The Stone of Madness

The Stone of Madness has some excellent art and great moments of sneaking around. But what should have been a fairly replayable and interesting prison break ends up buckling under the weight of its technical problems. Progress-halting bugs, graphical issues, and finicky controls all turn otherwise-engaging sneaking missions into frustrating excursions. With some extra tuning, The Stone of Madness could be a refreshing take on tactical stealth. As-is, there are too many obstacles getting in the way of what’s good here.

Isometric real-time stealth elevated by a unique approach to time, mental health, and a resplendent monastic setting.

For all its sins, there's the makings of a stealth-tactics classic in The Stone of Madness. Its grisly sensibility, rock-hard difficulty, and inconvenient bugs at launch mean it's not a game for the weak-hearted, but 20+ hours with its rich, system-driven drama produced many delightful escapades worth admiring - even if a good number ended with us back in our cell miserably plotting our next attempt.

The singular art style, haunting setting, and tricky mechanics found in The Stone of Madness make it a unique entry to the tactical stealth genre.

The Stone of Madness has excellent art and great gameplay moments, but while the game could be a replayable escape some bugs make the game frustrating, what could be a fun gameplay, the difficult controls and character bugs make you leave the game, but don’t give up, it’s worth it, with patches the game could become an excellent addition to the genre.

The Stone of Madness is an original and challenging stealth strategy game that combines psychological elements with deep tactical gameplay. The player is constantly under pressure, whether due to strict survival rules or the characters’ growing madness. I like this combination because it makes the game truly unique. Plus, thanks to procedurally generated levels and a wide range of ways to handle situations, there’s always something to do, figure out, and discover. Despite occasional technical shortcomings, the game is fascinating for its atmosphere, story, and original mechanics. If you’re looking for an unconventional strategy game with a dark atmosphere and psychological elements, *The Stone of Madness* is a great choice that will draw you in and keep you hooked.

I wanted to enjoy The Stones of Madness because I really loved The Game Kitchen’s other game series; Blasphemous. Aside from the incredible hand-drawn art style in the Madness game, I wasn’t really a fan of this game.

The Stone of Madness has all the elements required for a fantastic stealth puzzle game – a gorgeous settng, an intriguing story, vibrant characters – but is sadly let down by bugs that cause it crash consistently in one place, leaving the otherwise absorbing story incomplete.

It has a great atmosphere and visuals that complement it, but due to technical issues and problematic design choices, it fails to reach its full potential. I wish its release had been delayed and given more thought.

The Stone of Madness is an intriguing new direction for The Game Kitchen. While it has its frustrations, it surpasses its superficial similarity to other games to strike out in a unique direction of its own. If the studio can iron out some of the remaining issues, it may become essential.