Popular culture has a way of portraying goblins as evil creatures, born from the tales of many European cultures. The collective idea of which should easily convince any to think that such creatures are anything but malevolent. But not in Goblin Stone where goblins are the oppressed race and that everyone else is the oppressor. That includes humans, elves, and dwarves.
Goblin Stone revolves around the little, green-skinned critters who are on the brink of extinction. Finally coming off as a surprise after a spawn of innumerable franchises that depicted them as fodders for the kill. Subsequently, making any avid gamer of such games undeniably having a large count of goblin heads under their belt.
Put in the disposition of an almost total annihilation, paired with their cute, bulbous noses, the goblins in this game are something more to relate. As weird as that sounds coming from a non-goblin. Nonetheless, it is therefore the players’ duty to ensure that the race survives the hostile environment they are put in.
Fight for survival
The idea, however, is not without its challenge. Starting off with a bunch that can be described as feeble, standing up against other races might seem like an impossible task. As a 2D turn-based RPG, this is most obvious in the starting roster’s capability to deal damage and withstand enemy attacks. Yet, not all hope is lost.
Despite the ostensive handicap, the game allows players to breed newer and stronger goblins who’d be undeniably more up to the challenge. Not entirely an original idea as it borrows inspirations from the same formula found in Slay the Spire, Darkest Dungeon, and tidbits from Hearthstone. This element makes the creation of next-gen goblins an interesting undertaking and would be key to a successful campaign in-game.
Similar to any RPG, adventure plays a major part in Goblin Stone. This means players would have to wander places towards certain objectives, with the purpose of completing them. But being procedurally-generated, things never look exactly the same between areas.
Notable project crew
Making Goblin Stone’s storytelling as compelling as possible to audiences is the voice talent of Scottish actor James Smillie. Award-winning composer of Broken Age, Hearthstone, Monkey Island, and Psychonauts fame, Peter McConnell, also adds his musical talent to the project as well.
Led by Vince McDonnel via Orc Chop Games, Goblin Stone is a developing title that is set for demo release on March 29th. An Early Access launch on Steam will follow around early 2022.
Image used courtesy of Orc Shop Games/YouTube Screenshot