A woman is dragged away by the guards, howling pitifully, and suddenly I'm thrown into The Stone of Madness headfirst. Playing as imprisoned Father Alfredo Martin as he navigates this crumbling monastery and the dark secrets within – including its dual-functionality as an asylum – my first mission is to rescue her.
But the path to her chamber is fraught with all manner of dangers. As a "patient" in the asylum, locked up for trying to expose the horrors behind its walls, Alfredo needs to use stealth to his advantage as well as holding tight to his sanity, banishing spirits (imaginary or real?) known as ànima, and leading his small group of renegade inmates to freedom – or die trying. The mechanics of this RTT adventure will be familiar to any fan of Desperados 3, Shadow Gambit, or similar Mimimi Games' titles – but Blasphemous developer The Game Kitchen goes the extra mile when it comes to incorporating some seriously spooky themes into the mix. All of these elements work together to create a brilliantly tense narrative experience, hewn together with clever stealth tactics that reflect its unique world and transform the scenario into something even more high stakes – and that's just the first hour.
