Below the Stone

Below the Stone Early Access Impressions

Review code provided with many thanks to Stride PR. 

Deep Dig

Dwarves have had a pretty good run in video games in recent years (like in Hammerting and The Unexpected Quest). Turns out the fantasy cave-dwelling folk with a skill for digging make for a good premise for a video game. Throw in some random generation and pixel graphics, and you have a game called Below the Stone. A top-down action roguelike that is being released to Early Access. I was grateful to have the opportunity to try an early build of the game and have some positive thoughts to share. 

The general premise is you’re a new dwarf recruit who is keen on adventure and digging up some treasure. When the game begins, you can customize the look of your dwarf, including its name and facial features. A beard is an absolute must, in my opinion, but if you prefer something else, the choice is yours. Alternatively, you can randomize its appearance and see what weird creature the gaming gods bestow on you.

When ready, you are walked through a basic tutorial to get to grips with the game’s combat controls before being let loose in the caves by your lonesome. Sadly, co-op is not a feature at this stage, but this game really looks like it would be a blast to play with a buddy.

Below the Stone images shows a mine and a text box
I dig it

Dig, Fight and Loot in Below the Stone

Below the Stone’s gameplay is a nice mix of mining, combat and loot gathering. Your tool of choice is a pickaxe, which can be used to break walls down. A helpful glint in the dark will indicate whether it’s worth digging into the wall or leaving well alone. The pick axe will double as a weapon when needed. Actual weapons like swords and crossbows are much more helpful and offer the player a choice of melee or ranged combat.

You may encounter enemy encampments filled with deadly goblins as you explore the caves. If you take the risk, venturing in could net you valuable rewards like new weapons and loot. It’s important to keep an eye on your health. It can be replenished by finding items like meat or drinking beer, of all things. My favourite way was slaying these root-like creatures, who sometimes dropped their one vegetable, which you can then eat to heal. I’m not sure if that counts as being a vegetarian still.

Head into the Caves

Before you head off into the caves, you can pick up to three side missions from an old dwarf NPC. These are all fairly straightforward on paper. For example, defeat a set number of enemies or collect a set number of resources. I tried to be careful with my selections, but since the levels are randomly generated, you’re never quite sure how lucky you will get in the depths. When exploring the mines, there is no indication of where your goal is. You really have to pick a direction and just hope for the best. This made the experience challenging but exciting.

The more missions you successfully complete, the greater the rewards. You need to complete at least one mission to leave the mines, and then you can call for an escape pod. When doing this, you must stay in a small highlighted area while a percentage meter increases. But while this occurs, the beasties of the cave will attack you, creating a desperate last stand before escape. Leaving the highlighted zone will drop the percentage, so you need to hold on for dear life. When this first happened, my run came to a cataclysmic end, but I soon learned my lesson for the next time. 

Below the Stone Search the mines for all sorts of loot
Search the mines for all sorts of loot

More Than Pixel Art

On initial impressions, Below the Stone does appear to be yet another roguelike with a familiar pixel art style. Yet, soon into my first run, I discovered it is so much more than that. The game has a deep crafting system where you can collect various resources, including different herbs and ore. If you survive the return to base, you can convert these into various items, including weapons, armour and potions to take with you on a future run. If crafting is not your jam and you have enough coins, you can just buy new equipment from a vendor, too, which is handy to give a decent head start.

What was most striking about the experience was its punishing difficulty. These caves are pretty treacherous. Various goblins and monsters call these dark caverns their home and don’t look kindly upon the dwarfs. But it’s not just the enemies; on some occasions, the cave may start to collapse, and you must desperately move about to avoid a boulder dropping on your head.

If you die in the caves, you lose everything, and it’s back to the beginning to start from scratch. If you’re sensible, you can store items in the vault for future runs, so it pays to make duplicate armour and weapons. Even though it’s darn hard, I did really enjoy exploring the depths. It was exciting to delve into the unknown, which is partly thanks to the random generation. 

Below the Stone image shows a dark mine with a character standing in it
A desperate last-stand

Coming To Early Access

Below the Stone left a very positive first impression on me for an early game build. The early build was a fun, challenging dive into the caves that was as challenging as it was addictive. It’s still a work in progress, but I’ll certainly keep my eye on this game in the future.

Below the Stone is heading to Early Access on Steam. If you want to support the developers and watch the game as it comes together, be sure to check it out. Or if you decide to wait, consider Wishlisting it, as that always helps out indie developers.

If PC is not your jam, Below the Stone is set to release on all current consoles in 2024, including Nintendo Switch.