Earlier today, old James gave us all the finger for not writing about Atomfall before. Now it's my turn to puff out my cheeks and not look angry, just disappointed: why didn't we talk about The Stone Of Madness before the Gamescom 2024 story trailer below? I mean, it's only a real-time tactical stealth game set in a cursed 18th-century Jesuit monastery, developed by the people behind the magnificently crude metroidvania Blasphemous. only I have Goya-inspired isometric artwork and a mental health/trauma system reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon. Sounds like an automatic description of RPS to me.
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The Spanish monastery in question is located high in the Pyrenees and inevitably reminds me of Umberto Eco's homage, The Abbey Of Crime. As with that abbey, you'll explore it both day and night, taking charge of five characters with different skills as you probe the monastery's secrets and search for a way out. Time is constantly ticking, and the hour at hand determines the challenges and opportunities that await you. The monastery also doubles as a “madhouse” and an inquisitorial prison, meaning it's full of unfriendly guards, but it's much worse after curfew, which is when the resident ghosts come out.
The five prisoners form a commando-style squad. You'll need to pool their bespoke abilities to prevail. Agnes, for example, is a sorceress with an arsenal of spells and other occult devices. Amelia is a young thief who can pick pockets and set traps. Alfredo is a disgraced priest who can give eloquent sermons to draw a crowd, opening breaches in the area's surveillance. Leonora seems quite adept with a blade. There's also equipment and upgrades to consider. While the aesthetic and premise suggest a more story-driven experience, this feels like a true tactical sandbox.
The protagonists aren't unfeeling drones, though. Each has “a full complement of traumas and phobias” that apparently correspond to specific areas and encounters, as well as a sanity bar. If you deplete a character's sanity, they can descend into “paranoia, insanity, or violent outbursts, which will fundamentally change the way the affected character is played.” The Steam blurb advises against wandering around at night, as the monastery's parade of ghosts will quickly erode your team's morale, but sometimes, of course, “the risk is worth the reward.”
The game will feature two separate campaigns, “each with its own story, objectives, special characters, and other surprises.” It’s set to release in 2025, and as an eco-warrior and Goya head, I can’t wait. The screens and trailer suggest a neat maze of variables, clues, and gruesome mysteries, which you’ll learn about over the course of several failed escape attempts. It’s certainly a change of scenery from The Game Kitchen, though the lurid palette and aura of religious horror is extremely blasphemous. For a more upbeat take on monks (and murder), the obvious choice is Pentiment.
For more of the latest news and previews from Gamescom 2024, head over to our Gamescom 2024 hub.