging.”
- “I love how the game encourages experimentation with different builds, making optimization feel rewarding and integral to the overall strategy.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development is praised for its fantastic art and design, which evokes a nostalgic feel reminiscent of late 80s to 90s anime, though some reviewers note that this influence may come off as slightly derivative.
- “The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character as their stories unfold.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making choices that truly impact their growth and relationships.”
- “The backstories are well-crafted, providing a strong foundation for character arcs that feel both authentic and engaging.”