Stoneshard

Stoneshard has been in development for 4 years, and it’s still nowhere near a finished product. The core game is incomplete, major features are missing, and progress has been painfully slow. Despite this, the developers somehow think it's appropriate to start selling DLC for a game that isn’t even done yet. It’s insulting to the players who’ve supported this project from the start. Instead of focusing on delivering the full experience we paid for years ago, they’re prioritizing monetizing an unfinished game. Early Access was supposed to be a chance to build the game with community feedback — not an endless excuse to release half-finished updates while charging extra for new content. This isn’t just disappointing — it’s unacceptable. Finish the game first before trying to sell add-ons. Right now, you're paying for a product that’s still in pieces while being asked to hand over more money for content that should have been part of a complete release in the first place. Avoid until (or if) they ever finish it.

This game has been stuck in early access hell for a long time, so anyone should assume that the state it is in now is the finished product. There's a lot of fun about the game but the bad is infuriating. The save system in particular. They make it so so hard to save the game so you don't lose hours of progress. If you get somewhere and achieve something, you have a few choices. You can risk it, and keep going without saving and end up losing everything you just did. You can spend a half hour or more IRL running back to town to save at the inn, hoping you don't get killed by some random group of thugs or ghouls and lose all that progress. You can carry an expensive single use bedroll around with you that takes up a third of your inventory. You can use the 'make a halt' skill to craft a bedroll and hope you can find a pelt, rope and hay, which are the ingredients to make one. Finding these ingredients, especially the pelt, is not assured and not easy. It's much cheaper to run run run back to town. So the game boils down to; go to a quest location, make a little progress, run back to town to save, run back to dungeon to make a little more progress. Rinse and repeat. The food and water need is annoying but not a game breaker. The fact that you can't stack like items or rotate them to tetris them together to best fill your inventory space is infuriating though. You have so little inventory space as it is and some items like bedrolls take up so much space. I can't recommend this game for most players because of these annoying aspects. If this description doesn't sound bad to you, then you might enjoy the game. I'm still playing it out of stubbornness. But I've at times lost multiple hours of progress due to the terrible save system and rage uninstalled the game because of it.

I really want to like this game. I really do. But i just absolutely hate the fact that you can't save everywhere and need a bedroll. Oh you've been walking across the map for the past hour or so and get suprised by wolves or a bear. Well sucks to be you, cause that past hour is now gone. You delve into a dungeon and are suddenly surrounded by 3 enemies. Well i hope your last save isn't too far in the past. Enjoy walking the entire way from the last city to here. Seriously it is worse than dying to a boss in Dark Souls 1 where the last bonfire was 5 minutes and several minions away. I understand that this is the intended experience. You are not the protagonist, not the hero, but holy sh*t is it just not fun. I don't understand why they don't just add a quick- / autosave function and then say "If you use them it is not the intended experience. But if you can't enjoy the game otherwise then go ahead." A simple option like in Celeste where you can just change the games speed to 80% if it is too fast or in bad north where you can select to just redo levels if you fail. Sure it is not the intended experience but leagues better than a miserable one. I really want to enjoy it but i just can't. I'm not that masochistic

'Despite this, the developers somehow think it's appropriate to start selling DLC for a game that isn’t even done yet.' TripYung do you not feel any shame, like at all? Your review is top and it's talking about paid DLC. There's no paid DLC - anyone with eyes, spending more than ten seconds could tell you that. A five year old kid could tell you that. Utterly shameless. I don't even care if the game is good, I bought it just to leave this review. When the fuck are Valve going to do something about this!?

One of the few games i genuinely regret purchasing. Even more so now that they've filed a Copyright claim on Loot of Baal. Scammed twice, and one of the times hurt an innocent Indie Dev.

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Reviews are full of scrubs. I will explain why. Stoneshard is not a game where first impressions matter. We've all been there. Some even died on the tutorial (I didn't lol). But let's be honest, it was never the bad rng. We just are too used to games being afraid of letting us die. Specially at the first level. Triple A devs gaslit everyone into thinking a game must instantly give you the dopamine you deserve so much, but Stoneshard makes you work for it. A lot. That can and will be frustrating, but there's no reward like having to feel like you've in control despite all the rng and bad odds saying otherwise. Of course, this is an Early Access game. It will have experimental mechanics all around, but as someone who's been following this game since 2012 and actively playing it since 2023 – even though some of it by less than noble means (I probably have 600 hours of total gameplay) – I can definitely say the Devs of this game understand what is the problem of the industry and how badly players are being treated today. Pick up this game. Die a thousand times if necessary. Get mad if you need. But don't let this stop you. There's a vision here for something great if you give the effort you don't usually need for games that basically are playing themselves nowadays. In Stoneshard, you truly are the player. And no one's playing besides yourself. Good luck, merc.

Want to love it, But so much is wrong with it that I cant even be bothered to point it all out. (One of the most frustrating things is definatly how u "save" your game. Constantly going 1 step backwards basically after taking 2 steps forward it is so Unrewarding it isnt fun anymore. Feels like the devs dont give a fuck if I spend a hour exploring and having fun to then be setback again cause I didnt go sleepy yet.)

