The Stone of Madness Reviews
Isometric real-time stealth elevated by a unique approach to time, mental health, and a resplendent monastic setting.
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.
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.
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 Stone of Madness is an exciting and maximally flexible adventure that allows you to solve problems in a variety of ways.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Set in a wonderfully creative, surprisingly sensitive portrayal of a time period as human as any other, The Stone of Madness is a real gem in the mind of those who play it. At some point, I even stopped noticing Alfredo’s stupid hat.
The beautifully reconstructed monastery exudes gothic eeriness, while the story explores the cruelty of religious institutions of the time. Despite some technical flaws, the game offers a compelling experience for fans of the genre, who have been on a diet lately; almost fasting, I would say.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In an impressive feat of adapting an established format for a unique setting, The Stone of Madness is cleverly attuned to perseverance through incremental progress.
The Stone of Madness feels like an admirable gamble of a new direction for The Game Kitchen, and one that mostly pays off. Besides the frustrations with the stealth, sanity system and inconsistent tone, its core prison break loop remains a satisfying one, and the monastery's environmental design and artistic direction make it a compelling playground to explore.
Will you be able to escape with your sanity intact?
The Stone of Madness has a unique setting, strategic mechanics, and engaging narrative. The combination of stealth, sanity management, and different narrative paths ensures a rich and challenging experience. Its artistic style is impressive as well. However, the high difficulty, especially at night, can make it frustrating for some players.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Although the game has some bugs that can be somewhat frustrating, they do not detract from an excellent gaming experience, with an impressive setting and a well-woven and resolved mystery story.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Stone of Madness is a work of art not suitable for everyone. A strategy title quite demanding with the player that can become frustrating if we do not take it calmly enough. Fortunately, its creators give the option to adjust the difficulty or other parameters that, although they do not guarantee that the escape will be a walk, they do not make us lose our heads too soon.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
The Stone of Madness innovates on tactical stealth and charms with the detailed art, but its survival mechanics bring too little to the table to sell me on this new formula.
While The Stone of Madness isn’t perfect among stealth games, it stands out for its fresh concept, beautiful hand-drawn visual style, and strategic gameplay. Those who go into it with the mindset that it is a space prison or prison escape game, not a Commandos one, will find that the game is well worth a buck.
The Stone of Madness is an ambitious game that gets many things right, but falls short in others. Its rich setting and strategic mechanics provide an engaging experience for fans of stealth and resource management, and the ability to take different approaches to solving missions adds significant replay value.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Stone of Madness offers a unique blend of tactical stealth and psychological survival, set in an eerie Spanish monastery. While its mechanics create engaging tension, the game’s difficulty, trial-and-error structure, and technical issues might frustrate some players.
The Stone of Madness is a brave and daring game, with a stealth-based gameplay that works really well. Its level design and the synergies that are created between the characters you control are its great value, but some bugs and excessive severity in certain moments tarnish the final result a bit. Even so, it is a very enjoyable videogame that uses the Spanish culture very well.
Review in Spanish | Read full review