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Stoneshard Delayed Into Early Next Year

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Published: October 17, 2019 5:44 PM

Ink Stains Games have delayed the Early Access launch of their upcoming open-world roguelike Stoneshard until February 6th, 2020. In a post on the Steam Community forums, the developers give a few reasons behind the delay, as well as some features now coming to Stoneshard. To quote Ink Stains, while "[t]he current quality of the game at this milestone is up to our standards, however we couldn’t implement some of the important mechanics that we think are crucial to the first public build yet." Currently the free Stoneshard Prologue is available on Steam for everyone to try. Still, the first wide public test of Stoneshard now is targeting February 6th to go live, next year.

Funded on Kickstarter only last summer, the tactical turn-based RPG inspired by DiabloADOMDarkest Dungeon and The Banner Saga blends brutal combat with a procedurally-generated medieval world. As you wage war against the vast hordes of undead and other undesirables, players can create characters from a seemingly limitless pool of skills and equipment. Along the way you'll direct a caravan of adventurers and trek across a war-torn countryside, all in the hopes of guiding the Aldor Kingdom to a better future.

With Ink Stains' delay, they plan to expand the Early Access offering in a few different ways:

  • Early iterations of the adventurer caravan
  • Larger map and a new settlement
  • Integrating Stoneshard: Prologue into the main game, acting as a tutorial
  • Revisiting dungeons for new contracts
  • Adding the first boss to Stoneshard
  • Polishing dual-wielding and stealth mechanics
  • More random encounters skill trees, and more content

Ink Stains hopes to ship all of the major features, even in early states, when Early Access arrives next year. As they plan on wholly taking advantage of the public test, improving on features, even while barebones, will be instrumental in making the full release a success. Stoneshard is set to hit Early Access next year on February 6th.

Had you heard of Stoneshard before? If so, does the delay disappoint you? Do you think it makes sense to delay an Early Access launch? Let us know in the comments below!

Kyle Johnson
| Japanese Gaming Specialist

Professional painter. Semi-professional weeb. I've played hundreds of games, but finished very few. I speak Chinese and Minnesotan.

More Info About This Game
Learn More About Stoneshard
Game Page Stoneshard
Developer
Ink Stains Games
Publisher
HypeTrain Digital
Platforms
PC, Apple
Release Date
February 6, 2020 (Calendar)
Purchase (Some links may be affiliated)