An old Jesuit monastery in the Pyrenees is both a madhouse and an Inquisition prison. Five mysterious people have been imprisoned within the walls under various pretexts. Plagued by cruel punishment, madness and despair, they soon hatch a plan to escape this place.
From an isometric perspective, take turns to control your characters and help them escape. Depending on how you play, their minds will deteriorate, giving them a “stone of madness” and triggering new disabilities and negative effects such as paranoia, dementia or violent outbursts. Explore your surroundings, find clues and tools to help you achieve your goal. Be careful though, if you get caught somewhere you shouldn’t be, the guards won’t be nice…
We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and our heroes are no exception. Each character starts with various traumas and phobias. Depending on how you play, their mental state will worsen, earning them a “Stone of Madness” and triggering new disabilities and negative effects such as paranoia, dementia, or violent outbursts. This, in turn, increases the game’s difficulty. Characters can also unlock positive abilities or reverse the negative effects on their mental state by finding “Stones of Clarity” scattered throughout the monastery. Some actions can worsen phobias and other mental illnesses, or even trigger the development of new ones.
There are several different escape plans, each with a unique story, objectives, special characters, and other surprises. The Stone of Madness offers players a rich, dynamic real-time tactical experience. As you explore the monastery, you may come across items or clues that can help with various escape plans or future attempts. These items can unlock new content for your future playthroughs.
Tripwire Presents has announced that they will release The Stone of Madness in early 2025 on PC (Steam / Epic Games Store), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
“It’s been a pleasure working with the passionate team at Tripwire Presents,” said Maikel Ortega, Game Director at The Game Kitchen. “The Game Kitchen studio can’t wait for the world to finally discover The Stone of Madness.”
“We have been huge fans of The Game Kitchen and their work on the Blasphemous series, and Tripwire Presents is thrilled to have the opportunity to publish their next title,” said Matt LoPilato, CEO of Tripwire Interactive. “The Stone of Madness boasts a uniquely creative art style, a compelling narrative, and gameplay that fans are sure to love. We are especially excited to make this title available on all major console and PC platforms at launch.”
Thanks to a semi-procedural system, a different monastery is generated in each new game. Everything from the monastery layout to the location of items is variable, so each play session is as fresh as the first.
Time is continuous in The Stone of Madness; Day and night phases are split, with actions performed during the day and prep activities (healing/crafting/resting) performed at night. Most actions can be performed during the day, while others are better performed at night when fewer eyes are watching. But there are reasons why you shouldn’t stalk at night…
Added to this is the management of the psyche through “negative character development”, the traumas and phobias of your escapees in The Stone of Madness Add flexible difficulty levels to this dynamic stealth and strategy game.
Developed by the renowned developers of Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2, The Stone of MadnessThe visuals are heavily inspired by 18th century artist Francisco De Goya. Everything from the scenery to the clothing to the characters’ faces is influenced by De Goya’s work. Combining his style with the sketches and animations of our team of artists has resulted in numerous hand-painted scenes and hundreds of traditional style animations that are both eye-catching and highlight The Stone of Madness’ isometric perspective.
Main features:
- Escape from the monastery: Control all five characters independently to help them escape, while keeping the sanity of all members as high as possible. As they explore the corridors and rooms of the monastery, they may discover useful tools or clues that will help them escape. They must remain undetected at all times, as their prison guards are not exactly known for their mercy.
- Control the madness: Each character has their own traumas and phobias that contribute to their respective madness. Managing their sanity is crucial to their escape, using a system of character development and regression. Failure to maintain a character’s sanity can trigger new negative traits such as paranoia, dementia, or violent outbursts.
- Discover the secrets inside: Choose between two different escape plans, with each campaign offering unique stories, objectives, and surprises. These plans play out in a day and night cycle, with daytime actions separated from nighttime preparations, giving prisoners time to rest and recuperate. Most actions are best performed during the day, even in the presence of the prison guard, but the darkness of night presents unique opportunities and risks. There’s a reason most inmates rarely venture out after dark.
- Experience a stunning hand-painted art style: Lovingly hand-painted and animated, the visuals in The Stone of Madness are heavily inspired by 18th-century artist Francisco De Goya. An isometric perspective allows players to explore scenes and observe minute details as if they were wandering through a Goya painting brought to life.
The Stone of Madness will be released in 2025 for PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
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