I first saw the turn-based roguelike Stoneshard in 2017, when it was still in early development. It seemed to be a retro-style cross between Diablo and Darkest Dungeon, a randomized isometric dungeon with loot-focused hack-and-slash and a complex wounding system (Austin described it as "enormous punishment"), pain, addiction, phobias, and the need to manage one's sanity were fused together.

The 2018 Kickstarter was a huge success, raising over $100,000 against a $30,000 goal. A few years later, publisher Hypetrain Digital released a new trailer ahead of the game's release on Steam Early Access next week.

Interestingly, despite more than tripling its Kickstarter goal, the developer said the game's scope has not been significantly expanded.

"To avoid feature creep, we did not expand the game with additional features. Instead, we focused on polishing what we promised at the beginning," they explained." At the same time, we modified our initial vision for the game, deepening some RPG elements and focusing on immersion.

Another aspect that changed after the kickstarter was the setting, which was changed from "classic high fantasy" to medieval-inspired low fantasy. "Also, the approach to creating content and game mechanics was completely revamped.

The old-school graphics in the trailer are a bit at odds with the heavy subject matter. They look pretty in places, but that impression quickly fades when you're faced with the choice of reaching the exit in a half-dead state of agony or hitting the pipes and bracing yourself (once again) while praying that the negative effects of the psychoactive effects don't cause long-term psychological damage. (Hint: you probably did.)

A demo version of "Stoneshard: Prologue" is available on Steam (Itch.io's old demo is gone), and while it is not as expansive as the full game, the complexity and weirdness of You can see it quite well. When I was playing last night, I got caught in a spike trap (twice, because I was so busy smashing barrels that I didn't notice what I was stepping on) and it was really bad. Then I tried to disarm it, failed, and it triggered again. My leg was completely chewed up. I didn't have any plasters to patch it up, and I didn't have any plasters that I had wasted earlier on a minor hand injury, so I applied some healing ointment that didn't help much with the fracture and inhaled all the painkillers I had.

My sobriety level skyrocketed, but I was able to move again for a while. Eventually the drugs wore off, the pain level began to rise, and soon I was stuck on the floor of the dungeon. I was too healthy to die, but the pain and delirium prevented me from moving forward. I would have eventually succumbed to hunger and thirst, but I didn't see much point in screaming in pain and clicking effectively until I did, so I gave in to the inevitable and quit the game.

One thing to note about the demo: because it was relatively short, only a couple of hours total, the developers did not bother to include a save feature. Therefore, if you exit before the end of the game, you have to start all over again from the beginning the next time. The randomness of the game makes it worth replaying, but there is no option to start over from the beginning.

Overall, it was a bit odd, but I also felt it was very true to the roguelike experience, and the complexity of Stoneshard (not just simple survival issues, but a wide range of mundane and magical abilities that can be learned without class limitations, different enemies and factions to deal with, and "no hand-holding or teaching" ) is intriguing. I look forward to playing it again; Stoneshard debuts on Steam on February 6.