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Game
Game2025
The Stone of Madness
Developer The Game Kitchen
The Stone of Madness is a real-time strategy stealth game developed by The Game Kitchen and published by Tripwire Presents. It was released for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S in January 2025. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
163 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Sep 23, 2026 · last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
77 positive · 23 negative
95% range 68–84%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 77 | 23 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 20 | 1 | 37 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
80 of 103 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
77% recommend · 79 yes, 23 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 102 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (226 of 284 positive).
Players praise the game's art style and atmosphere. [1][2][3] Many reviewers criticize the lack of manual saves and bugs. [4][5][6] Some players find the stealth gameplay engaging but note it differs from classic RTT games. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
A really cool concept and great art style, but the lack of either manual saves or even the occasional checkpoint make playing through it incredibly frustrating. You spend 10, 20, 30+ minutes carefully working your way through a level, only for a series of unfortunate events or worse, bugs, cause you to die/fail and you have to start over. In our busy world where time is limited, I don't have time to replay all those …
- [1]
The Stone of Madness is a masterfully crafted real-time tactical stealth game that immerses players in the eerie and oppressive atmosphere of an 18th-century Spanish monastery. From the moment you step into the shoes of one of the five prisoners, the game pulls you into a world of tension, mystery, and psychological turmoil. With its unique premise, stunning hand-drawn art style, and strategic gameplay, this is a …
- [9]
I'm conflicted about this game. It's not something I expected, and I personally don't like the gameplay. But that's because I expected it to be something other than what it is. I bought it looking for a game like Shadow Tactics, Desperados or Commandos. Instead, I got an Invisible Inc. where you basically have to be stealthy 24/7 and any combat is absolutely devastating to your characters (sanity loss, finite …
- [2]
The Stone of Madness begins with a premise that immediately sets it apart from typical stealth-tactics games. Instead of inserting you into a military operation or a modern infiltration fantasy, it traps you inside an 18th-century Spanish monastery that operates as both asylum and prison, a place steeped in cruelty, religious fanaticism, and psychological decay. From the first moments, the setting feels oppressive …
- [3]
This is a seriously beautiful and thoughtful game. The characters and their strengths and weaknesses are well thought-out, and the story and gameplay are both about their cooperation to survive their traumas, escape the monastery, and discover dark secret. I hope more people give it a shot!
Summarised from 34 of the 173 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
77% of the 102 Steam reviewers we collected recommend The Stone of Madness. The complaint that keeps coming up: no manual saves, only autosaves at day end. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game received "mixed or average" reviews upon release, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 67% of critics. Steven Scaife from Slant Magazine compared the game to other RTS games like Desperados III and Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, and appreciated its uniqueness due to its setting and its focus on "desperation and disempowerment". He felt that weaknesses of the character helped convey the harshness of the setting, and described that the game can be a tense experience, adding that "The Stone of Madness is cleverly attuned to perseverance through incremental…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 163 · most liked firstA really cool concept and great art style, but the lack of either manual saves or even the occasional checkpoint make playing through it incredibly frustrating. You spend 10, 20, 30+ minutes carefully working your way through a level, only for a series of unfortunate events or worse, bugs, cause you to die/fail and you have to start over. In our busy world where time is limited, I don't have time to replay all those minutes to hours in the name of thematic storytelling. If some sort of save…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →FINALLY, after so many months of work, tears and headaches, today we're releasing #TheStoneOfMadness, the newest game by @thegamekitchen.com in collaboration with Teku Studios. Finishing this game has been a wild ride and one of the biggest challenges I've faced as a dev. youtu.be/Q10eOa0CugA?...
positive · AI labelView post →Why on Earth are people tagging this as "choices matter" and "rpg"? This is a hardcore tactical stealth sandbox game with an on-rails story. It's fine, for what it is, but it's not an rpg in any of the ways that people usually think of when considering the genre.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't mind the overall clunkiness of the game, but running around narrow corridors trying to avoid immortal ghosts is just a huge no from me. Guys, the first Thief game was released almost 30 years ago and showed how to make immortal ghost enemies fun, yet somehow we're still here.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Completely missed that the new game from Blasphemous developers The Game Kitchen, but noticed an offer of copy in my inbox and while I've been so overwhelmed this month I've been turning down everything, I'm absolutely accepting a copy of The Stone of Madness! store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/...
