Witching Stone
- September 16, 2024
- Alexander Taylor
"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.
Reviews
- Witching Stone offers a unique and engaging puzzle roguelike experience, combining strategic spellcasting with a gem-matching mechanic that encourages experimentation and creativity.
- The game features a high level of customization with a diverse spellbook, allowing players to tailor their strategies and playstyles through various characters and spells.
- Its charming pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack enhance the overall experience, making it visually appealing and immersive.
- The game's difficulty can be punishing, with some players finding enemy encounters overly challenging and reliant on RNG, leading to frustrating experiences.
- Certain characters and spells may feel unbalanced, making it difficult to create viable builds, especially in the later stages of the game.
- Some players have noted that the game can become repetitive over time, with a lack of variety in enemy types and encounters after several runs.
- gameplay29 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title stands out for its unique blend of strategic path-drawing mechanics on a stone board, diverging from traditional match-3 formats. Players can customize their spellbooks to suit their playstyle, enhancing the strategic depth and replayability, while the roguelike elements and puzzle-solving aspects create a compelling and enjoyable experience. Despite some minor balance issues, the overall mechanics are well-developed, intuitive, and offer a rich, engaging gameplay loop that keeps players entertained.
“The core gameplay is not your typical match 3 game; however, it requires players to strategically draw paths across the stone board limited by their available mana.”
“Although witching stone combines puzzle-solving, strategic planning, and roguelike elements, it truly delivers a rich experience for gamers who love deep, strategic gameplay.”
“The casting system along with the possibilities that come with the deck building and card upgrade mechanics give surprising depth, especially for something that was so easy to pick up.”
“Not even RNG, just bad gameplay.”
“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.”
“There are no deck thinning mechanics or 'draw your entire deck' combos here.”
- music18 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in Witching Stone is widely praised for its atmospheric quality and catchy tunes, enhancing the game's charm and engagement. Players appreciate the retro-inspired soundtrack, which complements the pixel art style and adds to the overall immersive experience. Customization options for sound settings further enhance the enjoyment of the game's audio.
“The absolute banger of a soundtrack on the other hand is immediately apparent.”
“The music is just absolutely fantastic.”
“The retro graphics and memorable soundtrack have some great, early-90s appeal, too!”
“The game also provides various settings, like sound, music, and ambiance sliders and language options.”
“The absolute banger of a soundtrack, on the other hand, is immediately apparent.”
“The soundtrack rules.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Witching Stone features a captivating pixel art style and an atmospheric soundtrack that enhance its immersive world, showcasing the developers' dedication to high-quality visuals and sound design. The game offers multiple graphic resolutions and window modes for player customization, while its retro aesthetic and polished UI contribute to a fun and engaging experience. Overall, the graphics and audio elements are highly praised, making it a standout choice for puzzle enthusiasts.
“Witching Stone's pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack create a visually stunning world that draws players in and keeps them engaged.”
“However, the game's attention to detail in its visuals and sound design is a testament to the developers' commitment to delivering a high-quality experience.”
“The retro graphics and memorable soundtrack have some great, early-90s appeal, too!”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through its 12 achievements and a daily run mode, providing players with additional goals. While some character balance issues and spell effectiveness may detract slightly, the overall mechanical depth and design contribute to a highly replayable experience reminiscent of other successful titles in the genre.
“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 me borderline useless-- but all available spells and 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.”
“Not all spells are created equal-- some seem to me borderline useless-- but all available spells, items, and boons/banes pay some favor at the altar of replayability.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Witching Stone's pixel art style, combined with its atmospheric soundtrack, creates a visually captivating world that effectively immerses players and maintains their engagement throughout the game.
“Witching Stone's pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack create a visually stunning world that draws players in and keeps them engaged.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's story is considered somewhat lacking and superficial, but players feel that this is not the main attraction, as the focus lies on engaging puzzles and strategic gameplay.
“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.”
“The narrative feels disjointed and lacks depth, making it hard to become invested in the characters or their journeys.”
“While the game has potential, the story is poorly executed and fails to engage the player, leaving much to be desired.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the optimization aspect of the game engaging and enjoyable, as experimenting with different builds and discovering new abilities that significantly alter their strategies adds a layer of excitement to the gameplay.
“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; finding the perfect optimization for my playstyle is incredibly rewarding.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its fantastic design, which draws intentional inspiration from late 80s to 90s anime, creating a nostalgic yet fresh aesthetic.
“The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character's unique backstory and growth throughout the game.”
“I love how the characters evolve based on player choices, making each decision feel impactful and personal.”
“The depth of the characters is impressive, with their motivations and relationships unfolding in a way that feels authentic and engaging.”