Goblin Stone Review: "Nearly Impossible Not To Be Enraptured By"

10.03.2024 - 22:41 / screenrant.com / Deven McClure

is a charming fantasy roguelite that combines hallmarks of the genre with innovative new twists. The debut release from indie developer Orc Chop Games, reimagines the roles of hero and villain in a way that's genuinely meaningful. Though there are some points in the game's story where gameplay can feel a bit repetitive, the game's charming style, unique mechanics, and room for strategic experimentation greatly help make up for these shortcomings.

In, the typically-maligned titular creatures finally have their side of the story told as they work to save their homeland from marauding, pseudo-heroic adventurers. The general gameplay loop is a mixture of combat-filled adventuring and base management, while also presenting a much more linear narrative than most roguelite games. The title does a great job of balancing its consequences in a way where they carry weight, but mistakes simultaneously don't feel game ending, and its engaging blend of systems and procedurally-generated worlds often leave something new to be discovered.

Goblin Stone is an endearing spin on a well-worn genre.

The world of feels like stepping into a storybook, with gorgeous, diverse biomes and fully-narrated, hand-drawn cutscenes. The game's music comes from composer Peter McConnell, and perfectly captures the game's fantasy feeling. After rebuilding their lair with the Goblin Stone, the goblins find the land is being ravaged by adventurers who show great contempt for much of the world's population — not just goblins, but other creatures typically seen as villainous like orcs and gnolls. A true underdog story, the game follows the goblins as they work to help these inhabitants and protect the land.

A great deal of important strategy is to be had at base camp, which players can expand over time through excavation and upgrading the Ancestor's Hall with the souls of passed on or retired goblins. It's here fighters are managed, bred, and customized, and spoils from adventures are kept and sold. All rooms can be upgraded with materials, offering boons like increasing the capacity of the armory or supply larder or an improved war room granting the party a blessing whenever they embark on an adventure.

Breeding goblins is a large part of the strategy in , and takes place in the base's warrens. Goblins have three baseline stats — Mind, Body, and Spirit — which correspond to the classes they can undertake, and they can also harbor up to four traits. There are a huge amount of traits to discover over the course of the game, from ones like Religious or Open Mind that improve stats to more complex ones that do things like making certain enemy types flee to the back of the combat line.

The plight of the goblins and their allies vacillates