Spent half an hour clearing out a dungeon only to press the button and die from eating a raw chicken 10/10

I bought this game around 3 months ago, I have 500+ hours now. This is an addicting game. In this game you are a merc, not a hero. In the early game you probably need to run away when facing 2+ enemies. In the late game with a proper build, you are a killing machine. Very satisfying progression. Pros: - Excellent pixel art style, I would say it is the number one on the market - High replay-ability You've got a series of weapons / magic and their relevant skill trees for your many playthroughs. Maps are partially random generated. Cons: - Lots of time spent on walking from sites to sites, however I am actually quite okay with this - I enjoy slow-paced game. Dev said there probably won't be a speed-up toggle in the future but there is mod for those who like to speed up the game. - Main story / quest not finished as of the current state of early access If you dont really care about the quest but like turn-based combat, this is for you

I would love to give this game a good review but for now i just can't. Has nothing to do with the game play or the difficulty (honestly really enjoy the game in all aspects) and everything to do with the saving. I have tried 3 times to save my progress BUT IT JUST WONT. The very first time i saved and logged off my save was there, then i decided to save and get off so i can eat but when i came back my saves were gone. Just fix the save system and the save files and i would change my review. Please and Thanks!

Stoneshard is a gritty, turn-based RPG roguelike developed by Ink Stains Games that distinguishes itself through its punishing difficulty, strategic depth, and a dark, unforgiving fantasy world that hearkens back to the golden age of classic role-playing games. Still in Early Access, the game offers a potent glimpse into a grand, sprawling vision: an open-world RPG with deep mechanics, player freedom, and a genuinely oppressive atmosphere. While it’s not yet complete, what’s already in place is compelling, albeit rough around the edges. At its core, Stoneshard is a game about survival. Players are thrown into the medieval land of Aldor, a fractured and war-ravaged realm teeming with bandits, beasts, and worse. The prologue is a self-contained tutorial that quickly teaches players two things: how to play, and how easily they can die. After this, you're left with a single character—currently Verren the mercenary, though plans for a full character creation system are in the works—and sent out into the open world with minimal hand-holding. This sets the tone for the rest of the game: trial by fire, learning through failure, and adapting to a brutal, unforgiving world. One of the most distinguishing features of Stoneshard is its complex health and survival system. Unlike many RPGs, health is not a singular bar. You must manage multiple subsystems: pain levels, bleeding, limb damage, hunger, thirst, sanity, intoxication, and more. A single wound can escalate into a life-threatening condition if untreated. Healing is not instantaneous; it requires the right tools, careful planning, and time. This creates a palpable tension in every fight—players are not just trying to win, but to survive without incurring lasting injuries that might make the next encounter unwinnable. Inventory management, too, becomes an exercise in tactical planning: every potion, bandage, or splint you carry takes up space, forcing hard decisions about what to bring and what to leave behind. Combat in Stoneshard is turn-based and highly tactical. Every movement, ability, and item use costs action points, and positioning is critical. The game uses a grid-based system with vision mechanics that force you to scout carefully and retreat when necessary. Enemies are deadly and intelligent, often requiring kiting, cornering, or isolating to defeat. There’s a robust skill tree system, with each weapon type—swords, axes, maces, ranged weapons, magic—offering unique abilities that dramatically change combat styles. As of now, progression is tied to skill books found in the world rather than leveling, encouraging exploration and careful planning over grinding. The open-world structure of Stoneshard is ambitious. Villages, dungeons, and wilderness areas are all explorable, with quests scattered throughout. There's a real sense of being a mercenary for hire—you take contracts from town notice boards, venture into the unknown, and reap rewards if you return alive. The economy is tight; gear upgrades and supplies are expensive, and money doesn't come easy. This reinforces the sense of hardship and progress—every good piece of gear feels earned, not given. Graphically, Stoneshard embraces a pixel-art aesthetic that is both detailed and evocative. The environments are moody and oppressive, with forests cloaked in fog, ancient ruins buried in shadow, and blood-soaked battlegrounds hinting at the world’s violent past. The soundtrack complements this atmosphere perfectly, with melancholic strings and ambient sounds that evoke loneliness and danger. The visual and audio design work together to create a grim, immersive setting that is both beautiful and bleak. However, being in Early Access, Stoneshard is not without its flaws. The current lack of mid- to late-game content, limited character choice, and a sometimes-unforgiving save system can frustrate players expecting a more finished experience. There's also a significant learning curve, and many systems—such as injury treatment or curse management—are poorly explained. Bugs and balance issues are still being worked out, and updates have been frequent but sometimes slow, leading to player concerns about development pace and priorities. That said, the developers have shown commitment to their roadmap, and major systems—like faction reputation, full character creation, and carriage-based fast travel—are planned or in progress. Ultimately, Stoneshard is not a game for everyone. It demands patience, perseverance, and a taste for masochistic challenge. It rewards careful planning, smart play, and a willingness to learn through failure. For fans of traditional roguelikes, tactical RPGs, and gritty survival sims, it’s an engrossing and refreshingly difficult experience. While still a work in progress, it already offers enough depth and atmosphere to warrant attention. If Ink Stains Games can deliver on the rest of their vision, Stoneshard has the potential to become a cult classic in the RPG genre. Rating: 7/10