positive · AI labelView post →It has been ONE YEAR since we launched THE STONE OF MADNESS here at @thegamekitchen.com and it is pretty clear that it hasn't reached the expected numbers. Such a pity. On the other hand this game feels to me like one of the most fulfilling successes in my career because we achieved the impossible.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Stone of Madness is an isometric real-time stealth game, elevated by a unique approach to time, mental health, and a resplendent monastic setting. Our review: www.eurogamer.net/the-stone-of...
neutral · AI labelView post →Much like Partisans 1941 and War Mongrels, NOT FOR THE FAINT OF JANK. It's a shame to go so ham on it because I've been eyeballing this since 2020, there's so many fun and clever ideas but it's a bit too buggy + also NOT PLAYTESTED AT ALL (unless we count growing grey hairs as play testing). It makes Commandos 1 and Desperados 1 look like child's play. What does the game do well? Narrative, progression, art, some puzzles, some survival nature (traversing too). Stealth is debatable. It's more…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Did you know the developers of Blasphemous had a new release earlier this year called The Stone of Madness? It's an isometric stealth-focused game where you play as prisoners in a monastery/sanitarium, and shockingly it seemed to completely slip under everyone's radar. Must revisit this myself.
positive · AI labelView post →We really hope you give it a chance now that #TheStoneOfMadness is FREE! 🎁 It was an insanely hard game to make but this team at @thegamekitchen.com put its heart on it! ❤️ Share your thoughts, your clips and your failures because remember: failing here can be part of your successful escape plan! 🥖
positive · AI labelView post →Today's Epic Store giveaway: The Stone Of Madness! The Commandos-esque stealth tactics game from the Blasphemous devs, set in a historical jesuit madhouse monastery. It's hideously undersold but every bit as gorgeous and detailed and DRIPPING with religious animosity as you'd expect from the team.
neutral · AI labelView post →WARNING: Game breaking bugs abound! Still! This thing has been out for months and there are still massive issues with things rendering on the wrong layer, mouse inputs clicking the wrong thing, event triggers not firing reliably, icons for old quests just hanging around indefinitely... Also, for being a kind of "freestyle investigation game" you the player are always about 3 steps ahead trying to figure out which random thing the game needs to catch up. One puzzle solution was hidden in a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →give us manual saves biggest cons: stealth mechanics are just standard no manual saves because it's ok to fail but if you do, you lose a character for the rest of the day or need to reload and replay the whole day again or in the best case from an inconsistent checkpoint the game was generous enough to give pros: I like the art style characters feel unique and everyone has their one strength and fears you have to strategize around
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Madness. Despair. Misery. And now… DICE. 🎲 ✝ The Stone of Madness: Dicefall has arrived on Gamefound. Help five tormented souls escape the monastery in this all-new board game by @ericrod.bsky.social and @undigitalatelier.bsky.social More info: gamefound.com/en/projects/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Intriguing, ambitious concept, but the execution is not there yet: Terrible (non-rebindable) control scheme, very buggy, heavy micromanagement, unreliable autosaves. In my opinion, this is not even Early Access-ready, let alone a full release. Devs, please take the time to give this the polish it deserves and in regards to controls, don't be afraid to learn from the gold standard set by Mimimi. Cannot recommend at this point.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey! 👋 We're releasing #TheStoneOfmadness in just a few days, but you can already play a 2 hours long prologue (Which is basically the first campaign of the game) ENTIRELY FOR FREE! Just hit the DEMO button on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/... And if you like it, WISHLIST! 💗
positive · AI labelView post →A big part of what sells The Stone of Madness' art direction is its roots in the paintings of Francisco Goya. Check out @gamerant.bsky.social deep dive into The Stone of Madness's art! gamerant.com/stone-madnes...
