Idle play is a strange beast: in itself it may seem like the very negation of fun through video game gameplay, but it is based on psychological mechanisms that make it irresistible and, over time, developers have also managed to integrate this. Strange concept with more traditional and structured gameplay elements. In it Stone Story RPG Review We see one of the best applications of this principle, with an idle RPG that soon reveals itself to be very little automated, as far as its overall structure is concerned. It is true that the protagonist moves and acts alone, but action on the part of the player is necessary frequently and continuously, because the game has a strategic base of considerable depth.
Beyond its strange mechanisms, Stone Story RPG is also strongly characterized by its wonderful graphic characterization, which gives a strong identity to the game: everything is represented throughASCII art, or the particular style created by simple characters and various signs composed to give life to real illustrations.
It all starts with some flickering characters on a dark background, but with some additions and simple animations, extremely evocative scenes come to life on the screen, with an impact that is difficult to achieve even through more traditional and complex graphic techniques. In this strange world made of small white signs on a black background, a hero wakes up and is forced to explore various scenarios to gather the 9 magical soul stones and recover the light, within a period of time. history which takes place in about 6-8 hours of play.
Dungeons, combat and strategy.
The idle mechanic means that much of the action is automated, but this does not mean that the player does not have to intervene several times in the development of the game, on the contrary. In the exploration and combat phase, Stone Story RPG develops practically alone, with the character advancing through the dungeons, collecting resources and automatically attacking the enemies he finds along the way, but the preparation of our hero is essential to face the threats , and This happens through the player's actions. He game It is then based on inventory management and the correct decisions that must be made to best equip the protagonist to be able to face the confrontations present in the game and possibly solve the puzzles that hinder progression. Choosing the appropriate combination of objects to put in the character's hands is the key element to interact with the scenarios, both in terms of survival against enemies and solving the possible puzzles present.
Switching between items to use then becomes an integral part of the action, even with the possibility of resorting to on-the-fly equipment changes during battles with the most challenging bosses, when some conditions change during combat. Upstream of this is then the object creation, which involves the discovery of projects and the collection of the resources necessary for their construction.
These new discoveries have a progressive dynamic that leads to opening new paths and adding dungeon to the interconnected world - they can be traversed multiple times to discover new loot and progress further, and the difficulty level increases with each completion. Even composing potions and upgrading weapons goes through the evolution of crafting skills, which also requires some interesting intuitions on the part of the player about possible combinations between items and resources.
Another distinctive feature is also the presence of a true scripting engine In-game: Through one of the power-ups of stones that are collected as you progress through the story, it is possible to set up actions that the software will perform automatically, adding considerable depth to everything, allowing the player to act on the game. very structure of the game world and modify some aspects as desired.
Between mobile and PC
Among so many wonders of ASCII art, the elephant in the room that clearly emerges when talking about Stone Story RPG on mobile platforms and PC is the different settings chosen by the developers to access the game. In reality, the title is presented as a Free to play on iOS and Android and as a standard price game for PC, which is also characterized by a particularly high cost for an indie title of this size, which can be purchased for around 30 euros. Obviously, on the mobile front there are microtransactions to support the business model, but these are not particularly invasive, at least for much of the first hours of play. They are mainly based on the purchase of currency, which in a game with incremental mechanics like this can be of considerable importance to save time and advance faster, but taking into account that the longevity is not extreme in any case the problem does not arise as much.
However, it is quite critical price He decided on the PC version: after a few years of early access, the definitive version can now be purchased for 30 euros, a really important figure in the context of Steam, especially for a fairly small title. It's undeniable that Stone Story RPG is the result of great work done by a few developers over several years, but the cost can easily become excessive.
Conclusions
Tested version Android 3.40.1 digital delivery Steam, app store, Google Play Price Free Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (12) 6.2 your voteASCII graphics are undoubtedly the element that characterizes Stone Story RPG, which elevates it above the crowd, defining a very distinctive identity. However, it is the amalgamation of different characteristics that makes it a strange and peculiar experience, which on the one hand recalls the mechanics and spirit of the first survival adventures such as The Forbidden Forest and, on the other, returns to the charm of the ancient text adventures. decomposing the pieces and recomposing them into graphic constructions based on characters and mathematical signs. It is perhaps one of the best variations of the idle RPG, surprisingly requiring frequent and deep interaction on the part of the player, although the mechanics are certainly repetitive in the long run. Without a doubt, the price of the PC version is a matter of discussion, quite high even in the face of a monetization system that is not too eager for the mobile version.
PRO
- The ASCII style graphic characterization is splendid.
- The structure convincingly integrates idle mechanics with strategy.
- Some solutions are surprising between puzzles, combats and scripting engines
AGAINST
- The gameplay is very repetitive in the long run.
- Definitely high price on PC
