Runstone Keeper is a rougelike dungeon crawler game developed by ‘Blackfire Games‘. It is coming out on the Xbox One the 25th of April. It has been out on PC and Mac for some years now. Runestone Keeper is said to be different from other rougelike dungeon crawlers. Let’s take a look.
People use many words to describe this game: Role playing, Dungeon crawler, Turn based, Rougelike and more. The game has gained some great feedback and even won some awards. There isn’t really a story. It’s basically, grab your weapons and begin your very own epic adventure kind of thing. So players just dive right into it. Players will have to make their way through dungeons, one part at a time. Off course this ain’t no peaceful dungeon nor will it be a easy task.
There are multiple heroes to pick from, just not at the beginning. every player starts of with Guy. As you play, more characters will be unlocked which you can then select at the tavern. Others include: Lilith, Azar, Hogg, Balerio and much more. Each hero has their own passive ability, one skill and different attribute values. So find the one that best suits you.
There are many items in Runestone Keeper. These items are single use, so deciding when to use them is part of the plan. Some items restore health, others grant buffs to stats and abilities while others can even straight up kill certain monsters. Some of these are really powerful like the ‘Drill’ which allows you to skip the next dungeon all together. ‘Ice’ freezes all revealed monsters for three turns.
Now what would a dungeon be without traps and dangers. There are multiple traps and they activate upon being revealed. So be careful as they can ruin a run. There is the Bomb trap which reveals surrounding tiles and delivers 2 explosive damage right to you. They also set off other bomb traps causing a unpredictable chain reaction. Acid trap causes grants you the corrosion debuff which basically means you take 2 extra damage from both traps and monsters. Toxin trap grants the poison debut which delivers 2 damage for every per move. The spike trap does what you’d think. 2 Physical damage.
There are monsters who can look cute but are a threat to you. For example the Phantom has a high chance to dodge attacks naturally but every tile you reveal reduces it’s chances of dodging. Since it is turn based they won’t harm you until you attack them. Another weird enemy is the undead troll who has the ability to dodge one lethal attack once. There are also zombies who have a decent amount of health and have the ability to always strike first (not sure why). Also you may face the same monsters but with additional abilities too so don’t just assume that since it’s an undead troll it will be the same. Read and check first. be patient… for once. What monster game wouldn’t have a skeleton? Not this one. These skeletons are not jokes (but still have a funny bone).
So basically players enter a floor full of darkness and start clicking away at the tiles to reveal what they are. It could be traps, items, tips, devices like the block device which can reveal surrounding monsters and traps. Battle the monsters and make your way towards the exit to get to the next floor. Increase your stats with armour and items you find, grow more powerful and make progress on your quest. The levels are procedurally generated. Nothing is the same so don’t think that bomb will be in the same place.
We checked out some gameplay and everything looks simple but definitely fun and interesting. You can play at a your pace and have time to actually look around the level without pressure and decide what actions to take to handle the floor. there are set up crossbows that can be used to damage all enemies in the path, or would you rather reveal more of the floor to increase your chance of hitting the phantom or would you use your hero skill first. We do not know that players have the opportunity to betray the goddesses which off course have consequences. Runestone Keeper does a very good job of explaining the mechanics of the game so their is little to no confusion.
Overal Runestone Keeper is a great game. something that you can do on the side and something to sit down and get serious with. It’s not complicated at all. The way the character selecting is done needs to be improved as players like at least a some options at the start. Graphics are great for what it is and the sounds are great too. Good enough that you don’t really need vision as much. The developers ‘Blackfire Games’ did a fantastic job with this game. we at X35 Earthwalker are looking forward to when Runestone keeper comes onto the Xbox One. Now these dungeons mysterious but not as mysterious as… the ‘Earth Walk!’
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