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.
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 is one of those games that leaves its mark, one of those that, after playing them, you think that it will be a long time before you experience a similar adventure again. A superb artistic design, magnificent gameplay and a wonderful script come together to create a stealth adventure that, on its own merits, will become a cult game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Stone of Madness delivers a puzzling experience that forces players to be creative and quick. Its gameplay elements largely succeed at providing a unique challenge, while its world and characters are easily forgotten.
A tactical game in real time where stealth will be our best ally to get the five prisoners we control to escape alive from the monastery in which they are trapped. An essential adventure from The Game Kitchen.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Stone of Madness isn’t perfect by any means, but its successes readily outweigh its missteps. Its emphasis on real-time stealth and simultaneous control over three distinct characters at a time work to create some very hectic gameplay situations, naturally encouraging the player to learn and improve. Infusing this rewarding gameplay with a striking art style and a tinge of dark humor makes for a unique experience worth looking into, even if the controls can be clunky and the guards can be a little too good at catching up with you when you make a mistake.
A visually stunning and mechanically intriguing stealth game, The Stone of Madness delivers a fresh take on the genre but struggles with technical shortcomings and accessibility.
The Stone of Madness is one of the most frustrating games I've ever played. Despite its beautiful art style, great characters, compelling narrative, and unique gameplay, the obtuse puzzles, absurd difficulty, lack of accessibility, and numerous technical glitches make this experience absolutely not worth it unless you want to feel as stressed and insane as the game's characters.
“The Stone of Madness” impresses with its intelligent gameplay and atmospheric visual presentation. Unfortunately, the controls are sometimes poorly thought out and caused me a lot of frustration. There are also bugs and glitches, as well as a sometimes confusing camera perspective. Too bad, with a little more fine-tuning “The Stone of Madness” could have been quite something.
Review in German | Read full review
The Stone of Madness offers a fascinating journey through the madness, oppression and supernatural elements of the 18th century.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.