Stonefly Reviews
Despite a gorgeous world, stunning sketchbook visuals, and fantastic music, Stonefly is actively dragged down because of its frustrating and cumbersome combat mechanics that create situations that are a pain to tackle. Everything surrounding combat is great, but there is so much of blowing bugs off of platforms that I Don't recommend you give Stonefly a try.
You can float about and gather materials as you please, which is pleasant, but the game doesn't quite have enough to hold your interest. Sadly, the story aspect falls a bit flat — the main thread is interesting but the writing isn't particularly engaging, and any cutscenes lack impact. Overall, the game is a tranquil journey through a unique world, but it doesn't quite have the narrative pull or gameplay bite that it needs.
All in all, Stonefly is a fun experience that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys action-adventure games. I would not, however, recommend it to people who just want to fly around a peaceful environment. While you can spend a lot of time gliding from tree to tree and mushroom to mushroom, there’s always a risk of tripping an encounter that will force you to battle bugs in surprisingly intense combat, and even the exploration sequences can be stressful if you can’t figure out how to advance.
It is a little rough in places and there's room for improvement, but I'll gladly play something that's as weird and creative as this over another generic triple-A open-world game. If the idea of a mech game crossed with Fern Gully sounds like a good time to you, then I'd say Stonefly is definitely worth a try.
Stonefly is a beautiful work of art waiting to be explored!
It’s to Flight School Studio’s credit that, though the clashes at the game’s core left me underwhelmed, the whole thing didn’t feel hollowed-out. This is down to Annika, who sits at its heart and drives it on.
Stonefly is bristling with creative ideas, but doesn't quite manage to deliver them properly. The world is beautiful, but its design damages gameplay, combat is unique but make it very difficult to manage the amount of enemies required at once, and traversal is interesting but manages to feel unreliable due to its mechanical design. It's a game of missed opportunities, but there's still a number of reasons why you should experience this uniquely designed action RPG.
Stonefly is too weighed down by unwieldy combat and grind to get off the ground.
Piloting insect mechs in a beautifully tiny world is a breeze, but heavy resource grinding stops this adventure taking full flight.
This gorgeous microcosmic mech game just about survives its more frustrating moments.