The Stone of Madness is an intense stealth horror from Blasphemous dev

Madness and monasteries collide in incredibly intense stealth game, The Stone of Madness, from the minds behind the Blasphemous series.

The Game Kitchen, the talented team behind the award-winning soulslike series Blasphemous, aren’t done cooking yet. Revealed at Gamescom, the developer is now looking to take on the hardcore stealth genre with The Stone of Madness, coming to PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch in early 2025.

Just like its approach to soulslike games with Blasphemous, The Game Kitchen is looking to deliver a unique take on the genre. The Stone of Madness is a real-time tactical stealth game that sees five prisoners pool their unique skills to escape an 18th-century Spanish monastery.

As you’d expect from both the setting and the developer’s pedigree, it won’t be a walk in the park. You will control all five prisoners independently as you aid in their escape. However, you also need to keep an eye on their mental state as they explore the monastery, avoiding jailers and finding tools to ultimately break out. Each character has their own phobias and trauma that will slowly turn them to madness if you’re not careful, leading to traits like paranoia, dementia, and violent tendencies that will make your escape harder. Sounds intense, doesn’t it?

You’ll choose from two different escape plans, and the unique surprises, twisted story, and day and night cycle will make for dynamic gameplay. During the day you’ll gather resources to help with your preparations, while at night you’ll be able to score better rewards, but at a higher risk.

This promising hardcore stealth, almost immersive-sim gameplay, is backed up by a hand-painted art style in an isometric perspective that’s as beautiful as it is haunting. In fact, the visuals draw heavy inspiration from the 18th-century artist Francisco De Goya, and the world feels like you’re exploring one of his works.

After the success of the Blasphemous series, The Stone of Madness is already shaping up to be one of the most interesting stealth games, in large part due to the influences it borrows from the best horror games and management games. To survive, you’ll clearly need your wits about you.

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