neutral · AI labelView post →TLDR: Sadly unplayable. The game unexplainably doesn't allow saving except at the end of in-game days that can last up to 20 minutes (this is by design). Several game breaking bugs, crashes, general inconsistency and lack of information make it a complete chore to make it through these time units, leading to very high frustration and waste of time. Apart from that the game is generally poorly designed and unfinished. Long version: Stone of madness is a tactical stealth game like commandos or…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So FINALLY I can talk freely about the project in which I've been involved for the last year. It's a huge change for me, and being part of "The Stone of Madness" has been quite a ride. I'm eager to show you more about the game in the near future! 😉👍
positive · AI labelView post →We’re thrilled to finally reveal "The Stone of Madness", a real-time strategy and stealth game set in an 18th-century Spanish monastery. This multiplatform title will be handled by Tripwire, set for release in early 2025. Wishlist now! Trailer reveal: youtu.be/RWSYWqdVrLk?...
neutral · AI labelView post →I need to play more of The Stone of Madness, a stealth game from the developers of Blasphemous, it seems to have slipped by without a lot of people noticing it, and I hadn't even realized it released until I found a copy in my inbox one day store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/...
positive · AI labelView post →Two new imsim-adjacent games to be on your radar: - The Stone of Madness (by Blasphemous dev), an RTT stealth game in the vein of Commandos but more reactive - Eternal Strands (by former Dragon Age dev), imagine Dragon's Dogma with more physical and elemental magic interactions
neutral · AI labelView post →One game from earlier this year I really need to revisit when I've got the time is The Stone of Madness, which is a stealth strategy game from the developers of Blasphemous, it just completely surprised me when I found a copy in my inbox. store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/...
positive · AI labelView post →It's a stealth game... with no save/load. The game is entirely crafted around that lack. Levels are deliberately small, linear and formulaic, with overt pre-set puzzle combinations a-la "douse that fire to enable downing that guard to enable pushing that button". Every tiny misstep causes a madness loss, to further emphasize the finality of your actions. There is a layer of resource management to get stuff, like consumables that enable your skills. It is, of course, also built around that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was playing The Stone of Madness on stream tonight, and it's very neat so far, 2D isometric stealth game along the lines of Commandos but with a sanity system and a hand drawn art style about inmates escaping a secret monastery/sanitarium, and it has a demo! store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/...
positive · AI labelView post →Live now! 🔴 Hey folks, I'm back streaming, and today I'm gonna check out the new game from the developers of Blasphemous - THE STONE OF MADNESS! A Stealth Strategy game with an artstyle inspired by Goya, are we all ready to brave the madness together? www.twitch.tv/caseyexplosion
neutral · AI labelView post →24. The Stone of Madness Did you know the developers of Blasphemous released a stealth strategy game set in a monetary/asylum with a gorgeous hand drawn art style? It's a little clunky and rough around the edges but a very unique game, and well worth giving a look.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Stone of Madness is a stealth tactics game in the vein of Commandos from the developers of Blasphemous, and I really must revisit this because it's incredibly visually and thematically striking, this year has just been completely overwhelming with releases store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/...
positive · AI labelView post →new review time! for IGN, I covered The Stone of Madness, a gorgeous stealth game with an intriguing setting. it's got some great ideas, but I ran into more than a few technical issues that held back the flow of its great escape. more here: www.ign.com/articles/the...
neutral · AI labelView post →The Stone of Madness is the Free Game of the Week on the Epic Games Store! Download now and uncover the mysteries of the monastery store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-...
neutral · AI labelView post →The Stone of Madness is a masterfully crafted real-time tactical stealth game that immerses players in the eerie and oppressive atmosphere of an 18th-century Spanish monastery. From the moment you step into the shoes of one of the five prisoners, the game pulls you into a world of tension, mystery, and psychological turmoil. With its unique premise, stunning hand-drawn art style, and strategic gameplay, this is a title that stands out in the stealth genre. One of the most striking aspects of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🍂#SteamAutumnSale is live at The Game Kitchen! Grab your favorites at these discounts: The Stone of Madness – 50% off The Last Door – 75% off Blasphemous – 75% off Blasphemous II – 50% off NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound – 15% off store.steampowered.com/developer/th...
