HomeNewsThe Stone of Madness
The Blasphemous dev’s new Goya-fuelled stealth tactics monastery sim is basically Umberto Eco’s The Great EscapeThe Stone Of Madness gets new story trailer
The Stone Of Madness gets new story trailer
Image credit:Tripwire
Image credit:Tripwire
The Stone of Madness - Story Trailer | Gamescom 2024Watch on YouTube
The Stone of Madness - Story Trailer | Gamescom 2024
The five prisoners form a Commandos-style squad. You’ll need to pool their bespoke abilities to prevail. Agnes, for example, is a witch with an arsenal of spells and other occult devices. Amelia is a young thief who can pickpocket and place traps. Alfredo is a disgraced priest who can give eloquent sermons to draw a crowd, opening up gaps in the area surveillance. Leonora seems pretty deft with a blade. There’s equipment and upgrades to factor in, too. While the aesthetic and premise suggest a more story-driven experience, this feels like a proper tactical sandbox.
The protagonists aren’t unfazable drones, however. Each possesses “a fully realized set of traumas and phobias” that seemingly correspond to specific areas and encounters, together with a sanity bar. Deplete a character’s sanity, and they may lapse into fullblown “paranoia, dementia, or bouts of violence, fundamentally changing how the afflicted character is played.“The Steam blurbrecommends that you avoid roaming around at night, because the monastery’s parade of spooks will quickly erode your team’s morale, but sometimes, of course, “the risk is worth the reward”.
The game will offer two different campaigns, “each with its own stories, objectives, special characters, and other surprises”. It’s out in 2025, andspeaking as both an Eco warriorand a Goya head, I am keen. The screens and trailer suggest a tidy warren of variables, clues and awful mysteries, which you’ll get to know over multiple failed breakout attempts. It’s certainly a change of tune for The Game Kitchen, though the lurid palette and aura of religious horror are extremely Blasphemous. For a more upbeat spin on monks (and murder), the obvious choice isPentiment.
For more of the latest news and previews from Gamescom 2024, head to ourGamescom 2024 hub.