The game looks amazing, the combat feels good but punishing, the towns have a nice atmosphere, there a large variety of classes you can play including tons of skills and gear but this game LOVES to waste the player's time. If you want to go on a quest it feels like you need to fill an entire backpack with food but you also need bandages, splints, painkillers, antivenom, healing slaves, a sleeping bag, ammo etc.. I like that you have to manage your inventory space but with all the stuff you need you can't bring any fun stuff like nets, oil or caltrops. But my main critique with this game is that the walking feels incredibly tedious. To walk without interruptions feels like a rythm game because two clicks are required to cancel the current move command and issue a new one, I hate it. This game needs some kind of fast travel mechanic thats not the caravan or the very limited travelling merchant cart guy who is basically useless now that the caravan exists since he usually only lets me skip a handful of tiles. Just give me a horse or something that I can tell to walk to a certain POI, the walking distances aren't actually that big so it's not the time it takes that bothers me, it's just that I have to pay constant attention to simply walk in a straight line. Normally, I'm not a fan of turned based RPGs but I've found Stoneshard's combat to be exciting and adrenaline inducing. Many similar games just bore me and make the combat less exhilarating because the enemies take forever to complete their turns, Stoneshard doesn't suffer from this -- except for drummers. Drummers considerably slow down any fight they're involved in, taking away from the otherwise suprisingly fast paced combat. Overall this is the best turn based game I've ever played besides Battle Brothers. Its still in early access but it feels way more finished than other early access titles and I dont remember seeing any kinds of bugs. There is the occational POI that can't be entered (I've only found two) and some NPCs that look like they're missing quests but that's pretty much it so far, I haven't gotten to the endgame yet though so I can't speak on that.

Bought the game at release, had a good concept behind it but was in a rough state and was overly difficult for difficulty sake while core aspects of the game didn't work, left it in hopes it would be fixed and more enjoyable to play. Checked up on the game and the issues from launch are still there, Devs ban any one providing feedback that goes against this game being needlessly hard or suggest changes that would make the game more fun, still in early access with DLC being made by the devs. Avoid, not worth buying you'll just end up getting frustrated at how the game play is while having none of the rewards the games it's trying to mimics has for their difficulty.

wait until the game is released. ive been waiting for years now to play again since the first release with little content available

Game is beyond frustrating so far, the only reason I'm still playing is out of pure stubbornness. The game itself is fine, but the saving system is what ruins it. You'll spend a better part of your time running back and fourth from a town or inn to save after completing one bounty. It's either that or you can carry around a SINGLE USE sleeping bag that takes up a third of your inventory.

Listen up Cheaters! Today I'm going to tell you right now about Stoneshard. This game is about as Rad to the Max as it gets. Words like "difficult," "challenging," "brutal," "punishing" get thrown around as often as possible by people who want to belong to a special club. Those aren't good words for this game at all because it only needs one: Hard. StonesHard. If you don't like that kinda thing, well buddy, you are in the wrong settlement. Visually this game is one of the finest displays of pixel mastery I have had the pleasure of playing. Tone, Delivery, Consistency and perfect Stylization to put you in the mood to game for real. Art direction is backed by a grand Worldbuild that stands out in the crowd of period piece, genre flooding mediocrity. Writing is razor sharp in its susinctness and character personality is aptly conveyed in dialog. Some things you might be turned off by that I'll cover. 1) It is an Early Access game. That means you pay for the game and get to play it through all of it's iterations and growth. Im not sure why so many people mald and seethe about it. We live in an early access economy where every business and insurance program is fronted money to try to make it work before services are ever rendered. Why should games be any different. You are an investor, and thats a responsibility only real gamers understand. 2) No Custom Character Creator yet. Not sure why this is such a big deal to people. I've seen the characters you guys make... and I'm glad you guys aren't making video games. 3) Updates happen when they are right. If you do not have that kind of radical acceptance please continue to play your twice weekly updated gacha while you scroll TikTok. If you have the sand to read those "complaints" and think to yourself: "Yeah! I can get behind that kind of integrity! Sounds like I might be the right person to play excellence!" then give it a shot. What you'll find on the inside is a turn-based Dungeon Crawler RPG with intricate systems, well developed mechanics, a smooth and satisfying gameplay loop and management opportunities, great skill trees and itemization. After 2000 hours I can say I've gotten more value out of this purchase than most games. The community and discord are pretty neat as well and very patient because I havent been banned. 10/10

