Let me absolutely say that as a general statement I don’t tend to enjoy stealth-oriented titles. It isn’t that I’d accuse them of being bad, it’s just that I understand that overall my level of patience simply isn’t an ideal match for them. That said, depending on the mix of play to go with it there can be stealth titles that I find compelling. In the case of The Stone of Madness, I think it’s the somewhat unusual collection of characters, their respective skills, and their sometimes frustrating weaknesses that make it a little more deep and strategic that sucked me in.

Part of what gives the game its distinct flavor absolutely has to do with its setting, an 1800s monastery which is pulling double duty as an asylum. It’s within this pretty unique location that you’ll assemble your team of distinct individuals, each with their own specific skills and limitations, in the hopes of discovering the monastery's dark secrets and the means of escape. Unfortunately, an abundance of guards are standing in the way of that goal, and in order to get by them and survive you’ll need to come up with plans that will leverage each member of your team while trying to keep track of their mental well-being… and at times that can be a challenge.

Where the game runs into trouble is with the fact that not all of its challenges are intended. For every element that feels well thought out, with different stages requiring different combinations of abilities to get through them, there’s another like periodic inconsistencies and frustrations with performance that hold it back. I appreciate the fact that the game’s day and night cycle essentially opens the door to you being able to stop and help your team recuperate a little, but with the stakes being so high for pushing your team members’ sanity too far, you may still find yourself turning the game off to then start back at your last save. 

There’s no question that the game is designed to be a pretty serious challenge, it just would have been nice if that could have remained at a strategic level, not additionally subject to some of the game’s whims in execution. Still, if you’re up for a challenge, there’s something unique here that absolutely has appeal. In order to survive you’ll need patience, an ability to carefully scour what’s in front of you for each scenario to work out how best to proceed, and likely a fair amount of understanding for problems that can arise with complex and layered game design. My hope is that a patch or two can ease some of the rough edges, but I can appreciate the earnest effort here to bring something that feels distinctive to the crowded Switch eShop.