Runestone Keeper Reviews

[b]Runestone Keeper[/b] [spoiler]The Minesweeper Dungeon Crawler[/spoiler] is a great and innovative tactical Roguelike, very unique and addictive. Instead of controlling a character, you click on tiles to reveal what's behind the mist. Your ultimate goal is to reach the 20th floor and beat the boss, and that's a hell of a ride! Traps, bombs, monster with a variety of skills and a lot of curses awaits you, and you'll need a lot of thinking and planning to get through. The greatest beauty of this game is that, despite everything being randomly generated, there's almost no luck involved. Your skills count more than your luck for the most part, but don't be overwhelmed, you can unlock permanent buffs (which also increases the difficulty a bit) and passive abilities especially for your next run. Pixel art in this game is absolutely gorgeous, and the minimalist and atmospheric soundtrack helps to keep you calm and focused. There's 10 characters in total (one starting hero and nine unlockable heroes), and a lot of combinations (from monsters to runestones, abilities, gear, etc), so the replay value is awesome and the game is still intriguing after you beat it for the first time (I did it today by the way). Last, but not least, I can't recommend this game enough, especially if you're a fan of roguelikes and/or would like to discover a new kind of minesweeper experience with a lot of features added.

Runestone Keeper is a tile-revealing rouge-like, with some RPG elements. There are multiple characters in the game, each of which has a unique power (I only ever played the starting character as the others didn't pique my interest) and a unique starting spell. Each level is comprised of a rectangular grid of tiles. Under each tile there could be nothing, a monster, an item, an event, or a variety of other things. Battle consists of clicking on revealed monsters, possibly in conjunction with using one of your acquired one-use items (spending soul points) or spells (spending mana). Defeating a monster yields experience and perhaps a piece of equipment. After finding the exit, you may proceed to the next floor/level. After a set number of levels you fight the boss. You may also acquire gold, which persists from run-to-run and may be used to purchase items or equipment or may be saved to spend outside of the run on permanent unlockable power boosts to all characters. You may also encounter one of an assortment of gods. Worshiping one of these gods grants ingame effects, typically a moderate positive effect and minor/moderate negative effect. You may switch gods (losing the ingame effects of the previous god) during the run, though there is usually a penalty for doing so. The real benefit of gods is that each allows you to gain up to three unique tattoos. Tattos provide powers unqiue to the god and are retained even if you switch gods (switching gods at least once greatly increases your chances of victory). However, the tattoos cost runes. Runes are fairly rare and are accrued and saved across runs. Pros: [list] [*] The overall game mechanics are really well done. [*] The equipment is exciting to find. [*] The items provide a wide range of effects and add a lot of decision making. [*] Fairly nice range of enemies. [*] Game is cheap ($$) on sale. [*] Runs are short (though sometimes too short once you lose). [/list] YMMV: [list] [*] The game contains choose-your-adventure scripted events which you find randomly. Until you memorize all the events and their options, you are forced to either tediously go to the internet or risk having your run ruined. I really dislike these events in games, and really wish devs would include an option to display the outcome of the events within the response choices. I play these games for strategy and tactics, not to guess at what the dev wants me to say. [*] I really like the meta-game progression in games like this (i.e., spending gold between runs to provide permanent boosts). This provides an objective feeling of progression while you simultaneously gain experience with the game. However, the final unlockables in this game come at a very steep price. At some point, you feel like the game's difficulty has been calibrated with these in mind, and failure to have unlocked these really is just a mechanic for pointless grinding. [*] While the game has multiple classes, I didn't really find the other characters interesting. Perhaps I just didn't give them a fair shot. [/list] Cons: [list] [*] The game is too hard and victory is far too dependent on luck (finding the right equipment, gods, items). Once I am an end-game player, I expect to win games like this at least 25% of the time. I have beaten the game exactly once at this time of this review, out of at least 50 plays (maybe 100?). [*] To win, you really need to have tattoos. However, these cost runes which are acquired and kept from run-to-run. Given their drop rate, this means you need to decide on a given run, if this is a "winning-run" or a "farming-run". It feels bad to go all in, spending runes acquired over multiple runs, to lose. It also feels frustrating to know that you can't win a run and are just playing to collect runes/gold. [*] There is a level-cap at 10, which you will likely reach well before the final floor. I realize this cap is present for balance reasons, but once I stop leveling up I start to get bored. [/list] Overall: RK is nice little rouge-like, with a deep interwoven system of mechanics and options. The gameplay itself is adequate, but the thrill of discovering things to empower your character is present and strong. However, I found the game too hard for my liking and too dependent on luck. The need to spend hard-to-acquire runes to win is a big turnoff. If you like challenging rouge-likes I can give this game a strong recommend. If you are a bit more casual, you may wish to avoid, as there is a fair amount of learning required to become proficient at the game, and even then victory will not come easily, if at all. Rating: 7.5/10