This is mainly a review for those who do not have the game, and the game is still in Early Access... Long story short: - Are you a casual player? Do not buy this game. - Are you a hardcore gamer but you do not have much time to play? Do not buy this game unless you love hunting and foraging and you want to spend months/years playing the game to master its mechanics. - Are you a hardcore gamer with free time? Do you love hunting and foraging? Buy this game. <-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> I am a hardcore gamer with not that much time to play and here is my opinion: The game is less fun than NetHack (A similar game from 1984). Magic is boring, magic items are boring, skills/abilities are boring, the economy is boring, the "realistic" hunger mechanics are boring (Basically fighting in level 3 dungeons becomes an episode of Man v. Food), dungeons are fine but repetitive until later in the game. There are neat aspects to the game: the pixel art is fantastic, the design of the map and places is interesting, the setting has potential, the caravan mechanics are cool and the skill trees are interesting (But skills/abilities could do more cool/fun stuff). For now this is a game about hunting and foraging. This is also true in combat. In every fighting scenario the key is hunting down your enemies, setting traps, zoning them tediously, luring them one at a time or in small groups and being a patient hunter. If something goes wrong, die or, if you are in time, run. Rinse & Repeat. The "challenging" aspect of this game reduces in these 3 things: -You need much time to do anything, if you try to do it quickly, you fail. -Heavy rng elements (For both Combat and loot. Even if you try to reduce them it wont reduce by much by design) -Very Bad Economy (It tries but the economy does not make any sense). Unfortunately the game fails to simulate survival (No one would need 6 meal courses and 6 slices of cheese in 1 day, not even after a battle), it fails to simulate fantasy (Magic is not magical or "outstanding", enchantments are boring, feels more like quirky just another stat or another way to daze an enemy; Religion is reduced to mere blesses and curses), it fails to simulate a dungeon crawler (Except food, drinks, hunting gear and medicines that are always useful, only crowbars are really needed and you do not have much more space in inventory/backpacks for more if you want to loot something so...), it fails to be tactical/strategic (It all reduces to hunting patiently, for every character/class. Each class does things differently, but the combat tactics and strategies are always the same, lure and hunt). But most importantly, the game fails to be fun. There is a much more fun game in there somewhere but from what I have read from devs answers in discussions criticism is not welcome. So I won't expect much more from the game than more of the same. The game has its following so this is the right direction for them and it should remain as it is, mine is just a comment for those who do not have the game or are waiting for changes. Changes won't come because the devs would fail their passionate following, so they are doing the right thing. Also the community around the game is elitist and not very welcoming/helping new players to become passionate. My final comment is for the dev team. Do not read criticism as bad, do not read it in an emotional way. Criticism is a way to receive an external not biased opinion (That could still be wrong but it is till a "sentiment" from the outside). Try to listen to criticism but use it in a way to support your current player base: -Magic, Enchantments and Skills/Abilities could be more fun and do more peculiar/unique/outstanding things, things your current player base would enjoy. -Religion (Holy/Unholy) could be expanded. -If foraging and hunting would be less needed to satiate the nonsensical hunger, people would spend more time exploring other aspects of the game, more fun aspects of the game with their game hours. -loot should be exciting. -quest rewards and level up rewards should be exiting (+1.5% in two stats or a bag of coin are a low bar). Many people are waiting for the game to leave early access, but in reality they are waiting for the game to be fun to play.

this game is good in theory but then you play it and notice the issues and when you try to communicate and provide feedback to the devs they just ban you from the discord and the reddit then you look into it and find out the story behind its kickstarter scam before it was on steam once you understand that the devs stole money from people with a kickstarter scam and hardly update the game and refuse to add features the community asks for the vibe gets killed and you uninstall the game

game is good so far and it has a lot of potential. If they really focus on updating it and adding more content so it doesn't feel too repetitive then this could become a masterpiece of a game but realistically im not gonna keep my hopes up for that

I love the Idea of this game. There is a TON of interesting stuff going on and some deep world building. After watching a ton of gameplay I got the game in hopes of enjoying the adventure. BUT!!! The new player experience and the start of the game is a 1/10. It's truly bad. When you spend 30-60 min just to die and lose all progress. It's not fun or interesting. That coupled with a confusing crafting system that is not accessible in the starting town. In short if I coulden't even get past the starting area in 4 hours, repeating the same starting like its a bad groundhogs day remake. Things I need to see to come back to this game and give it a positive review. - Fix the save system - Make it so you can learn how to play the game in the starting town(Why do I need to go to a new town to do cooking. Starving to death is a death until you figure this out) - Make the start of the game less Lethal. Getting killed 99% of the time from your first encounter is total BS. (3 min into the game and BOOM Dead…. Not good design)

This game does not respect your time. You are spending 20 minutes just to walk to a mission. If you die, you gotta walk all the way back... Oh, you forgot to sleep before the mission? Well, I guess you just lost 2 hrs of progress... In a dungeon and you only brought HALF your inventory of food and medicine? You got a bleed proc from an unlucky enemy archer shot? Well, you better restart and walk all the way back to a mission, cause there ain't no saving anything... I would rate this game very highly if it was less annoying. Give me an option to save at any time. To me, spending 20 minutes on the walkback to a mission because you died on just isn't fun... Also, you will CONSTANTLY die because this game is hard. You can't take on more than 1 enemy at a time in the early game, and you'll constantly be running away. This makes missions take literal hours which makes it all the way more frustrating if you die. Can't recommend this game. The developer doesn't respect your time at all.