neutral · AI labelView post →An interesting take on stealth games, ruined by poor execution. THE GOOD The environment and character design is pretty good and does invoke the atmosphere of a secluded asylum that hides a lot of mysteries behind its many locked doors and secret passages. Characters have unique sets of abilities that can be expanded through "research" to acquire new/improved abilities or opportunities for the night phase of the game. Managing squad between missions can provide a much-needed change of pace.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I regret buying this. Here's why: I've encountered 2 major almost game-breaking bugs so far! In the first one I was told to search on a carpet, but when going there I couldn't interact with that carpet, which was very frustrating. After contacting the devs, turns out that I had to do something else before, and the bug actually was the game not telling me to do that beforehand. In the second one I had to melt something in an oven (yes, in an oven) after sleeping, so I went there and the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a very fun stealth / strategy tactics game, in the style of Mimimi. I love the setting, and it is quite enjoyable when learn all the intricate details of each area. Having said that, there is a ton of friction in the game. If something happens to one of your characters who you need, there's basically nothing you can do, because you can't restart the day, unless you quit and reload. But if you do that you cannot change the characters, which you will inevitably have to do at some point.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Madness may not be a disease to be cured, but another name for the freedom we have lost.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Review by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34633003-Gaming-Masterpieces/lists/] Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam. Is this game a masterpiece? No, not a masterpiece but a rather interesting take on the real-time stealth genre. You run around in real time while avoiding the cones of sight of guards or supernatural creatures. If that reminds you of Commandos or Desperados III - you're right. However, there is much more story and more puzzles. You have…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The fact this game doesn't have quick saving is what kills it. Most of the time a game glitch (one of the many this game has) leads you to getting punished unfairly making you too frustrated. Perhaps a limited amount of quick saves per day would have been a solution, buy this game only when on a big sale.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm old school. I play PC games and NEVER use a controller. The first thing this game does on start is ask you to "pick your controller." I'm done. Refund requested. I say "NO" to recommending this game for a few reasons... 1. Screen has ONE perspective. It's 2025 and you can't rotate the screen?!?!? 2. Perspective focuses on your character...you can't pan the camera. 3. PC controls are VERY awkward and can't be remapped.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →#TheStoneOfMadness is around the corner! It is so close that you can already pre-order it with a 10% discount!!! Visit stoneofmadnessgame.com for more info. 😉
neutral · AI labelView post →Great game concept, interesting character design and artstyle ruined by hubris of developers. You see - the idea is that it's ok fail so you don't need manual saves... And ofc it does not work because bugs, inconsistent checkpoints and just my genuine lack of desire to replay segments because I had to leave on some work call. I don't know how many times it needs to be said but let people play the way they want. Not a hard paradigm to grasp at all.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A real gem which offers a unique spin on the usual stealth strategy formula. You may read other reviews bemoaning the lack of manual saving, and at first I agreed with them. However, once you get to grips with the game's flow, you will realise that this really isn't a problem. The game uses some familiar RTT mechanics but with a greater emphasis on storytelling and sneaking around. Rather than systematically working through the map and clearing all the enemies, you will be investigating clues…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm conflicted about this game. It's not something I expected, and I personally don't like the gameplay. But that's because I expected it to be something other than what it is. I bought it looking for a game like Shadow Tactics, Desperados or Commandos. Instead, I got an Invisible Inc. where you basically have to be stealthy 24/7 and any combat is absolutely devastating to your characters (sanity loss, finite resources). It's not a bad game by any means, but you should have a clear…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a seriously beautiful and thoughtful game. The characters and their strengths and weaknesses are well thought-out, and the story and gameplay are both about their cooperation to survive their traumas, escape the monastery, and discover dark secret. I hope more people give it a shot!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Stone of Madness begins with a premise that immediately sets it apart from typical stealth-tactics games. Instead of inserting you into a military operation or a modern infiltration fantasy, it traps you inside an 18th-century Spanish monastery that operates as both asylum and prison, a place steeped in cruelty, religious fanaticism, and psychological decay. From the first moments, the setting feels oppressive and intimate. You control a small group of prisoners, each with a distinct…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →People need to stop b**ching about having no auto-saving. Just embrace the consequences of your wrong decisions. However there are indeed some annoying bugs like your characters stuck on the map and you have to wait the whole turn to end. Not game breaking but sure is annoying. Still, it's a good game with interesting story and characters, thus feel the need to feel some good feedback here.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In The Stone of Madness, plan your escape from a monastery-asylum in 18th-century Spain in this deep stealth game. Control inmates with different abilities, and decide how to use each day/night. Because at dusk, curfew is on... and more deadly beings awaken.
