Mining games and roguelike games are some of my favorite genres of games. That's why when I was presented with Below The Stone, a game that combines both mining and roguelike mechanics, I was hooked. If you're curious about the game as well, you're in luck. Here's our review and score for Below The Stone, a look at its gameplay and story.

Below The Stone Review

Below The Stone is now available on PC via Steam. There are also plans to release the game on consoles. However, the release date for those releases is still not available. The game is currently under Early Access and will continue improving as time passes.

Below The Stone Background

Below The Stone is a procedurally generated exploration mining game with action roguelike elements. Players take control of a Dwarf who must do missions for the Kingdom, while also making sure to stay alive through their multiple runs into the underground. We will first dive into the gameplay loop of Below The Stone, before talking about its story.

Below The Stone Gameplay

From what I experienced playing the game, Below The Stone has two major components: its exploration and mining side, and its action roguelike side. Both of these sides contribute something to make the game an enjoyable experience. Let's talk about the exploration and mining side first.

Whenever players delve into the underground, a brand new underground area is generated by the game. Each area includes various biomes, each with their own enemies, ores, floor items, and more. Players should not just stay in one area, but must actually explore if they want to progress in the game. For example, one of the earliest metals that players can get is Tin. In the default biomes, Tin is bountiful, so it's really easy for the player to get Tin items early in the game. The problem is that Tin is also the weakest metal, meaning the Tin Pickaxe cannot mine Iron or Lead. As such, players have to upgrade to a higher metal tier. More often than not, these metals are not located in the default biome, so players will have to roam and mine to find veins of the upgraded metals.

What I like about this game is that, much like other exploration games, there is a clear progression path. Whenever you go out into the world, you find items you can't mine, so you know that there is a better metal for you. You find it, you turn it into tools, and are now able to mine the things you were previously not able to. This goes on and on until you eventually get the best equipment, after which it becomes a matter of stockpiling materials for future updates. This is the kind of progression I like in games, as it gives you a clear goal.

Speaking of clear goals, let's take a look at the Below The Stone's action roguelike gameplay. Whenever the player wants to go underground, they must first select missions that they must accomplish when going underground. This includes killing a certain number of enemies, picking up a certain number of items, or mining a certain number of ores. Each of these missions have a different Gold reward, usually corresponding to how difficult they are. Once players finish selecting their mission, they can then proceed underground.

Now, these missions are important for two reasons. The first is pretty obvious, in that players must accomplish missions to receive Gold. Gold is important as it allows players to buy items from the game's shop. The shop contains some pretty useful items, which we will touch upon later on. The second reason missions are important is that the player cannot leave the underground unless they accomplish at least one of their accepted missions. That means if the player only accepts missions to get ores, but is unable to find said ore, they will not be able to return home.

Once a player does accomplish at least one mission, they can then all for an extraction. Once an extraction is on the way, the player must stay within the extraction area for a certain amount of time. This is similar to how players must charge a teleporter in Risk of Rain. While this is happening, enemies will continuosly spawn, so players will have to take them down and stay alive. Once the extraction drill arives, the player can then exit the run. Once back in the Kingdom, the player will receive rewards based on how many missions they accomplished.

Now you may be wondering: where does the roguelike gameplay kick in? Well, what happens if the player dies while underground? If they do, they lose all of the items in their inventory, and are sent back to the Kingdom. They will only have a rusty sword and a basic pickaxe to their name, and must once again dive into the underground to find items and materials to make equipment.

Thankfully, there are two anti-frustration features that the game has. The first is the existence of the Bank. Players can store items they don't need to bring like ores, smelted metal bars, and other materials in the bank. That way, even if the player dies, they will at least have some materials in stock to craft equipment again. This is similar to the Stash feature in Escape From Tarkov. The second feature is the shop we mentioned before. Players can use the gold they have to buy basic equipment like armor, weapons, and tools from the shop. This is especially useful if the player does not have spare ores and metals bars.

Overall, I find the gameplay loop of Below The Stone very satisfying. I'm a big fan of extraction shooters, roguelike games, and mining games, so having features from all those genres into one compact package is nice. Below The Stone is the perfect game for when you want to kill an hour or two just mining, getting materials, and improving your equipment.

Now, let's review Below The Stone's Story.

Below The Stone Story

The game starts with the player's Dwarf arriving at the Kingdom. Before entering the kingdom itself, a senior dwarf sends the player on a mission to rescue the Blacksmith, one of the important NPCs in the game. After getting a ladle and a pickaxe, the player successfully saves the Blacksmith, and they make their way to the Kingdom. The player must then help the Kingdom flourish as one of its many Dwarf miners.

Below The Stone does not really have that much of a deep story, or an immediately noticeable one anyway. That isn't to say that the game won't have a story. They mentioned that they are planning to have “at least 10-12 important mainline characters” that players can rescue and bring back to the Kingdom. These vary from elven potion breweres to legendary dwarven casters. The conversations with said NPCs will help build the world of Below The Stone, something that they're already doing a decent job starting. The more updates come out for this game, the more I look forward to what kind of story they will bring.

Below The Stone Review Summary

Below The Stone has the potential to become a game you can sink hours upon hours in. The core gameplay loop of the game, as well as the foundation of a story, makes Below The Stone something that players can definitely look forward to. At its current state, players may find themselves quickly going through the content available. However, as it is a game that is currently in Early Access, its updates will likely introduce even more great things to it.

Below The Stone Review Score: 7.5/10

Editor’s Note: ClutchPoints received a PC review copy of Below The Stone to allow us to cover the game. This copy did not, in any way, affect this Below The Stone review’s verdict.

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