Cool idea for a game, bad implementation. Just add a casual player save system. I am in my 30s with a wife and kids, I don't have a millions hours to backtrack if I die. Also go find where the developers respond back to these reviews and you'll just see some passive aggressive a-holes who are mad you don't like their game. I got a refund after two hours. Don't support these guys and their crap game.

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING GAME! But seriously hear me out. In all my 30+ years of gaming, never have I gotten so pissed off and frustrated by a video game. This game is absolutely brutal and punishing! But with all that comes a real sense of victory and fulfillment I have never felt before from any game. Example - After a long and intense quest to find some stolen merchandise in dungeon far far away, I'm rushing back to town to turn in my quest and get some much needed coin, I'm hobbling with broken bones, exhausted, starving, thirsty, bloody, punctured and injured, so much pain, hungover, Inventory completely full, all my equipment is just wrecked, have not been able to save my game in about 2 hours, (can only save when you find a place to sleep) when suddenly a snake jumps out of a bush, bites me, poisons me, but I'm getting closer and closer to town. Health is diminishing with every step. Almost there, I can see it. There it is, next tile over, and then..........DEAD. Right on the edge of town. Son of a B. I gotta do it all over again, but next time I do it different. I'm prepared for snakes. And bears. And bastards with clubs. I do it better. And I'm victorious. And that was just the first quest. Seriously though, this game is great. Its a lot more complex than I though. I'm very excited to see where development goes. Just buy it and support these guys.

I'm tired of playing "scrape by and try not to starve to death on day 3" simulator. Also tired of playing "spend 80% of your time WALKING" simualtor. A simple fast-travel option to visited towns would alleviate this. Why so much focus on eating??? I have to spend half my goddamn time scrounging for berries and trying to hunt animals to cook just to avoid fucking starvation. Overrated as hell. Enjoy your "muh hard game is hard" circlejerk

For what it purports to be, Stone Shard is in truth a game that is simply not fun, and here is why: A. THE STORY STARTS WITH A BIG BANG, BUT QUICKLY SENDS YOU OFF TO WASTE YOUR TIME: Doing side-quests or simply running through extremely difficult game loops in order to progress. So much so, that at times you are forced to shoot yourself in the foot long term through loss of reputation, or being forced to undersell your progression to survive and play more. B. SOME STEPS IN THE STORY ARE LOCKED UNTIL YOU CLEAR CERTAIN QUESTS: This results in you being stuck scratching your head on what part of the quest you didn't do right. There are absolutely no hints to suggest the fault is on the meta rather than the actual game-play you put in. C. THE GAME CONTINUOUSLY PUNISHES YOU FOR TRYING TO IMPROVE: You can expect to lose money while trying to forage or hunt, simply because of the costs of staving off hunger or thirst. Even the basic starting missions are extremely difficult because you can just not afford any good gear. Obtaining gear through illicit means triggers guards who have some omni-knowledge of your actions and force you to lose reputation and money, or simply die. D. YOUR PROGRESS CAN BE UNDONE BY RANDOM CHANCE: The game will send you back by hours of game time, effectively canceling all of your hard work because you simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This reverts many many choices you've made through dialogue or trade which you have to then do all over again. You may lose progression you've made simply because you forget to go and sell something to someone. Of course, in order to save the game you must pay money, or risk death by trying to find a bandit camp to conquer, or by using a single-use bedroll. (which is extremely difficult to make) E. YOU CANNOT TRULY UTILIZE THE WORLD AROUND YOU TO SUCCEED: The game offers you an extremely small inventory while forcing you to tackle with it's grid based item structure, and on top of that, it forces you to only carry one bag, which you must choose over wearing a cloak, or rely on storing items in tavern chests or your camp and spend a long time traveling to. F. MANY KEY FEATURES ARE NON-EXISTENT: You cannot sneak, which means you are locked from hunting most prey until you level up your character with a focus on that only. You cannot ride horses and must choose long tedious travel time or expensive wagon travel (if wagon is even present). You must find specific map nodes to do crafting because creating these on the fly requires ingredients that are just not available outside of high-risk areas. (like sticks for making a campfire to cook on) G. EXPANSIVE AMOUNTS OF TEXT IS PRESENTED POORLY: The UI is very limiting when it comes to displaying conversation text which is elemental for any RPG that is not completely voiced-over. Most entries are 4-5 lines long, resulting in you having to "*quietly listen*" way longer than you should. (What happened to a vertical scrolling bar?) H. THE WORLD IS ONLY ACTIVE 1/2 OF THE TIME: Which is to say, every key facility or service is only available to you during daytime, leaving you in the frequent situation of having to wait or pay to skip time. There is no way for you to skip time otherwise besides resting in one spot and waiting for the game to pace out at 1 second intervals. With this game still being in early access, for 5 years(?), and with it publishing out downloadable content packages already(??), I do not honestly believe that this game will ever become very fun to play, and would hope to dissuade you from putting your money into it, even if it is on special promotion or sale. It is simply not fun, and I do not believe that it will become fun in the next 5 years either.