neutral · AI labelView post →I really enjoyed this game. The use of 2D animation techniques is absolutely delightful. Among similar games, this has been the most enjoyable experience for me. On the other hand, I do agree with some of the criticisms here—especially the need for a quick load feature, which should be added as soon as possible. However, I still gave the game a positive review because I don’t think it deserves undue negativity. I played the game all the way through and completed it. If a new DLC comes out,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While this game is fun, and you receive a reasonable amount of content for the price, there is a lack of polish that turns a stealth based mystery game into an at times frustrating experience. When a game leans on punishing mechanics that end your day/ run early, errors that are the cause of the interface quickly go from annoying to insufferable. There were several points over the course of the game play where I found myself spam clicking to select the right target. More often then not, I had…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It feels surreal to watch people now playing @tsomgame.bsky.social out there. Like I don't quite believe it happened. Game launches are weird huh. Also, the response to the game has been incredible. We are watching all the videos, reading all the comments. Thank you for playing The Stone of Madness!
positive · AI labelView post →The Stone of Madness takes inspiration from all over Spanish culture. Learn from @gamerant.bsky.social and check out their article below! gamerant.com/stone-madnes...
neutral · AI labelView post →The Stone of Madness is one of the most infuriating games I’ve played in recent memory. It has all the ingredients for success, and it feels like a real passion project – the characters are all diverse, the levels are complex and multi-layered, and there was clearly some potential for juicy stealth gameplay here. Which is why I find it so immensely frustrating that a handful of baffling design decisions and player-unfriendly mechanics, including a bizarre autosave system, could completely ruin…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I chatted to The Stone of Madness devs @maikelortega.bsky.social and @enriquecoli.net about @thegamekitchen.com tackling stealth-tactics, the strict demands of handpainted environments, and why the beauty of game development lies in getting just a bit crazy. store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/s...
neutral · AI labelView post →So now, let's talk about what's coming next in 2025! On January 28th we will release THE STONE OF MADNESS (@tsomgame.bsky.social), a real-time tactical stealth game set in an 18th-century Spanish Monastery. YOU CAN WISHLIST NOW! It will help us a lot! ❤️ store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Summary: Yes, I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a quality story combined with some simple puzzles, team management, stealth, and strategy/tactics. The key to enjoying this game is not getting caught up with the desire to be perfect, instead, embrace failures and learning from them. As with any stealth game you need to minimise being caught performing illegal actions, and exercise patience to understand the routine of NPC's (much like the Hitman series). Location & Story:…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We just hit 94% positive on recent reviews! ✨ I can't believe it. For a weird, niche game such as ours this is very huge. If you were on the fence about playing The Stone of Madness, there's a sale going on right now! store.steampowered.com/app/1309710/...
positive · AI labelView post →If you missed it, we beat Campaign 1 of The Stone of Madness tonight on stream. Can't thank @caseyexplosion.bsky.social enough for the recommendation! It's a fantastic game that deserves so much more attention. If you missed our playthru, the playlist is over here: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
positive · AI labelView post →Pretty good game. It takes a while to get used to the character movement, which is a little clunky. There are some visual bugs where objects from floors above appear as if they’re on the same floor as you. The longer campaign has a much better story. The complaints about the save/load make no sense, since the game saves at the end of each day (which are reasonable in length). The fact that you can't savescum during the day is not a problem at all. My only major complaint is that once you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Either the bugs or the gameplay will drive you mad This review contains no story spoilers Intro The Stone of Madness is a stealth game from the creators of Blasphemous. Set in the 18th century, you guide a group of inmates in a monastery in the Pyrenees through an investigation into the dark and macabre goings on. Led by Father Alfredo, you must uncover the mystery behind a series of disappearances and escape. Visuals and Art Style No review of The Stone of Madness could start anywhere…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not recommended at this time. This game by no mean doesn't hold your hand when it comes to game play and exploration which is fine. But..having such a limit field of vision by having no camera pan, there just too cheap ways for you to get caught by the guards in the game. This game is 100% stealth there is no combat (even though there are "some" elements) BUT it absolutely does punish you on their stealth mechanics. To the point it leads to more frustration than fun. Much of the "jank"…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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