Stoneshard RPG Hits it Big on Steam
Stoneshard, and RPG from the small team at Ink Stains Games, conquers Steam. The title came out on February 6 in Steam early access and already has over 3,500 reviews, 76% of which are positive. This shows that players are so hungry for new, unusual productions that they don't even mind a rocky launch.
Highlights
- Developers of Stoneshard probably weren't prepared for such a success - over 3,500 reviews in 4 days and 10,706 users at peak activity.
- You have to remember that the game came out in early access, which means it's not finished and it's a bit short of perfect.
- Attractive price: until February 13, the game can be bought 10% cheaper, for $13.49.
- A demo of the game, titled Stoneshard: Prologue, is available, enabling us to get acquainted with combat mechanics.
Every day, Steam is flooded with dozens of productions, most of which are of questionable quality. From time to time, however, there are some really good games, which are sometimes hard to spot among other less valuable titles. Stoneshard did not share the fate of those forgotten - both the game and its creators from Ink Stains Games have become a big thing right now. While the developers have already had their first success, as they are the authors of the warmly-received shooter 12 is Better than 6, they did not expect to get that much publicity. Just 4 days after its debut in early access, Stoneshard has received over 3,500 reviews on Steam, 76% of which are positive. In addition, the creators can boast that at the peak activity, there were more than 10,700 users playing their game at the same time, and at the time of writing this article the number of logged-in users was around 7,000 logged. This is a very good result, especially since the title is not yet finished - and it will take some time before it can be considered as such.
What is the story behind the game's success? The answer to this question is simple - player fatigue. They have had enough of carbon-copy RPGs, and Stoneshard is trying to bring some freshness to the fossilized genre. The title offers a dynamic, albeit turn-based, high level of difficulty, procedurally generated world and dungeons, and most interestingly, an extensive system of injuries and their treatment. Of course, more functions are to come with future patches. An additional advantage is the affordable price - the game is priced at $14.99, but until February 13 it can be purchased with a 10% discount, that is for $13.49.
After the praise, we should also say a little bit about the game's shortcomings, at least those that are present right now (it's early access after all). The game launched with a very poor save system, with saving possible only while sleeping, and we could only sleep in a room of an inn (which was very expensive). Additionally, the situation was made even more dramatic by the fact that there is no (and that's final - as the devs have already announced) save option when leaving the game. If somebody had 20-30 minutes off and was thinking about cleaning a dungeon, but left the job unfinished and did not returned to sleep, they might have been very surprised when, after returning to the session, they started again from the tavern room. Since then, the creators have addressed the problem and introduced patch 0.5.7.10, which implemented mattresses in bandit camps, which can serve as a base for our escapades, and reduced room rental prices. It's not perfect, but it's something. Of course, with the development of the game, this problem is to disappear, as a mobile caravan will be introduced, which will travel with us and allow a convenient form of saving.
Another problem is that when installing the game in its current state, we have to be prepared for the fact that our character will not last until its completion. With the 0.5.7.10 patch, players were forced to start the game from the beginning due to version incompatibility - one can guess that this situation will happen again. This is linked to another disadvantage that can scare off potential buyers: it is currently not possible to play with more than one character at a time - when starting the game, we overwrite the previous protagonist.
Of course, the users still encounter bugs, which are constantly patched by the creators. Personally, after about 6 hours of playing, I met only one, which doesn't allow me to shoot after changing from a melee weapon to a ranged one, but sorting the weapon again solves this problem. The good thing about Stoneshard's developers is that they try to quickly patch up any inconvenience signaled by players.
For those who are not sure about the purchase of the game, the developers have provided a free demo called Stoneshard: Prologue available for download on Steam, which, as the name suggests, gives us the opportunity to play through the game's prologue.
Stoneshard has a long way to go. The developers have shared their plans for the title, which is to be developed until 2021. In the future, there will be many changes that will introduce new enemies (including special enemies), side tasks, more towns (there are only now two) and a larger map. Also, some of the mechanics already present are to be deepened, and of course, the caravan system will be implemented. If Ink Stains Games is up to the task, we will get a really solid piece of RPG.
Recommended requirements:
- OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64 bit)
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo (or better)
- RAM: 2 GB
- GPU: GeForce 7600 (or better)
- HDD space: 500 MB
