Set in a monastery in the late 18th century, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to escape with your sanity intact.
We’re not even kidding here; not many games approach loss of sanity as anything other than a minor gimmick (although Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice takes an approach that is both informative and immersive), The Stone of Madness has sanity at it’s core.
You’re working with a group of other prisoners to uncover the secrets of said monastery, and it is clear that it won’t be easy. There are numerous objectives to fulfill, and the character progression system features not just character growth, but the potential for you to lose a bit of yourself throughout the game.
The art direction is inspired from the works of Francisco de Goya, and it plays out beautifully in the isometric style. I can’t stop looking at the screenshots and imagining what it would be like to explore the monastery’s deepest, darkest secrets while attempting to retain my sanity.
We’ve got a while until release, unfortunately, with Steam letting us know of a planned release in Spring 2021. Until then, we can enjoy the official trailer from Gamescom 2020 below.