I love these rich and thought provoking games. Not a god, or super hero, but a slightly better than average person taking on horrors and day jobs.

great game. unrelenting and high skill curve. wouldn't recommend to those who cant handle dying a lot at the start. but with the bitter death, the win is even sweeter. would recommend going as a archer at the start to help learn your placement in fights also a warning there is a big difficulty jump between skulls in contracts. if you are struggling with your contract i would recommend doing more exploring around the map i still have a lot to learn and look forward to more to come with the next updates

I am having an absolute blast with this game. I have a strong appreciation towards the care and attention to detail the developers gave towards the herbalism aspect of the game. I look forward to the implementation of the Alchemy skill tree.

Between saving at Inns, being able to buy and bring sleeping bags to save right outside of dungeons or bringing your caravan along and parking on the tile adjacent to dungeons, saving really isn't an issue. I mean yes the occasional walkback when you forget to bring a sleeping bag can be annoying but it's really not that bad. Would I prefer to be able to save any time I want? Yes! And I mean you're not really preventing save scumming, I'm just save scumming with an item I have to purchase and drag with me to whatever dungeon I'm going to run, it just seems tedious for tedious sake but I can live with it I suppose. My only real complaint is that at the midpoint of the game I start feel rail roaded into content I wasn't ready for. Like I need a few more pieces of heavy armour to be able to take on the level 3 dungeons but all of the level 2 dungeons have dried up, I get 2 level 2 quests between the first two towns you visit every week, it's not even enough money to survive on nevermind to buy the couple pieces of armor I need. So I try to take on level 3 dungeons and fail miserably. Like why all of a sudden did it go from giving me 3 level 2 quests per town to 1? Is it because you don't want people getting overpowered before doing the next level of content? That is lame as hell if so, trying to be prepared shouldn't be punished.

Great game, loads of replayability! Hard as nails and quite unique. Waiting for the full questline to be finished, masterpiece on the makings.

Punishing, but fun. Rewards planning ahead and taking the time to think before acting.

The game is great but punishing when you start. But after a few hours the main concepts are there and you know more about the various NPC. It's truly immersive and so realistic compared to other games of the same kind. It worth every penny. Play it enough to enjoy every aspect of it! The development is long but definitely worth it. Thanks !

For early access, it feels fairly polished. The voice acting is good. The story is good. The combat is fun and engaging, and the replay-ability seems very good as well with the different skill trees. This game is already great to begin with, so I can't wait to see what's to come.

I mean, I think it's pretty cool. It's a game that rewards preparation and looking into the skills you want. It also punishes you severely if you are not prepared, have useful skills, or are not careful with your approaches to the dungeons/wilderness. I'm enjoying playing as the ranger dude (I am so bad with names, you would not believe) with the starter bow still and some better dual wielded daggers. Maxed out survival stats to be a profitable hunter, dipped a little into daggers, bows, and athletics. Good time all around for my first character. I can do two skull dungeons fairly decently now. Based on what I've read, I'm going to get steamrolled by higher leveled enemies and larger groups. Neat, guess I have to prepare some more and level up. However, I did some math with the 30 level cap, and I do agree with some that it could use some raising for those who over prepare and over level. Then again, it feels like the game wants you to be a very specific build and play to its strengths as much as possible. To improve this (in my opinion), I think you could just put stuff like the survival tree, crafting, etc. in its own system under the "general skills". Don't waste the skill points on those things, but just do training (for gold/side quests/relationship rewards in the camp with companions/skill books/etc.) to unlock those instead with no pressure on the number of skill points you get. I think that would be the chef's kiss for this game from what I've experienced in my relatively short time playing so far. I like the game, and I'm excited to try out magic or full tanky builds on my next character, whenever that happens. Also, go put some leaches on every body part you can. It's a 1% achievement and I don't understand how lol.

This game is juvenile for teens but not adults. This game is 2005 in design. If your that desperate to play wait for it on steam sale. You will have to know to operate a computer to get the game to appear correctly on your screen the game design is from the early 2005 we dealing with chinese level of tech as the game designers. A way better game than this one is ELIN this game is horrible in comparison and no messing with setting from the start of Elin. T1. the monitor setting and graphics are from from 2005 its is not set for advanced monitors. From the start of the game it requires you to know something about a computer to get things to work right. 2. No custom characters or mods supported. Their are mod for the game on nexus but they are not supported by this game.

