For more information about the game itself, see this blog post.
| Graphics | 7/10 |
| Apart from the pseudo-3D, the graphics are not really that bad to say this game came out in 1995. There\’s a lot of detail, although it is often repeated quite a lot. | |
| Gameplay | 17/20 |
| The gameplay in Stonekeep is fairly simple, yet strategic and addicting at the same time. The mechanics of movement, that seem so simple, lead to various tactics of avoiding getting hit. The basic point and click attack system seems primitive, but only until melee, projectile and magic combat is considered. The choice of whether or not to adventure is also a great part of Stonekeep. The decision of whether or not to explore every single room in case of good loot, but risk finding nothing and wasting your time, is a constant tough-call in this game. | |
| Story | 8/10 |
| If Stonekeep had nothing else going for it, it would still make a pretty good story. The amount of detail, variety and lore alone that this game has gives it a story with more depth than most blockbuster movies! Especially if you take into account the pre-game novel with additional depth of story. | |
| Sound | 8/10 |
| Most games of the era have a handfull of soundtracks and background music that get played again, and again, and again and again. Stonekeep, definitely does not! Having looked at the soundtrack I can see 196 individual music files that are played during the game! As well as music, the game also has well-acted dialogue and a lot of good sound effects. | |
| Lasting Appeal | 8/10 |
| I first played this game around fourteen years ago, and I\’m writing about it having installed and played it only a few weeks ago. If that\’s not lasting appeal, I don\’t know what is! Partly because of the vast size of the game, and partly because of the potential of different things to try, this game has a lot of replay appeal. | |
| Immersion | 9/10 |
| Even though the movement system is fairly primitive, the graphics aren\’t the highest quality (mainly because they\’re made for a monitor about a quarter the size of mine) and the game shows a few other signs of age. Yet still, when I start playing this game I don\’t get distracted at all by any of these things. Thanks to blend of almost dynamic music, eerie environments and the sense of urgency to save the day, this game is very immersive. | |
| Originality | 3/5 |
| Stonekeep shows signs of similarity between itself and other games, but only at surface. The deeper you go into Stonekeep the more things you find that are imaginative and original. | |
| Elation | 7/10 |
| There are fairly few frustrating things about this game. As long as you save often (which in my opinion should be common sense for any real game) then the game shouldn\’t really annoy you much. | |
| Single Player | 5/5 |
| The game is solely single player, and throughout the game you will probably never wish for it to be any other way. The game is very much a personal world, where you alone are the hero, and it doesn\’t seem to feel wrong. | |
| Multiplayer | 0/5 |
| There is no multiplayer feature. | |
| Bonus | 4/5 |
| This game gets a bonus for being a personal favourite of mine, and for being so addictive for a game that appears to have such simple mechanics. | |
| Total | 76/100 |