Blightstone first impressions: Barrel-chucking brilliance

Turn-based roguelikes and fantasy RPGs are a match made in heaven. No matter if you prefer your fantasy games to be more whimsical or shadow-drenched, there’ll be a game out there that hits one of these niches – or in the case of Blightstone, both at the same time.

Blightstone is a turn-based fantasy roguelike with a strong sense of humour, currently available in early access, and it’s well worth a look if that ‘genre soup’ appeals to you.

The Escapist recaps

• Blightstone is a dark fantasy roguelike with turn-based combat, developed by Unfinished Pixel and published by Unfinished Pixel and Kepler Ghost. 
• In Blightstone, you’re tasked with protecting the Earthglass Crystal and taking it to the Infernal Rift, with the help of a band of adventurers. The sole aim is to defeat Korghul – a malicious demon overlord – and his forces. 
• Each run in Blightstone features a unique map, complete with combat encounters, boss fights, and strange interactions with the world. 
• At the end of each day, the heroes must protect themselves against the dangers of the overworld by managing resources and using abilities to banish the Blight.
• Despite being in early access, Blightstone already feels polished, with a generally smooth player experience, ample replay value, and a punchy, responsive combat system. 

A fantastical adventure

Blightstone is a fantasy roguelike with turn-based combat that tasks you with controlling a small band of fiery heroes. Your aim is to protect the Earthglass Crystal – a magical, floating crystal companion – and deliver it to a place called the Infernal Rift, where you’ll need to do battle with a demon lord called Korghul and defeat him.

It’s standard fantasy fare, with an epic quest, high stakes, and an evil overlord, and it works well with Blightstone’s format. You’ll work your way through a branching map with multiple pathways, battling enemies and aiming to keep your heroes in one piece.

There’s an overarching story that’ll continue to unfold as you progress throughout the world, with key characters popping up in between battles to help you along the way. 

Combat is a highlight and makes up a core part of the gameplay, with standard battles, mini-bosses, and bosses popping up regularly. The heroes are akin to TTRPG miniatures, but interestingly, the combat isn’t grid-based.

Each hero has a set amount of movement range and number of actions they can take in a turn, each with their own skills, like firing arrows, setting a dog loose on the enemy, or shooting arcane blasts, meaning you’ll need to plan your moves carefully. 

Also, as this author was horrified to find out, the dog can die, so keep a beady eye on him while taking your turn.

Some enemies have unique abilities where they can interrupt your turn in a set amount of moves, usually with a charge attack or a rain of arrows. Make sure you’re watching the Earthglass Crystal carefully – if it falls, the run is over. 

One of the best things about Blightstone’s combat is how responsive the world is. You can telekinetically throw barrels at enemies, shoot arrows at red barrels to explode them, or send enemies flying into a rock with a charge attack. Taking cover also makes a difference in hit chances and accuracy. 

The battles don’t end once the day is over, though. Once the heroes head to camp, they’ll need to use their special abilities and spend their resources to keep the campfire lit and protect against the malicious power of the Blight to stay out of harm’s way.

An ever-changing map 

After your first death in Blightstone, you’ll be able to start a new run and work your way through a brand new map. Every time you play through a run, the map will be different, each offering its own gauntlet of bosses, shops, and combat encounters, along with special interactions.

There were some key choices to make in Blightstone during said special interactions, either to progress with a quest or to simply roll the dice and see how the party ended up being affected. 

Amusingly, the party can go “no, that looks dangerous” and walk away from a suspicious chest or gnome in a forest. Your choices do matter in Blightstone, with the right choices taking you towards loot and the wrong choices ending up in surprise combat encounters, often at a moment where you’d really rather avoid fighting.

Something that stood out about Blightstone is the potential for creating builds for each hero while progressing through the map. 

You’ll be able to pick out upgrades for heroes as you work through each fight and buy them new gear, too, each item and upgrade offering its own unique perks and specific focus.

This space for creativity made each run feel enjoyably fresh. I chose to build the hunter out as being movement-focused in one run and directly damage-focused in another. Despite having fixed classes, there’s plenty of space for breaking out of traditional archetypes.

In terms of performance, Blightstone ran well throughout the campaign, running smoothly for the most part, with only a couple of minor frame drops here and there. It looked golden overall, and it felt easy to navigate, too, with clear and approachable menus.

If you’re a turn-based roguelike lover, you’ll find plenty to get excited about with Blightstone. Despite being in early access, the game feels solid already, with a sturdy core gameplay loop and an interesting world full of weird and wonderful creatures. It’s got plenty of replay value, too, with an ever-changing map.

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