If you are a fan of this genre of games you will love this game its super fun and very in depth and also very challenging, i tried various build and almost every one worked so you can mix and match and it will work so at the end i want say give it a try and give it time to fully develop

Very fun and engaging gameplay loop which has a varied combat system with potential for growth. Difficulty curve is similar to other extraction-style or limited inventory RPGs. No option for bug reporting but did find a glitch: When taking an opportunity attack during an attempt to cross the boundary of a map screen and dying, your character will appear to have revived on the other side but is uncontrollable and bugged, requiring a reload at the last save point. Minor but extremely annoying if at a point far from a save. 7/10 would recommend

Love the game, what i want 1. add bag slot. i mean u can wear bag while using cloak. adding bag slot wont hurt. 2. morale mechanic needs a lot improvement, hard to increase but fast to decrease especially in early game. 3. add a clock ui or such, its hard to know the time. 4. more spells tree for mage pls 5. we need stealth mode, and thief class my overall experience is solid 7.5/10 needs to load game every 5-10 minutes😭

yes..no.... maybe... *the game art is good *the fights are good *the dungeons are good * the story is generic AF i find myself skiping so much usless text is not flavor is not lore..is just Bs. *the save mechanic is shit is the worst design idea that i saw someone put in fighting dungeon game. *micromanage the food, the fights, the gear, the mind, the inventory, the save, micromanage EVERYTHINGGGGGGGGG. fun not detected, game looks nice and thats it, eternal EA maybe one day... now is a 4/10

i don't know, this is a very good game, i also bought the dlc hoping they can finish this great game soon, but 4 years is a long time since they released early access, they also updated a lot but i also find the game's story quite vague even though the game hasn't been released yet, in return the gameplay is very good, the gameplay is difficult and highly tactical, has the potential to be addictive if released.

First of all, since the game is in early access some things have to be made clear about it. The available plot can be done with in a couple of hours most of which will not be plot related activities, many mechanics and UI elements are work-in-progress or outright placeholders, the development was slow for a while but is picking up as the mechanics get finished by the team one after another. It will take time. With that out of the way, the game in its current state is a mechanically rich and very replayable rogue-like that is all about build planning, resource management and dungeon crawling with one of the best turn-based combat systems I’ve seen, set in an immersive non-standard low fantasy setting with attention to detail that is second to none and absolutely gorgeous visuals. Allow me to sing high praises to those visuals and the world because they truly deserve it. The game is set in a medieval kingdom inspired by quite a few historical references. It just went through a war and a religious supernatural calamity, and it’s all realized in a staggering amount of detail. Every place feels authentic, lived in and outright beautiful (or horrifying). You will see villages touched by war to different degrees, grand churches only rivaled in beauty by those in Kingdom Come, fortresses, castles, war camps, graveyards, etc. And then too many details to count, just wait till you see merchants remove their goods from the stalls when their working hours end. Or take a bite of a sausage and see that it has hand-made images for multiple stages of being eaten. How do you feel about every single piece of gear having images for stages of durability degradation? Stoneshard bothers where no other game does and it shows. Now let’s talk builds. At first it seems simple enough, you have a few characters to choose from with their starting stats, skill sets and perks. Then you have a variety of skill trees that focus on a concept, a weapon type, a magic school. It gets complex once you realize that all trees can be mixed and matched as you can see fit and benefit from different stats in various ways. So, you can have a swordsman that is focused on an aspect of that weapon type that matters to you the most and it will play and feel differently from what I will build it towards. And then you make additional tree choices, like what will you do to protect yourself (dash around & avoid damage, dig in and brace for it, use magic to keep enemies away, etc.). Then there are different armor types, weapon have subtypes, there are potions, drugs, traps, throwables. You can disregard weapons completely and build a good old wizard and even still there are more magic school trees than there are points, you can rebuild almost every fantasy archetype there is and most of them you can make work. But what are you building these characters towards? Dungeon crawling. Also, some exploration, hunting and boss-killing. But primarily dungeon crawling. You get a contract, discuss your pay and what’s waiting for you and then prepare accordingly. Because your character will get tired, hungry, thirsty, hurt, wounded, bled out. And they will die a lot. But that’s just your characters, the missions you undertake are generated from various options (and multiple enemy types and ranks) and will get your character killed if you don’t bring your best game and your best gear. Is it a rescue mission from a bandit fort? Or a poison filled crypt with a necromancer in the end? How long is the trek there going to take? Therefore, how much food, medicine, and what tools do you bring? There will be traps, rooms full of things that want you dead, and you will carelessly run into them and lose progress. And you will learn and overcome the next dungeon, and then the next. So, what’s the final goal? Currently, getting through all 5 tiers of dungeons for all 3 enemy factions, exploring around a bit for the few quests that are in and defeating 2 wonderful bosses that pose quite a challenge for most builds. How long will that take depends entirely on you, I’d say at least a few evenings. Now do that as every build that you can come up with, thus I have the 200 hours of actual playtime without any inclination of stopping. It’s a hard and at times a frustrating experience but always a work of art and a deeply engaging game that I encourage you to try. If you are reading this, thank you. Here come a few of my gripes with the game I’d enjoy to see resolved: • No way to see the skill formulas, forcing wiki usage. Add an option, a button to press, anything to see them fully ingame. • No way of checking remaining block power, other than scrolling a huge list of stats. Add an optional bar next to health. • Some combat animations take too long, for example the dog bite and the bandit drummer beating his drum. • No way of configuring the amount of skill panels at the bottom. Make it an option. For example, so I could have just 3 and use the next panel hotkey to move from panel 3 to panel 1 instead of going back or forward twice. Or add keybinds for specific panels, for example F1 for the first panel and so on. • Add a way of configuring keybinds of skill panels. 6-0 is uncomfortable to use, and mouse clicking is slow. • Add separate keybinds for Examine Surroundings, Craft and Butchering skills, so they don't take space on the panels if the player wants it. And/or make Butchering not require a skill press at all, just make it automatically available out of combat on left click.