Pros: + Good loot system + Easy to learn + Multiple fun random events, without random outcomes (Each choice choosen with have the same outcome...so far) + Optional Unlockables- Classes, Gods to worship (Positive/Negitive perks), progressive stat bonuses + Leaderboards Neg: - Can be difficult to get rolling at times - Additional game modes can only be unlocked by beating the first mode (Which can be difficult/time consuming) - A few amount of text bubbles will be cut off at times, and you can not scroll - No saving (but would someonewhat defeat the whole rogue-like aspect) Only have just played this today, but so far you'll love this game if you like rogue-like/lite, dungeon crawler type games. I've seen a few reviews on here with negitive comments because it has perminent upgrades, the upgrades must be purchased with in-game coins, so you can choose to never upgrade. Also there is a good amount of random events and unlockables to be found, so its has great replay value.

Retro game, retro look, absolutely fun, but the price is too high for the game. Maybe $4.99 would be more appropriate, just like the retail pirce in China.

"Runestone Keeper" sounds a little like "Minesweeper." That's because the games follow a similar format: click on tiles to reveal what's under them. In Runestone Keeper, however, those tiles can have monsters on them, or traps, bombs, helpful items, poison pits, or any number of other things to keep things interesting. The game requires just a little thought, but not much. It's mostly just clicking, but the effects of various equipment and items picked up can be taken into consideration to turn around an unfavourable board, or just help you avoid certain tile types in order to find the exit that much easier. It's a good game to kill some time with - made to be difficult, a single "session" is usually very short before you die and have to start over again. Gold carries on, however, and you are able to buy upgrades to make subsequent trips into the dungeon easier. Eventually you'll find yourself reaching new depths more easily.

This one was a journey. I thought the RNG was going to be merciless but it was very fair in the end. Runestone keeper is an old game, almost a decade old now but I feel it still holds up on ym favorite genre of turn-based perma-death dungeon crawling. Although the perma-death is used very loosely here as a run can be as quick as 20 minutes or so if you rush it or as long as 3 hours if you go slow. The game mechanics will take a couple of hours to learn but from there the fun begins as you start unlocking new characters and start debating what playstyle fits you best, two handed swords with chain effects, armor piercing ranged weapons, magic based freezing wands, damage reflective tank armor build, etc. In the end, you'll have around 10 characters to choose from each with its own unique spells and preferred builds, some very specific and others very versatile. On top of that, you have Gods you can worship that give you cool effects to strengthen your specific build even further and even if you keep dying, you'll keep your gold to unlock upgrades that will help you slightly in future runs. As far as achievements go, you can 100% in around 50 to 70 hours with some luck since some achievements are tied to RNG (finding events or god statues), others require skills (surviving with heavy debuff effects) and others will test your troubleshooting as they impose challenges during your entire run. I found it very balanced. Music was very limited, maybe 3 or 4 tracks in the whole game but the devs were a small team so I understand, graphics were ok but the game fun comes from the challenge of its game's mechanics. There is almost zero story here. I did enjoy the week or so I spent on the game, in the end, the gridn had me doing runs while listening to audiobooks until the RNG graced me with the things I needed. All in all, Runestone keeper gets 3 overlord enemies with ATK equal to my current health which oneshot me because I wasnt paying attention out of 5 times I died because I clicked on the wrong event answer and the decrease in stats made me unable to wield my main weapon leaving me only with my stupid fist damage. Nice game!

