Stonefly Reviews
Flight School Studio's Stonefly is a lovely game that features a creative story, a gorgeous art style, and gameplay that is more relaxing than it is intense and frustrating. The only knock is some finicky controls, but that isn't an obstacle that is going to get in the way of your enjoyment of the game.
Flight School Studios delivers an enjoyable experience with Stonefly. While the concept of King of the Hill combat is unique it's hard to feel it could have taken it a bit further. Exploration and upgrading your rig is an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Stonefly is a game with big insects and a bigger heart. Despite some clunky aspects in its combat and some repetitive sections, the game's visual style, relaxing exploration, and rewarding customization system make it a game worth crawling around in.
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.
Stonefly had all of the right parts to create an impressive and cool-looking machine, but unlike its heroine, it wasn't able to fully assemble them properly.
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.
It’s a shame that Stonefly‘s combat is so frustrating, because there are glimmers of a good experience here. It’s a novel concept, and collecting materials to upgrade your rig is a satisfying gameplay loop. But whether you can grit your teeth through a myriad of problems to gleam just a slither of enjoyment is highly debatable.
Stonefly is a strong indie featuring tiny humans in tiny mechs vying with the bugs of the forest canopy for resources. Its tale is enough to drive you through a 10-hour campaign with little embellishment, and its mech-customisation and mineral-gathering systems are satisfying, intuitive, and purposeful. Pacifist bug combat is fast and frenetic, but also plagued with fiddly controls and a few too many abilities to be comfortable.
Over its roughly eight hour play time, Stonefly brings up a bunch of conflicting feelings. Its combat mechanics and gameplay loop can be frustrating and unengaging at times, but its story, art direction, and music create a lush and wholly unique world that's hard to walk away from. Stonefly may not be for everybody, but it is definitely worth checking out for players who enjoy the grind or just want to experience a heart-warming and visually engaging story.
Stonefly provides an intriguing premise that lends itself to strange and fantastical gameplay. With an emphasis on aerial piloting, the combat and exploration give ample control while not feeling too fast for the laid-back spirit. While it can be confusing to shuffle through the various materials, power-up formulas can be brute-forced when necessary. Stonefly smartly lets the player control its tempo without lingering for too long, which appeals to all kinds of gamers.
Over my time playing games on the Switch I’ve become a sort of connoisseur of weird games, enjoying the unexpected journeys they tend to take you on...
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.
Piloting insect mechs in a beautifully tiny world is a breeze, but heavy resource grinding stops this adventure taking full flight.
A wonderful coming of age adventure wrapped up in a gameplay loop that never asks much but delivers a gorgeous world to explore. Stonefly isn't going to save the world but it might make your insides a wee bit warmer.
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.
[Despite the repetition & lack of level variety], I’d still recommend Stonefly if you’re looking for a fun and “chillaxing” game; it’s beautiful to look at and listen to, and it’s fun to play a nimble and agile flight-capable mecha that isn’t from an anime for once.
This gorgeous microcosmic mech game just about survives its more frustrating moments.
Stonefly is too weighed down by unwieldy combat and grind to get off the ground.
In the end, Stonefly shouldn't be taken for anything else than a pleasant yet ambitionless game. Its major flaws revolve around its gameplay, quite frustrating sometimes, but the overall game setting reveals to be picturesque and unique, not to mention the soothing soundtrack. Ideal for small game sessions.
Review in French | Read full review
Stonefly presents an intriguing mix of gameplay elements - but it turns out to not always be harmonic. A focus on the strongest parts of the game would have made it even better better.
Review in German | Read full review