5.5 YEARS after the initial release, still in beta, the game is more tedious than ever, with magic more risky and less useful than it was, and the start is in general mind-numbingly boring and tedious even the second time around. There was palpable progress in the first year, now it's just... eh, better travel, cool. Caravan camp and some light progress in it, wow. Lil' bits. I understand the devs wanted to make a "hard" game, but it invalidated saves several times, while at the same time fighting tooth and nail against people skipping the tedium with mods or cheats, and removing the internal console... I don't wanna test the crap starting experience in a single player game again and again and again, and again... thanks, once or twice for each base char was more than enough. I wanna pick up at least near to where I left off, or you can stuff it until release. Which I feel is less and less likely to actually ever happen. It's fun, but you can just play Nethack, CDDA or many clones of those for free, for a hardcore experience that's actually somewhat rounded off already. Some extra rants from the latest futile attempt to like this again: Requiring level 10+ now for even the second tier of skills, seriously?! 10 full levels roleplaying a scrub is boring even the first time, because you'll get to a point where you fight groups of stronger enemies with those better abilities already. (sure, you need level or stats, but oooh, guess how you get stats? through levels, soooo, still lvl 10, right? so what exactly was the point of that?) And making the treatises (which would skip that) even harder to obtain now... wow, just wow. Thirst is kinda ok, but hunger is... just wtf, do you really need 5 meals a day, being so strained and exhausted from walking? it's near early TLD levels of "an entire-ass deer will feed your basal metabolism for two days" nutrition. can't wait for them to go more hardcore on specific nutrients and adding scurvy and such. Rep mechanics, gosh, how polished, you finish a contract that has you butcher 20 outlaws and save a guy from certain death and get +60 and peanuts as a rewards, stonks! But you critically fail and hit a guard for 2 damage by accident - oh my god, the nerve of this guy! -750 and kill on sight protocol! And as a cherry on top: the main story has lower priority than sidequests and fishing. FISHING! Breadth-first development works so well and tends to not ever stay in EA as abandonware, right? :) PS: Cool, there's a barely advertised mod branch now, which invalidates saves (surprise :D), and a kinda wonky but still kinda working editor from some kind soul (probbly won't last too long I'm afraid, classic). I would not bother at all if I didn't pay for this game and wasn't annoyed, stubborn, and determined to get my money's worth. So there are limited ways to fast forward a little bit. Still a thumbs down, I'll have another look in another 5 years.

game fun, combat is more than it seems. you can make weed joints ingame, 9/10. i wish there were custom character .

Although development is slow, this also has to do with the war. The game is great and might be epic when it's complete, but I would say it's already in a great place. It's difficult and the saving system is an issue for some, but the added tension for me is a plus. I recommend it for sure!

Something else that caught my eye was the graphics. The history of the place, every event, every note left on the ground - they all play an important role in the gameplay. I absolutely loved it!

5 years and still beta? Did the dev give up on the game?? Only thing really bad about this game. It's a challenging Rougelike so goodluck.

Amazing idea, okay product, abbysmal developers.

Has a long way to go. Development is severely slow. Not broken but meh.

The game goes like this: 1. You go to dungeon they tell you to go (time limited) 2. There are 1-3 enemies in random room, if it's 3 you die I remember having fun in this game 5 years ago, but now it seems like not fun experience. On top of that combat is just bad. Enemy can just keep attacking you while you try to ran away because of free unlimited attacks of opportunity. And even knockback doesn't help because they just walk back in instantly. All enemy groups instantly aggro the moment anyone sees or hears you so there is no gameplay in terms of splitting enemy groups or stealth. And frankly there is not much gameplay in combat in any other terms. You get -1% cooldown items, but in turn based game it's just rounds up to doing completely nothing. The same goes for increasing 6dmg spell by 1%. Numbers game operate on just doesn't make sense to modifiers we get.

too hard, easily died, no auto save, all progress lost. If the PC crashes, all progress is lost as well. If you die, all progress is lost. A game that aims to frustrate the player and likely prompt a refund due to its excessive difficulty, with no difficulty options available. You get what you want, a refund.