Before you buy this game, there is one thing you need to know: Like many rogue like dungeon games, this one is quite hard and might cause frustration. I'm not saying that it is bad, but the difficulty is part of the game play. Actually, this is probably one of the best rogue-like dungeon games I've ever played. From the game play to art, every part of it is worth the ten dollars I spent. It is true that there are still many bugs yet to be fixed and the characters and stats need some balence to be done. But as far as I know, the developers are working hard on improving the game. If you are a fan of rogue-like and have the patient to play a hard one, this game should end up on your must-play list. 9/10 - Please fix the bugs that some upgrades don't apply to the gameplay. I'm actually quite pissed about that, since I actually saved up gold to unlock them. p.s. valve, workshop support please, games like this will become something totally different with workshop support.

Interesting idea, but it could really use some more polish and depth before I recommend it. The audio and visuals are great, but my issues are with the gameplay. Fine if you want a low-focus game to play while watching something or waiting in a queue in a different game, but doesn't really hold up when compared to other similar games. Tile picking is the main game mechanic, and it is way too reliant on RNG (even for a roguelike). There are some items/interactions that help scout tiles before clicking, but for the most part you are playing blind minesweeper. In most roguelikes there is at least some chance of winning through skill, but that is not the case in this game. You can get oneshot or entirely countered by one monster, and the ability to scout to avoid them is limited. I also have some issues with how information is displayed in the game - info on monster stats/abilities are mostly in their own window which you have to right-click to access. Same goes for items and equipment. This game could benefit greatly from a tooltip or ability icon system to make decision making smoother and require fewer clicks. There's definitely potential, but it isn't quite there.

A very interesting, unique, deceptively simple game. [u][url=http://youtu.be/X6fwuiVnhnI]Check out the game in action with my Build-A-Review[/url][/u] Pro: _Nice, clean art style: Looks good with its own art style. Nice character portraits as well. Isn't really bombastic, but does look unique and coherent. _Unique: The gameplay is something else altogether. It's hard to align this to any specific genre. _Satisfying gameplay: It's very simple stuff, but clicking on tiles to explore them feels satisfying in the way that popping bubble wraps is satisfying, if that makes sense. It's like fapping, it's hard to explain, but try it for yourself and you'll see immediately why it's so great. _Rogue-lite: It's a Rogue-like with persistent upgrades that effects your future runs. That was fun in Rogue Legacy, it's fun in here. _Difficult: It's hard, but never truly feels unfair. _Deceptively simple: It's deceptively simple, but with an underlining devilishness that is very, very rogue-like. The game isn't afraid to troll you. _Great pacing: Short runs (Lasts about 20-30 mins on average), but you'll be playing it over and over. It's really easy to lose track of time playing this game. Cons: _Could use more art assets: The art is nice, but there's not enough of it... I'll be honest, I'm just nit-picking here. I can't really think of anything negative to say. Is it worth 10 bucks? You bet your sweet ass. It's fun, unique, easy to pick up, hard to master. It's very addictive and interesting. Buy it, you won't regret it.

Although the game is certainly rich both in interesting interactions as well as design flaws, it is hard not to recommend Runestone Keeper at its price point, which is set perfectly. I will state this first: the game will repeatedly put you in positions where you are set to lose, without any possibilities of recovery. You will often look back from that point and realize that there was nothing you could have done to save yourself. It is expected that this does not frustrate you as you still "progress" by spending the collected gold on upgrades afterwards. As it currently stands, Runestone Keeper is a very accessible rogue-lite game that offers challenging experiences ranging from 10 to 30 minutes. It is alright at everything it does, your play sessions will sway rapidly between mild fun and curiosity and slight annoyance. Its distinguishment comes from the fact that even with its current flaws, it is very close to a very polished and satisfying experience. The main weakness is balance and polish, numbers don't seem to work well with eachother which makes a few of the in-game systems and interactions useless. Your main source of continuous progress is gold - still the game asks absurd prices for single-use items, synthetizing runes and mediocre equipment - thus rendering all three almost useless. The "gold-making" upgrades and gods are also mostly a waste, either never being able to return its own cost or taking too long to do so. The starting class is bad when compared to the other two, still it matters not much. Most losses come from impossible scenarios - although your first deaths will most likely be to bad planning - where suddenly a "winning" run stumbles upon special rooms designed to kill you unless you meet very specific criteria, which are often simply not a possibility. Overall it is a decent product, for a good price, and very close to being something satisfying or perhaps even great.