Indie of the Month: The Stone of Madness

Manny A

Feb 6, 2025 — 3 min read

The Game Kitchen is no stranger to a dark gothic tone with their game having previously worked on the Blasphemous series, the graphic side scroller. But they go into a different direction with the real time stealth strategy game, The Stone of Madness. A game set in an 18th century Spanish monastery where a wrongfully locked up prisoner is on a quest to escape captivity while battling his own sanity along with others.

The Stone of Madness review - 18th century stealth 'em up with a devilish psychological twist | Eurogamer.net

You control one to three out of the 5 characters in hopes of escape and each have their own unique ability. While the main protagonist, Alfredo, can distract guards and other inmates through sermon and fend off dark spirits in the name of the Lord, Eduardo though mute makes up for it with brute strength and can carry and move heavy objects. Meanwhile Amelia can set traps and enter spaces her adult partners cannot.

Tactical Stealth-adventure 'The Stone of Madness' Now Available on PC & Consoles - XboxEra

But while these characters have their own abilities in order to get past they also have their own unique flaw which can frustratingly get in the way. Leonora, the well established prisoner can stealth knock out or even kill guards (and maybe a nun or two) that is deemed in the way of their goal. The drawback is that due to her violent and troubled nature, she will lose a life due to a self inflicted wound. And the worst part isn't even that, it's her fear of fire. While flames lowers her sanity, darkness will diminish Eduardo due to his years of being in solitary confinement. And throughout the demo it became somewhat difficult needing to navigate the trio in real time around the cone shaped vision of guards while making sure their sanity remains high.

The other twist to this escape is that there is a bit of rogue lite element that after spending the day looking for resources or information, you return to your cell to craft items for the next day whether it be bandages for injuries, giving guards a reason to turn a blind eye or boosting morale through Leonora's violin skills. Because after a day of murdering local monastery workers, it takes a little song to really bring everything together.

The Stone of Madness Review - But Why Tho?

The Stone of Madness is unique with it's animated cutscenes and challenging gameplay as you puzzle your way through the dungeon that is the monastery surrounded by the mentally ill and diseased. It's a different take in the RTS genre that will definitely test your patience as most rogue lites do but instead with a dark twist that will pick your brain as you uncover the truth.

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